Tracking an Innovation in Introductory CS Education from a Research University to a Two-Year College Allison Elliott Tew and Mark Guzdial Georgia Institute of Technology Charles Fowler Gainesville College

Overview Summary of Media Computation Innovation at Georgia Tech  Overview of successful results Adaptation at Gainesville College  Results at Gainesville College Key Findings Current/Future Work  Other Adoptions/Adaptations

What is Media Computation? Introductory CS course with focus on  Learning to program and CS concepts within the context of media manipulation and creation  Converting images to grayscale/negatives  Splicing and reversing sounds  Writing programs to generate HTML web pages  Creating movies by sequencing images  Computing for communication, not calculation For non-CS majors  Liberal arts, management, architecture and biology majors

Overview of Syllabus Programming Language  Python Pictures  Data structures, defining functions, for loops, if conditionals Sounds  Data structures, defining functions, for loops, if conditionals Text  Converting between media, generating HTML Movies Traditional CS Topics  Algorithms  Representations  Can’t we do this any faster?  Machine language, interpreters, and compilers  Algorithm complexity & limits of computation  Can’t we do this any easier?  Modularity, recursion, OO

Georgia Tech Results Enrollment Success Rate Georgia Tech’s CS (average) % Media Computation Spring % Fall % Spring % Summer % Fall % Success Rate = (Students earning an A, B or C) or (100% - students earning a D, F, or W)

Research Questions Innovation transfer  Can the media computation innovation be successfully adopted/adapted at other institutions?  How do the student experiences differ across institutions? Related Work  TeachScheme! Project  Alice project Methodology  Course Enrollment History  Demographics  Grade Distribution  Student Surveys  Initial: background, expectations, goals for the course  Midterm: experience, attitudes & perceptions  Final: learning, experience, attitudes & perceptions

Institutional Comparison Georgia Tech  4 year Research University  Engineering & science  15,575 students  27.1% Female  72.9% Male  1336 Average SAT  Media Computation Course  Computing requirement  Enrollment ~ Gainesville College  2 year Community College  Liberal Arts  5,000 students  57.2% Female  42.8% Male  946 Average SAT  Media Computation Course  Elective course  Enrollment ~

Adaptation - Gainesville College Media Computation adapted in introductory course for students without background for traditional CS1 course  Self-selected placement into course CSCI 1100  Course Content  Media Computation Pictures Sound  Computer Literacy Office Applications Internet/WWW  Classroom computing facilities  Collaboration by encouraging pair programming

Gainesville College Results Enrollment Success Rate Gainesville’s CSCI (average) % Media Computation Summer % Fall % Spring % Summer % Success Rate = (Students earning an A, B or C) or (100% - students earning a D, F, or W)

Georgia Tech & Gainesville Student Populations Demographics  Students were majority female and Caucasian  Women (average) 53.8% - Georgia Tech 69.2% - Gainesville  Non-CS majors, but not techno-phobic  Architecture, Business, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Sciences, Undecided Student Goals for Course  90.0% of Gainesville students were focused on programming skills and general computer knowledge  Georgia Tech students were equally interested in  Getting a good/passing grade  Relevant skills for their major

Relevance of Course Material Homework was not perceived as particularly relevant  39.2% - Georgia Tech  31.2% - Gainesville But majority of students at both institutions perceived skills would be useful later in life  59.9% - Georgia Tech  56.2% - Gainesville Georgia Tech students saw greater relevance of course material for career  45.5% - Georgia Tech  37.5% - Gainesville

Attitudes & Perceptions Almost all students at both institutions reported improved programming skills  91.6% - Georgia Tech  87.5% - Gainesville Georgia Tech students reported greater confidence in their programming abilities (rated their programming skills as strong or very strong)  75.8% - Georgia Tech  68.8% - Gainesville Gainesville students reported greater motivation to take additional coursework in  Media Computation  50.0% - Gainesville  42.6% - Georgia Tech  Computer Science  31.2% - Gainesville  23.4% - Georgia Tech

Other Adoptions/Adaptations Media Computation Courses  Gainesville College  Traditional CS1 now using Media Computation  University of Illinois - Chicago  University of California - Santa Cruz  Denison University  First trial of Java materials Software  DePauw University  Algorithmic Art course  Brandeis University  Georgia Perimeter College Course Materials  University of Maryland - College Park

Insights Common in Adaptations  Improvement in Success Rates  Anecdotal evidence shows improvement in almost all adaptations, but not always dramatic  Attracting alternate student populations  Increased female enrollment in courses  Women & minorities are succeeding at the same rates as male students  Computer art, architecture Myriad of Variables - Not just the media  Collaboration  Online galleries of personally meaningful artifacts

Questions?