Collaborative Research: Commonsense Computing: What students know before we teach

Southern Illinois University At Edwardsville, Edwardsville IL

Investigators

Abstract

Computer Science (31) This collaborative project, involving six institutions, is identifying the preexisting knowledge students have about computer science topics prior to their starting a first course in computing. Identifying these preconceptions can be used to inform and transform introductory computer science instruction by helping students to learn new concepts within the contexts of their preconceptions. Topics to be explored include: conditional expressions, search, user-interface design and evaluation, and concurrency.