Monica M. McGill

Learning to Program with Personal Robots: Influences on Student Motivation

One of the goals of using robots in introductory programming courses is to increase motivation among learners. There have been several types of robots that have been used extensively in the classroom to teach a variety of computer science concepts. A more recently introduced robot designed to teach programming to novice students is the Institute for Personal Robots in Education (IPRE) robot. The author chose to use this robot and study its motivational effects on non-computer science students in a CS0 course. The purpose of this study was to determine whether using the IPRE robots motivates students to learn programming in a CS0 course. After considering various motivational theories and instruments designed to measure motivation, the author used Keller’s Instructional Materials Motivation Survey to measure four components of motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Additional items were added to the survey, including a set of open-ended questions. The results of this study indicate that the use of these robots had a positive influence on participants’ attitudes towards learning to program in a CS0 course, but little or no effect on relevance, confidence, or satisfaction. Results also indicate that although gender and students interests may affect individual components of motivation, gender, technical self-perception, and interest in software development have no bearing on the overall motivational levels of students.

Defining the expectation gap: a comparison of industry needs and existing game development curriculum

When developing a game curriculum, one of several key areas to consider is the type of skills needed by the game industry. The purpose of this quantitative survey research is to compare the hiring needs of industry for recent college graduates seeking game developer positions against game development curriculum currently available at post-secondary institutions. One survey was given to industry participants and a similar survey was given to academic participants. Four major categories, abilities, technical skills, supporting knowledge areas, and contextual fluency, each had specific subcategories that were rated by both industry and academia. A t-test of independent means was then used to analyze to determine if there is an expectation gap between the game industry needs and academic program curriculum. This paper details the results of the surveys and provides a limited discussion on how these results might impact game developer curriculum.

Critical skills for game developers: an analysis of skills sought by industry

With electronic gaming on the rise, several major universities involved in game development research have implemented curricula specifically for future game developers. Gaming curricula are now being offered in smaller universities, colleges, and other educational institutions, with other departments wondering if they should follow suit and what content should be covered. For this quantitative research, the author performed a content analysis on posted job advertisements for game developer positions, to determine qualities the gaming industry desires when seeking game developer employees,. A categorization of qualities was performed after reviewing each job ad and five categories for qualifications were developed: Experience, Education, Interpersonal & Personal Abilities, Technical Skills, and Supporting Knowledge and a frequency distribution of the qualities in each ad was performed. The results show that there are education and experience levels, skills, abilities, and knowledge that are clearly sought by industry and certain qualities are sought with more frequency than others.

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of Pre-College Computing Activities on Choices of Major

A lack of diversity in the computing field has existed for several decades, and although female participation in computing remains low, outreach programs attempting to address the situation are now quite numerous. To begin to understand whether or not these past activities have had long-term impact, we conducted a systematic literature review. Upon discovering that longitudinal studies were lacking, we investigated whether undergraduate students believed that their participation in computing activities prior to college contributed to their decision to major in a computing field. From the 770 participants in the study, we discovered that approximately 20% of males and 24% of females who were required to participate in computing activities chose a computing or related major, but that males perceived that the activity had a greater affect on their decision (20%) than females (6.9%). Females who participated in an outreach activity were more likely to major in computing. Compared with females who chose to major in computing, females who did not were less likely to indicate that the majority of students participating in activities were boys and that they were a welcome part of the groups. Results also showed that female participants who do not ultimately major in computing have a much stronger negative perception of the outreach activities than male participants who also chose a non-computing major. Although many computing outreach activities are designed to diversify computing, it may be the case that, overall, boys receive these activities more favorably than girls, although requiring participation yields approximately the same net positive impact.

Does Outreach Impact Choices of Major for Underrepresented Undergraduate Students

Over the last decade, there has been a concerted effort to bring more diverse voices to the technology field, with much of this being done through outreach activities to girls and boys. Unfortunately, data demonstrating the long-term impact of outreach activities remains rare. To contribute to knowledge on the longitudinal effect of outreach programs, we used a quantitative methodology that followed a descriptive design approach to explore the impact of participation in outreach activities on the choice of undergraduate major. Of those surveyed, 45.3% of the 770 respondents recalled participating in these activities. The results indicate that these activities had a more positive impact on Asians and more negative impact on Hispanics. Blacks/African Americans were more likely to voluntarily participate in outreach activities than Hispanics, and whites were more likely to feel that they were a welcome part of the group than non-whites. The results also may indicate that when outreach programs are available in earlier grades, they are not reaching non-white participants to the same extent as white participants.

The Curriculum Planning Process for Undergraduate Game Degree Programs in the United Kingdom and United States

Digital games are marketed, mass-produced, and consumed by an increasing number of people and the game industry is only expected to grow. In response, postsecondary institutions in the UK and the U.S. have started to create game degree programs. Though curriculum theorists provide insight into the process of creating a new program, no formal research contextualizes curriculum planning for game degree programs. The purpose of this research was to explore these processes when planning undergraduate game degree programs. The research methodology included an explanatory mixed-methods approach, using a quantitative survey of participants in the UK and the U.S., followed by interviews with several participants selected on the basis of their institution’s demographics. Results indicate that five external factors influence the development of game programs (government, industry, other universities, society, and trade associations) and eight internal factors influence curriculum planning (facilities, faculty, institution, interdisciplinary collaboration, learners, learning time and space, originating department, and backgrounds of the planners). Results also indicate that while some differences exist in the game degree programs across countries, the vast majority of curriculum planning processes and influencing factors are the same. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for educators, trade associations, and the games industry to improve game degree programs.

Pre-College Computing Outreach Research: Towards Improving the Practice

Europe, Australia, and North America face two similar challenges with respect to computing--there have not been enough students matriculating to keep up with demand and the lack of diversity remains an issue. To address these challenges, private and public resources have been allocated to educate primary and secondary students in computing. Previous meta-studies on these often segregated outreach efforts within the United States indicate that research on their impact remains spotty, short-term, and inconsistent, leaving a gap in the ability to evaluate their long-term impact. Building upon previous research focused in the U.S., this study examines similarities and differences in the results of 17 formal, peer-reviewed computing education research journals and conferences across Australia, Europe, and North America during 2009-2015. Results indicate that a lacuna exists in international research, paralleling results of the more narrowly focused study of U.S. venues. The paper further defines the major issues researchers face in conducting assessment studies for outreach and recommendations for addressing this gap.

Demographics of undergraduates studying games in the United States: a comparison of computer science students and the general population

Our study gathered data to serve as a benchmark of demographics of undergraduate students in game degree programs. Due to the high number of programs that are cross-disciplinary with computer science programs or that are housed in computer science departments, the data is presented in comparison to data from computing students (where available) and the US population. Participants included students studying games at four nationally recognized postsecondary institutions. The results of the study indicate that there is no significant difference between the ratio of men to women studying in computing programs or in game degree programs, with women being severely underrepresented in both. Women, blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, and heterosexuals are underrepresented compared to the US population. Those with moderate and conservative political views and with religious affiliations are underrepresented in the game student population. Participants agree that workforce diversity is important and that their programs are adequately diverse, but only one-half of the participants indicated that diversity has been discussed in any of their courses.

Weighted game developer qualifications for consideration in curriculum development

Game development programs are being added to computer science departments as either a track, minor, or major in post-secondary institutions across the United States. These programs are being developed with little published quantitative or qualitative research on what such programs should entail. The quantitative research in this pilot study defines qualifications sought when hiring game developers for positions in industry. Using cross-sectional data, qualifications from job advertisements were coded, categorized, and then subcategorized and weighted totals were calculated based on skills being either required or desired. Weighted totals in each subcategory were compared and ranked. The top 10 qualifications are provided, along with a breakdown of rankings of all subcategories within each category. Subcategories of Languages and Tools/Environments are also discussed briefly to highlight key qualifications in each.

Game Development for Computer Science Education

Games can be a valuable tool for enriching computer science education, since they can facilitate a number of conditions that promote learning: student motivation, active learning, adaptivity, collaboration, and simulation. Additionally, they provide the instructor the ability to collect learning metrics with relative ease. As part of 21st Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2016), the Game Development for Computer Science Education working group convened to examine the current role games play in computer science (CS) education, including where and how they fit into CS education. Based on reviews of literature, academic research, professional practice, and a comprehensive list of games for computing education, we present this working group report. This report provides a summary of existing digital games designed to enrich computing education, an index of where these games may fit into a teaching paradigm using the ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 [13], and a guide to developing digital games designed to teach knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to computer science.