Conference to Explore Mechanisms to Gather Annual Feedback from Computing Professionals for Continuous Improvement of Computer Science Curricula

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by providing computer science departments with systematic, reliable, actionable feedback from computing professionals. Such feedback will be useful for developing and refining computing curricula nationwide. It also has value for making institutional decisions about funding of computing programs, as well as for research on computer science education. The project will assemble an initial group of key stakeholders in computer science education. These stakeholders include experts from colleges and universities, major employers, and professional organizations such as Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery, Association for Information Systems, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Computer Society. The workshop will focus on survey design, piloting, eventual deployment, and long-term sustainability. The long-term vision of this multi-year project is to develop a nationwide survey of industry professionals to gather feedback that will enable the computing disciplines to continually adapt to changing technical and societal needs. The project aims to launch the first step in achieving this vision by organizing and conducting a workshop with experts from key stakeholder groups. The conference participants will plan and develop the processes needed to create a comprehensive national survey of computing professionals. The workshop participants will consider issues such as: survey topics, survey design, outreach, responsiveness, operational details, long-term sustainability, rigorous analysis, and acceptance in academia. A core group of the participants will distill the workshop outcomes into a subsequent effort to launch the national survey. This project is supported by the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources. The IUSE: EHR program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This project is in the Engaged Student Learning track, through which the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.