Diana Cukierman

Developing a computer science-specific learning taxonomy

Blooms taxonomy of the cognitive domain and the SOLO taxonomy are being increasingly widely used in the design and assessment of courses, but there are some drawbacks to their use in computer science. This paper reviews the literature on educational taxonomies and their use in computer science education, identifies some of the problems that arise, proposes a new taxonomy and discusses how this can be used in application-oriented courses such as programming.

Expressing Time Intervals and Repetition Within a Formalization of Calendars

We investigate a formal representation of time units, calendars, and time unit instances as restricted temporal entities for reasoning about repeated events. We generalize Allens interval relations to a class level, and based on interval classes we define time units. We examine characteristics of time units, and provide a categorization of the hierarchical relations among them. Hence we define an abstract hierarchical unit structure (a calendar structure) that expresses specific relations and properties among the units that compose it. Specific objects in the time line are represented based on this formalism, including nonconvex intervals corresponding to repeated events. A goal of this research is to be able to represent and reason efficiently about repetition in time.

The SOL time theory: a formalization of structured temporal objects and repetition

We propose to formally represent time with structured temporal objects. Structured temporal objects denote related time intervals (and recursively, related temporal objects) which are conceived as structured objects, rather than relations among such intervals. The major emphasis in this approach is on temporal repetition. To that effect, a new temporal object, the time loop, is defined. The intent of a time loop is to capture a structured notion of repetition. We propose a first order theory formalizing these objects. The building blocks of this formalism are time intervals and Allens qualitative interval relations. We prove a number of key desirable results including the consistency of the theory, and extensively compare expressions in this theory with previous related work. We argue that this theory presents temporality and temporal repetition in a simple, commonsense manner. Furthermore, we argue that it presents an alternative, succinct and more general view than previous proposals to represent temporal repetition.

Towards a formal characterization of temporal repetition with closed time

Proposes a novel approach to formally characterize temporal repetition. This differs from what has appeared so far in the AI/temporal reasoning literature, where time and particularly temporal repetition are represented within a linear structure. We propose to model temporal objects representing repetition with a closed time structure. Based on convex intervals and J.F. Allens (1983) convex relations, we define a new temporal object: the time loop. Such an object captures in one cycle the core of what is repeated and which relations hold between each repetition. Hence, this formalism allows one, for example, to concisely represent the scheduling of regular meetings in a university, to specify calendars and to represent repetitive processes, such as those occurring in an assembly line.

Online music search by tapping

Query by Tapping is an emerging paradigm for content-based music retrieval, which we have explored through our web-based music search system. Based on the results obtained from our system we argue that searching for music by tapping the rhythm of a songs melody is intuitive and effective. In this paper we describe two novel algorithms to analyze tapping input. We present results indicating good accuracy rates among a broad spectrum of both trained and untrained users. Query by tapping has an important potential as a form of human-computer communication. We indicate how our algorithms to analyze tapping might be used in other areas such as music education and user authentication.

Measuring the effect of inventing practice exercises on learning in an introductory programming course

A key determinant of success for novice programmers is the extent to which they practice writing code. In a typical introductory programming course, students are given numerous projects, assignments and lab exercises to work through to develop their confidence and skill. In general, designing and preparing suitable problems for these tasks requires a great deal of time and draws heavily on the experience of the instructor. However, for certain small scale problems, students may be quite capable of inventing their own exercises. In fact, research across various disciplines indicates this can be a useful learning activity in itself. We explored this idea in an introductory computing course (n > 180) by conducting a randomized, controlled experiment in which a group of students invented programming exercises prior to an exam. Although the created exercises were used by all students in the course for practice, the group that invented them performed significantly better on the exam. Further to this, students perceived the process of inventing exercises as contributing to their learning in the course. We discuss the conditions under which similar approaches may also be successful, and we investigate the quality and difficulty of the student-invented exercises.

Addressing challenges students face in first-year university Computing Science and Engineering Science courses: Overview of a needs assessment and workshop

In this paper we describe a needs assessment that we completed to explore challenges that students face in first-year university Computing Science (CS) and Engineering Science (ES) courses, in order to develop new components for the Academic Enhancement Program (AEP), at Simon Fraser University (SFU). The AEP is a program supporting student learning by integrating activities that introduce students to basic learning theory and strategies into core first-year CS, and more recently ES courses. For our needs assessment, we interviewed instructors and surveyed first year students in both disciplines. Here we summarize initial findings from the needs assessment and a workshop we have developed and are currently piloting, to address these needs.

Global Perspectives on the Role of Two-Year/Technical/Junior Colleges in Computing Education

This panel presents varying global perspectives on the role of community colleges and 2- or 3-year technical schools (collectively called junior colleges here) in computing education. In some countries, students interested in a career in computing can obtain a 2- or 3-year degree instead of, or as a precursor to, a traditional Bachelors degree. With representatives from five different countries and four different continents, the panel discusses the variety of pathways in computing education around the world, and in particular the role of community colleges and 2- or 3-year technical schools in these pathways.

Try/CATCH - a CS outreach event organized by female university students for female high school students: a positive experience for all the parts involved

Try/CATCH (Computing and Technology Conference for Her) is a computing science female high school outreach event, which is run and organized almost exclusively by graduate and undergraduate students in the School of Computing science at Simon Fraser University. In this paper we describe the Try/CATCH event, including main activities that took place during the event and how this event started and evolved to its current version. We also analyze how Try/CATCH 2011 was perceived and experienced by the high school student participants as well as the university student organizers, based on postworkshop self-perception surveys and interviews. Results obtained so far are very encouraging, indicating a positive influence on the student participants and the event organizers.

A case study of multi-institutional contributing-student pedagogy

Traditionally, learning resources are created by an instructor and distributed to their students. A contributing-student pedagogy (CSP) is one in which this responsibility shifts, placing students in control of creating the resources and sharing them with their peers. Technology plays a central role in supporting the collection and distribution of student-generated resources. Although many CSP tools have the potential to be widely adopted, they have predominantly been applied in a local context and rarely extended to other contexts or institutions. Moreover, the use of CSP (i.e. students contributing to the learning of others) is almost never seen in cross-institutional contexts. In this article, we discuss the novel application of CSP across multiple institutions and countries, reporting on an activity in which first-year programming students in New Zealand generate learning resources for their counterparts in Canada. With the increasing adoption of Web 2.0 tools in education, such cross-institutional learning activities have the potential to become more widespread and we report here on our challenges and successes. We find that a cross-institutional approach can work as well as within-institution CSP, with students at both institutions preferring their contributions to be shared more widely.