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Practice sharing paper: motivating computer scientists to engage with professional issues

Practice sharing paper: motivating computer scientists to engage with professional issues
Practice sharing paper: motivating computer scientists to engage with professional issues
Modules in professional issues sometimes sit a little awkwardly in the computer science curriculum. They can be seen as an island of discursive teaching coming from what Biglan might have termed the ‘soft applied’ field of study. In computer science the more usual context is of knowledge and skills based learning and activities of a ‘hard pure/hard applied’ fields of study. This gap may be particularly difficult in those countries where students arrive who have specialized early in subjects related to science, technology and mathematics. The authors of this practice sharing paper have had many years of experience teaching such modules to computer science cohorts, but have recently been faced with the challenge of consolidating two distinct courses previously taught in years one and two of the undergraduate curriculum. The resultant course was required to be one quarter smaller in terms of its notional hours, and there was a need to save on face-to-face contact time. There is a considerable challenge generated by the squeezing of content an contact while at the same time trying to motivate students with a strong technical motivation to spend time on a topic which is not, at first glance, directly relevant to their chosen specialisms. The paper will present a description of the motivations for designing the module and the approaches taken primarily from the perspective of the teachers and the small curriculum design support team. We will provide a detailed explanation of the rationale alongside a consideration of the impact and implications of this type of change. We will situate our rationale in the context of striving to motivate the learners’ to gain a deeper insight into their own learning and technological preferences in such a way that they can take ownership of the new approaches to which they have been introduced in a way which they will sustain during their future individual professional development.
STEM, Higher Education, Disciplinary Differences, Technology Enhanced Learning, TEL, Computer Science Education, Professional Issues, Blended Learning
White, Su
5f9a277b-df62-4079-ae97-b9c35264c146
Davis, Hugh C.
1608a3c8-0920-4a0c-82b3-ee29a52e7c1b
White, Su
5f9a277b-df62-4079-ae97-b9c35264c146
Davis, Hugh C.
1608a3c8-0920-4a0c-82b3-ee29a52e7c1b

White, Su and Davis, Hugh C. (2013) Practice sharing paper: motivating computer scientists to engage with professional issues. LaTiCE: Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering, Macau Special Administrative Region, Macao. 22 - 24 Mar 2013. (Submitted)

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Modules in professional issues sometimes sit a little awkwardly in the computer science curriculum. They can be seen as an island of discursive teaching coming from what Biglan might have termed the ‘soft applied’ field of study. In computer science the more usual context is of knowledge and skills based learning and activities of a ‘hard pure/hard applied’ fields of study. This gap may be particularly difficult in those countries where students arrive who have specialized early in subjects related to science, technology and mathematics. The authors of this practice sharing paper have had many years of experience teaching such modules to computer science cohorts, but have recently been faced with the challenge of consolidating two distinct courses previously taught in years one and two of the undergraduate curriculum. The resultant course was required to be one quarter smaller in terms of its notional hours, and there was a need to save on face-to-face contact time. There is a considerable challenge generated by the squeezing of content an contact while at the same time trying to motivate students with a strong technical motivation to spend time on a topic which is not, at first glance, directly relevant to their chosen specialisms. The paper will present a description of the motivations for designing the module and the approaches taken primarily from the perspective of the teachers and the small curriculum design support team. We will provide a detailed explanation of the rationale alongside a consideration of the impact and implications of this type of change. We will situate our rationale in the context of striving to motivate the learners’ to gain a deeper insight into their own learning and technological preferences in such a way that they can take ownership of the new approaches to which they have been introduced in a way which they will sustain during their future individual professional development.

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More information

Submitted date: 22 March 2013
Venue - Dates: LaTiCE: Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering, Macau Special Administrative Region, Macao, 2013-03-22 - 2013-03-24
Keywords: STEM, Higher Education, Disciplinary Differences, Technology Enhanced Learning, TEL, Computer Science Education, Professional Issues, Blended Learning
Organisations: Web & Internet Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 346930
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/346930
PURE UUID: b6282cbf-0a82-4605-8d66-ec853c390ffd
ORCID for Su White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9588-5275
ORCID for Hugh C. Davis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1182-1459

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Feb 2013 11:32
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:03

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Contributors

Author: Su White ORCID iD
Author: Hugh C. Davis ORCID iD

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