Kate Sanders

Putting threshold concepts into context in computer science education

This paper describes Threshold Concepts, a theory of learning that distinguishes core concepts whose characteristics can make them troublesome in learning. With an eye to applying this theory in computer science, we consider this notion in the context of related topics in computer science education.

Checklists for grading object-oriented CS1 programs: concepts and misconceptions

In this paper, we begin by considering object-oriented programming concepts and typical novice misconceptions as identified in the literature. We then present the results of a close examination of student programs, in an objects-first CS1 course, in which we find concrete evidence of students learning these concepts while also displaying some of these misconceptions. This leads to the development of two checklists that educators can use when designing or grading student programs.

Threshold concepts and threshold skills in computing

Threshold concepts can be used to both organize disciplinary knowledge and explain why students have difficulties at certain points in the curriculum. Threshold concepts transform a students view of the discipline; before being learned, they can block a students progress. In this paper, we propose that in computing, skills, in addition to concepts, can sometimes be thresholds. Some students report finding skills more difficult than concepts. We discuss some computing skills that may be thresholds and compare threshold skills and threshold concepts.

Liminal spaces and learning computing

‘Threshold concepts’ are concepts that, among other things, transform the way a student looks at a discipline. Although the term ‘threshold’ might suggest that the transformation occurs at a specific point in time, an ‘aha’ moment, it seems more common (at least in computing) that a longer time period is required. This time period is referred to as the ‘liminal space’. In this paper, we summarise our findings concerning how computing students experience the liminal space and discuss how this might affect teaching. Most of our findings so far relate to software engineering. As it is likely that similar liminal spaces occur in other engineering disciplines, these findings have relevance across engineering education.

The Canterbury QuestionBank: building a repository of multiple-choice CS1 and CS2 questions

In this paper, we report on an ITiCSE-13 Working Group that developed a set of 654 multiple-choice questions on CS1 and CS2 topics, the Canterbury QuestionBank. We describe the questions, the metadata we investigated, and some preliminary investigations of possible research uses of the QuestionBank. The QuestionBank is publicly available as a repository for computing education instructors and researchers.

Applying data structures in exams

It is important for students to be able to select and apply the appropriate data structure for the problem to be solved. Testing this knowledge on exams can be difficult, however. We examined 59 data structures final exams and found only 36 that contained questions involving the application of data structures. To promote assessment of this knowledge in the data structures course, we present a framework for classifying apply exam questions, with illustrations from the exams collected. We then show how a number of questions can be developed by varying a single rich apply question along the dimensions of this framework

Student transformations: are they computer scientists yet?

We examine the changes in the ways computing students view their field as they learn, as reported by the students themselves in short written biographies. In many ways, these changes result in students thinking and acting more like computer scientists and identifying more with the computing community. Most of the changes are associated with programming and software engineering, rather than theoretical computer science, however.

School/Work: Development of Computing Students' Professional Identity at University

When students talk about their university experiences, they identify particular events as being significant in their development. We look at the experiences relating to coursework and career of two students who were interviewed throughout their undergraduate degree programs. We found that they shared some of the significant events but not all, and the reactions to the shared events were sometimes quite different.

DCER: sharing empirical computer science education data

Data sharing is common, and sometimes even required, in other disciplines. Creating a mechanism for data sharing in computer science education research will benefit both individual researchers and the community. While it is easy to say that data sharing is desirable, it is much more difficult to make it a practical reality. This paper reports on an examination of the issues involved by researchers who gathered at a one-day NSF-sponsored workshop held in connection with SIGCSE 2008. We outline the advantages and challenges of developing a repository, show how the challenges have been addressed by repositories in other fields, describe a possible prototype system for empirical computer science education data, and discuss how to move the project forward.

What do beginning students know, and what can they do?

We are studying what students know about computer science-related topics before they take formal coursework at the university level. Preliminary results suggest that entering students have a fairly sophisticated understanding of algorithms. We are exploring other central computing topics for similar shared commonsense understanding.