CPATH-1: Developing Computational Thinking Skills Across the Undergraduate Curriculum

Carroll University, Waukesha WI

Investigators

Abstract

This Carroll College CPATH Planning Grant is focused on increasing the number of students developing Computational Thinking (CT) competencies by infusing CT experiences into the undergraduate general education curriculum. The project team is: 1) reviewing and revising the BS degree requirements, and replacing the current math and computer science requirements with two new CT courses, 2) developing an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in computational science, 3) developing an interdisciplinary undergraduate major in computational science, and finally 4) training faculty to teach new BS courses and help them integrate CT throughout individual curricula. Intellectual Merit: These educators believe, based on the computing education literature that they have reviewed, that it is essential to begin building CT skills early in the undergraduate education for all students. Reaching students early in their undergraduate career ensures that students are prepared with the CT skills that they need to pursue graduate studies and that are highly desirable for future employment. Because CT skills will be so integral to the 21st century workplace, this project begins by developing two lower-level CT courses to be integrated into the general education curriculum for all BS degree students ? approximately 80% of the Carroll College student body. To round out the college?s computational offerings, they are developing undergraduate minor and major programs in computational science. The computational courses developed through the proposed minor program will serve as a common area for collaboration among faculty from different fields. The major and minor programs will also allow students who have an interest in computational science to explore a variety of applications while learning the theory behind the techniques. Finally, the project team is integrating computational techniques into the student learning experience as a whole. They are working with faculty to keep the introductory-level courses relevant to current research and thus are ensuring that the knowledge that students gain early in their time at Carroll will be used throughout their undergraduate education. Broader Impact This NSF CISE CPATH planning grant is enabling Carroll College, a predominately undergraduate institution, to make a first critical step towards invigorating and strengthening offerings in the computational sciences. With this project, Carroll College will be able to significantly improve the computational thinking skills of their undergraduate student population. Additionally, this NSF CISE CPATH grant is enabling the College to develop faculty expertise in computational science program development that will result in opportunities for students to acquire computational thinking competency within multidisciplinary majors. It is expected that this curricular program will serve as a national model and will demonstrate how to develop computational thinking competency within a general education curriculum. It is expected that this program will work to attract more women and underrepresented minority students into the computational science field while providing the enhanced curriculum needed to ensure that students succeed in completing major and minor programs in computational science.