Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p> In the age of computing, there still exist many schools that do not offer computer science courses. The reason why can be esoteric to designers of interventions, curricula, and policies. This study aims to answer the research question: <jats:italic>What do school officials perceive as barriers to and supports for offering computer science courses at their school?</jats:italic> This paper provides a case study of four public high schools in the state of Georgia to better understand the barriers to adopting computer science. Interviews conducted with school principals, counselors, and teachers were thematically analyzed to study each case. The pattern that emerged from these themes is framed by structuration theory, wherein the structures (school policies, resources, and courses) influence the agents (teachers, students, the community) and, in turn, the agents influence the structures. This framing provides insights into what attributes can be supports for or barriers against schools offering computer science courses. </jats:p>

<jats:p>Competency models are widely adopted frameworks that are used to improve human resource functions and education. However, the characteristics of competency models related to the information security and cybersecurity domains are not well understood. To bridge this gap, this study investigates the current state of competency models related to the security domain through qualitative content analysis. Additionally, based on the competency model analysis, an evidence-based competency model is proposed. Examining the content of 27 models, we found that the models can benefit target groups in many different ways, ranging from policymaking to performance management. Owing to their many uses, competency models can arguably help to narrow the skills gap from which the profession is suffering. Nonetheless, the models have their shortcomings. First, the models do not cover all of the topics specified by the Cybersecurity Body of Knowledge (i.e., no model is complete). Second, by omitting social, personal, and methodological competencies, many models reduce the competency profile of a security expert to professional competencies. Addressing the limitations of previous work, the proposed competency model provides a holistic view of the competencies required by security professionals for job achievement and can potentially benefit both the education system and the labor market. To conclude, the implications of the competency model analysis and use cases of the proposed model are discussed.</jats:p>

<jats:p>A call to the computer science education community to make our values match our actions related to broadening participation through epistemological inclusion.</jats:p>

<jats:p>To provide practice and assessment of computational thinking, we need specific problems students can solve. There are many such problems, but they are hard to find. Learning environments and assessments often use only specific types of problems and thus do not cover computational thinking in its whole scope. We provide an extensive catalog of well-structured computational thinking problem sets together with a systematic encoding of their features. Based on this encoding, we propose a four-level taxonomy that provides an organization of a wide variety of problems. The catalog, taxonomy, and problem features are useful for content authors, designers of learning environments, and researchers studying computational thinking.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Performing arts computing environments have received little attention in the educational sphere; yet, they offer opportunities for learners to validate their efforts, ideas, and skills through showcasing their work in a public-facing performance. In this work, we explore an out-of-school dance and computing educational program run by the organization, STEM From Dance. The organizational mission is to create an equitable learning experience for young women of color to engage with computing while exposing them to STEM careers. Through an analysis of eleven interviews with youth participants, instructors, and the executive director, we examine how the social, cultural, and political dimensions of the learning environment facilitate identity work in computing and dance. Our findings point to three primary activities used by the organization to promote equity: (1) providing psychological safety through a supportive community environment, (2) meaningfully engaging with learners’ social and cultural context through creative work with constructionist artifacts, and (3) actively promoting identity work as women of color in computing and STEM through both artifact work and community events. Applying the constructs of identity and psychological safety we explore the tensions and synergies of designing for equity in this performing arts and computing learning environment. We demonstrate how the seemingly contradictory elements of a high-stakes performance within a novice learning environment provides unique opportunities for supporting young women of color in computing, making them non-negotiable in the organization’s efforts to promote equity and inclusion. Our work illustrates how attending closely to the sociocultural dimensions in a constructionist learning environment provides lenses for navigating equity, identity work, and support for inclusive computing.</jats:p>

<jats:p> This paper explores a major theoretical framework from psychology, <jats:bold>Dual Process Theory (DPT)</jats:bold> , which has received surprisingly little attention in the computing education literature. DPT postulates the existence of two qualitatively different kinds of cognitive systems, a fast, intuitive “System 1” and a slow, reflective “System 2”. System 1 is associated with cognitive factors such as crystallized intelligence, long-term memory and associative learning; System 2 with fluid intelligence, working memory, and rule learning. This paper summarizes DPT and the way it has been expressed and explored in literatures relating to intelligence, memory, learning, attention, cognitive load, and more. It proposes a summary model, the <jats:bold>Dual Process Cycle (DPC)</jats:bold> . It then considers example concepts from computing education within the context of this model. Examples include programming expertise, mental models of programs, the notional machine, code reading and code writing, and the theory of <jats:bold>Learning Edge Momentum (LEM)</jats:bold> . In conclusion, it is argued that the DPC (and the framework of DPTs in general) provides a useful context for defining such concepts more richly and exactly, and for generating interesting questions about them. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Computer science education (CSEd) is a growing interdisciplinary area that continues to gain momentum from students, researchers, and educators. Yet, there are few formal programs or degree options for students interested in pursuing graduate work in CSEd. This article explores the existing state of CSEd in the United States (U.S.) through semi-structured interviews with ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 15) faculty engaged in CSEd research. Thematic coding of the transcripts revealed the complexities involved in the development of formal programs, the distinct considerations for faculty, and the value of having strong ties to both computer science and education. The themes described positive aspects of support and cohesion within the larger community and opportunities to expand knowledge across fields. Applying Cornell and Parker’s principles of interdisciplinary science to the field of CSEd, we provide recommendations for ways forward and discuss the potential impact on institutional structures, research capacity, individual and group identities, and teaching and learning. The findings from this investigation not only inform on the present state of CSEd in the U.S., but also offer guidance for CSEd-focused graduate programs. </jats:p>

<jats:p> One of the most commonly cited theories in computing education research is cognitive load theory (CLT), which explains how learning is affected by the bottleneck of human working memory and how teaching may work around that limitation. The theory has evolved over a number of decades, addressing shortcomings in earlier versions; other issues remain and are being debated by the CLT community. We conduct a systematic mapping review of how CLT has been used across a number of leading computing education research (CER) forums since 2010. We find that the most common reason to cite CLT is to mention it briefly as a design influence; authors predominantly cite old versions of the theory; hypotheses phrased in terms of cognitive load components are rare; and only a small selection of cognitive load measures have been applied, sparsely. Overall, the theory’s evolution and recent themes in CLT appear to have had limited impact on CER so far. We recommend that studies in CER explain which version of the theory they use and why; clearly distinguish between load components (e.g., intrinsic and extraneous load); phrase hypotheses in terms of load components <jats:italic>a priori</jats:italic> ; look further into validating different measures of cognitive load; accompany cognitive load measures with complementary constructs, such as motivation; and explore themes such as collaborative CLT and individual differences in working-memory capacity. </jats:p>

<jats:p>In many countries, computer programming is becoming an integral part of the secondary school curriculum. However, many teachers, especially in the first years of Flemish secondary school, have limited experience with teaching programming. To improve their knowledge about programming, many different types of professional development programs have been proposed. Nevertheless, these programs mostly focus on technical skills and less on pedagogical skills. One aspect that is often overlooked in these programs is how teachers can assess code. To get insight into what teachers currently value when assessing code, we designed an experiment that analyzes the different aspects teachers consider during the assessment of code. During the experiment, the teachers (N=13) assess a set of programs from five different fictional learners. After the assessment, they participated in a semi-structured interview, giving us insight into the assessment process. We evaluated the transcripts of the interviews using deductive thematic analysis using a coding schema defining the different aspects of code that can be assessed. Additionally, we linked the assessment strategies of teachers to their teaching experience. Our results indicate that many teachers are unaware of the different concepts that can be part of the assessment of code, which might lead to inaccurate or invalid feedback. Moreover, although our experimental group was too small to draw hard conclusions about the inter-case results, our results indicate that the number of concepts considered by teachers seems to increase with experience. These results provide an initial insight into the code assessment practices of teachers and reveals interesting pathways for future research into the assessment of code.</jats:p>

<jats:p> <jats:bold>Objectives.</jats:bold> Internships can bring a host of professional and academic benefits to students. Then, how do User Experience (UX) internships influence Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) graduate students’ professional and academic growth? What are the challenges experienced by HCI graduate students during internships? We explored these two research questions. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Participants.</jats:bold> Our study participants were 42 HCI graduate students who completed UX internships. They came from computing and related disciplines, including computer science, information technology, psychology, and design. Some of the participants’ internship titles were Interaction Designer, Design Researcher, UX Programmer, and Business Intelligence Analyst. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Study Method.</jats:bold> We conducted a thematic analysis on 42 graduate students’ UX internship reports that were collected over 6 years to uncover themes in relation to our two research questions. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Findings.</jats:bold> As for UX internship benefits, we found that students learned about the workplace culture (e.g., academia vs. industry/government on research design processes) and core UX technical (e.g., research, design, programming) and people skills (e.g., teamwork, empathy toward end-users); they also realized what they wanted in future careers after completing their internships. We also found internship challenges that were related to the internship program (e.g., the availability of internship opportunities), the host organizations (e.g., the quality of mentorship received), and remote working (e.g., difficulty over conducting remote usability testing). </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Conclusions.</jats:bold> We make practical recommendations for HCI educators, UX practitioners, and HCI graduate students on how they can work collaboratively to create a meaningful UX internship experience. These recommendations include researching the host organization prior to internships, providing comprehensive onboarding, and being transparent with internship constraints. </jats:p>