BJUT Talk April 19, 2017

Slides available here
Computing Education Research: Where is it and where is it going?
Beijing University of Technology, Room 618, Teaching Building 4
April 19, 2017, 3:30 PM
 
Dr. Brett A. Becker
Assistant Professor
 
 
Abstract: Computing Education Research is a relatively new and rapidly growing discipline. Put simply, Computing Education Research seeks to find and promote best practice to improve student learning, engagement and outcomes. Computing Education Research also seeks to address many important global and societal issues such as how to best include under-represented groups, how to address significant gender imbalances, and how to best serve the needs of industry and society through education. Computing Education Research is experiencing an unprecedented period of activity. Many countries are just beginning the process of adopting national computing curricula at primary and secondary level, groups like CoderDojo and Code.org continue to expand due to the popularity of programming (especially with young people), and initiatives like CS4All in the United States may signal the beginning of a defining decade for the field that studies how computing is taught. Although at times it is hard to imagine how everyday life could be any more influenced by computing, all signs point to a future that will be just that. Educating the students who will soon actively shape the everyday experiences of billions of users must be done with intent, and with the best knowledge and practices. This talk will provide an overview of what the current trends, topics and issues in Computing Education Research are, how the academic third-level Computing Education Research community is organised, and how you can become involved.
 
Presenter’s Background: Dr. Becker is an Assistant Professor at University College Dublin and Beijing-Dublin International College. He is very active in Computing Education Research, has published a number of papers in the area, and recently completed a master’s degree in Higher Education focusing on novice programmer behavior. An active member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Dr. Becker is serving as workshop co-chair for the SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in 2018 and 2019 and is on the Review Committee of the annual International Computing Education Research conference (ICER). He has also reviewed for the SIGCSE Symposium and the annual conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE). Dr. Becker is the recipient of a 2016 SIGCSE special project grant for research on learning outcomes in computer programming, and is co-leading a 2017 ITiCSE working group on developing assessments to determine mastery of programming fundamentals. He is very interested in novice programmer behavior, specifically compilation behavior, and using data-driven metrics to help improve programming success for novice students. For more about Dr. Becker and his research, please see www.BrettBecker.com.
Papers by the speaker: Several papers by the speaker in the area of Computer Science Education, are available (full-text) from the links below, or at brettbecker.com/publications. If you have access trouble, please contact me. Also, please see CS0: a blog on Computer Science Education.