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Computer Science Teachers as Amateurs, Students and Researchers Raymond Lister

Computer Science Teachers as Amateurs, Students and Researchers Raymond Lister University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. 12. 1. 11. 2. 10. 3. 4. 8. 7. 5. Teacher-centred knowledge. 9. 6. The Rise and Fall of an Academic Discipline. Pre-Discipline Part of larger discipline(s)

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Computer Science Teachers as Amateurs, Students and Researchers Raymond Lister

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  1. Computer Science Teachers as Amateurs, Students and Researchers Raymond Lister University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

  2. 12 1 11 2 10 3 4 8 7 5 Teacher-centred knowledge 9 6

  3. The Rise and Fall of an Academic Discipline • Pre-Discipline • Part of larger discipline(s) • E.g. Computer Science pre-1970s • Boom-Discipline • Critical mass of undergraduates • Teacher-centred knowledge • Computing in the late 20th Century • Post-Discipline • Loss of undergraduates • E.g. English literature, physics 1980s, … Computing in the 21st Century ?????

  4. Doomed?

  5. The formal study of how novices come to know a discipline is central to the sustained health of a discipline.

  6. Folk Medicine See file:///c:/talks/2005KoliCallingBBCNEWSMothersWereRightOverColdsKoliAttempt.htm And … Benjamin, H. (1936) “Everybody’s Guide to Nature Cure”

  7. Pedagogy Folk Medicine × Bruner, 1996 “… intuitive theories about how other minds work … … badly want some deconstructing if their implications are to be appreciated".

  8. Differing folk pedagogies cannot be resolved … … and there is no progress.

  9. Guided by direct experience and introspection Guided by “folk pedagogies” Outcomes remain private Read literature, attend seminars/conferences Work within well defined theoretical or empirical framework Publish Research vs. Teaching We lead a double life

  10. Koli, ACE; ACM’s ICER, SIGCSE, & ITiCSE E.g. constructivism, Bloom’s taxonomy, Kolb learning cycle Publish! (see above) Read literature, attend seminars/conferences Work within well defined theoretical or empirical framework Publish && Research vs. Teaching ×

  11. Boyer (1990) But what exactly did he mean by “scholar”

  12. The Three Types of Academic Teacher Practise Theory

  13. The Three Types of Academic Teacher Practise Theory Amateur • Guided by folk pedagogies • Possibly an amateur in the finest sense of the • word. • … but has little influence on colleagues.

  14. The Three Types of Academic Teacher Practise Theory Amateur Education Specialist • Guided by folk pedagogies • May be a gifted teacher, or clumsy. • Possibly an amateur in the finest sense of the • word. • Has little influence on colleagues. Student • Implements education theory uncritically • Victim of theory wars?

  15. The Three Types of Academic Teacher Practise Theory Amateur Education Specialist Student Note: NOT researcher as teacher • Implements education theory uncritically Teacher as Researcher • Sees theory as either discipline-specific or • requiring discipline-specific validation.

  16. amateur researcher Two dimensions(and short term vs. long term) Quality of engagement with students low high low Quality of engagement with colleagues high

  17. Overview of this talk • Amateur, Student, Researcher • Just finished that • One example from my own work • Leeds Working Group … • A logical break point • … followed by BRACElet • See my Koli paper for other examples from my work

  18. One Example from my Work: Teaching the Novice (“CS1”) Problem Solving Code

  19. McCracken, et al. (2001) • 10 authors, 8 universities, 5 countries

  20. McCracken, et al. (2001) • Remember, 8 universities, 5 countries … • ... it says something about our discipline. • Amateurs! … don’t blame yourself!

  21. But Why?

  22. “You cannot teach problem-solving. It’s innate.” The Problem-Solving Gene Conjecture The amateur feels no need to test that conjecture (fact?). The teacher-as-researcher asks “What experiment will test that conjecture?” Answer: Eliminate problem-solving.

  23. The Leeds Group (2004) 12 universities, 7 countries, >500 students

  24. Twelve Multiple Choice Questions

  25. McCracken et al., 2001 Evidence against the problem-solving gene The Leeds Group, 2004. 12 universities, 7 countries, over 500 students Bottom 25% of students performing at a level consistent with chance!

  26. 12 1 11 2 10 3 4 8 7 5 A logical break point in the talk 9 6

  27. Overview of this talk, again (break point) • Amateur, Student, Researcher • One example from my own work • Leeds Working Group … • Just finished that • … followed by BRACElet • See my Koli paper for other examples from my work

  28. McCracken et al., 2001 … and a host of other papers Empirical, yes. Theoretical, no. SIGCSE Bulletin, December 2004. Read literature, attend seminars/conferences Work within well defined theoretical or empirical framework Publish Leeds Group as Research

  29. Read literature, attend seminars/conferences Work within well defined theoretical or empirical framework Publish Bracelet Leeds Group as Research × • McCracken et al., 2001 … and a host of other papers • Empirical, yes. • Theoretical, no. • SIGCSE Bulletin, December 2004. • Leeds Group • SIGCSE Bulletin, 2004. × SOLO taxonomy Whalley, Lister, et al., to appear, ACE2006

  30. BRACElet • A collaboration between four New Zealand institutions and one Australian (me). • Jacqueline Whalley, Tony Clear, Phil Robbins • Errol Thompson • Ajith Kumar • Christine Prasad

  31. BRACElet • Several multiple choice questions, superficially like the Leeds Group questions, plus … • One “explain in plain English” question …

  32. BRACElet In plain English, explain what the following code does: int iNumbers[iMAX]; // iMAX is a constant … array initialization omitted in question to students… bool bValid = true; for (int i = 0; i < iMAX-1; i++) { if (iNumbers[i] > iNumbers[i+1]) { bValid = false; } }

  33. SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis ’82 – general theory, not programming) • “Prestructural” or “Unistructural” • An incorrect understanding of the semantics of the programming language. • “Multistructural” • Line-by-line understanding, but no grasp of what the code does as whole • “failing to see the forest for the trees” • “Relational” • A summary of the purpose of the code, for example “it checks if the elements in the array are sorted” • The student “sees the forest”

  34. BRACElet The multiple choice questions determine quartile Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4

  35. Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4 BRACElet Relational “see the forest”

  36. BRACElet Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4

  37. BRACElet Multistructural “failing to see the forest for the trees”

  38. How? e.g. Roles of Variables file:///2005KoliRolesOfVariablesHomePage.htm file:///c:/talks/2005KoliLiteratureOnRolesOfVariables.htm

  39. 12 1 11 2 10 3 4 8 7 5 We are near the end of our time: Teacher-centred knowledge 9 6

  40. Overview of this talk (again) • Amateur, Student, Researcher • One example from my own work • Leeds Working Group … • … followed by BRACElet • See my Koli paper for other examples from my work

  41. Read literature, attend seminars/conferences Work within well defined theoretical or empirical framework Publish The formal study of how novices come to know a discipline is central to the sustained health of a discipline. Summary and Conclusion: Research vs. Teaching × && The End

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