This project is designing, evaluating, and disseminating a new approach for teaching introductory computer science courses. It uses a web-based learning environment to take advantage of recent research on learning and incorporate successful strategies for teaching diverse students in first year programming and data structures courses. It includes a diverse set of activities, collaboration and group work, support mechanisms to help students keep up with course assignments and sustain consistent participation, activities to help all students, especially underrepresented groups including women, have more success, embedded student information so instructors have better knowledge of student conceptions and progress, and a learning environment to help instructors allocate time where it can be of best use. The project includes designing and testing faculty workshops for this approach and evaluating student learning and instructor workload using internal, external, and expert review processes.
This approach is being extended to the full range of cultural groups and educational contexts important for ensuring a diverse workforce in technology. Techniques proven successful at Berkeley are being tailored to students in community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and liberal arts colleges. The project is collaborating with instructors from diverse institutions to customize the instruction to the curriculum and expectations in their departments. The detailed information available to instructors helps them guide students in a more timely and effective way. This pedagogical approach helps instructors use their time effectively and does not demand more time for teaching.
The project evaluation includes the participation of leading computer science instructors to review and critique the materials that are developed. The evaluation benchmarks progress prior to instituting innovative approaches and compare the new cohort of students to the benchmark group. It includes comparison studies using the learning environment to randomly deliver compelling alternatives to groups of students and follows the trajectories of a randomly selected and diverse group of students over a several year period. Overall, the project is developing a coherent, tested set of practices that can be used widely.
