This collaborative project from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Southern Polytechnic State University, and Tuskegee University develops a sequence of two cryptography courses. The first course adopts intensive labs and focuses on understanding the properties and vulnerabilities of various cryptography techniques. The second course challenges students with real-world cases in emerging areas in a collaborative environment. The project develops five teaching modules based on labs and case studies and conducts a detailed assessment of the proposed hands-on learning materials, case studies, and modules. The PIs organize three summer mini-workshops to train faculty members from the three campuses and other universities nationwide on how to use the new courses.
The project proposes novel pedagogies for undergraduate Cryptography and the hands-on exercises tied with cryptography topics teach students cryptographic algorithms and their vulnerabilities. The designed case studies bridge the gap between cryptographic theory and real-world cryptographic applications in emerging areas. The modules can be used in several courses such as network security or security management.
The project facilitates faculty collaboration and development at three institutions in three states Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. It broadens participations of minority students in Information Assurance due to the leadership of Tuskegee University, an experienced institution in minority education. Dissemination of the generated teaching materials is supported by summer mini-workshops, a dedicated website developed and maintained by the PIs, conference presentations, and journal publications.
This project has addressed the challenges of teaching cryptography in Information Assurance (IA) through effective, engaging and investigative approaches. This project contributed to cryptography courseware development and IA education in terms of hands-on exercises, case study method and application, and IA education pedagogy. This project has developed eleven new hands-on labs, eight programming labs, and six case studies on cryptography. The developed IA hands-on exercises tied with each cryptography topic taught students both cryptographic algorithm and vulnerabilities. The designed case studies bridged the gap between cryptographic theory and real-world cryptographic applications in emerging areas. These case studies have helped built critical thinking and computational thinking skills and trained students to engineer cryptographic solutions in real-world settings. The case studies also challenged students in a collaborative learning environment, which provide a peer-supported learning community and help students overcome their apprehensions towards cryptography. These labs and case studies have been used and integrated into curricula of participating institutions including the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), Tuskegee University (TU), Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU), and Southern Illinois University (SIU). This project also disseminated outcomes of the research and development through three faculty summer workshops which helped faculty from many diverse universities to enhance their IA instruction using cryptography hands-on labs and case studies. The three workshops impacted more than sixty (60) faculty members from more than forty (40) institutions. This award has positively impacted faculty at the participating institutions, which allowed us to apply innovative ideas in IA education on a continuous and sustainable basis. This project was able to connect with a broader group of educators with similar background and interests in IA education which enhanced the knowledge base on how to improve student learning in IA more effectively. Students benefited from those hands-on labs and case studies. This project increased the number of hands-on labs through its funding and support and thus increased the number of labs made available to students. This project has improved curricula, student learning, and faculty collaboration and development at four institutions in four states: Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, and Alabama. This project has also broadened participations of minority students in IA training because the TU is a leader in minority education.
