Recent Canadian statistics have shown a dramatic decrease in women enrolling in computer science courses at the university level. This study presents quantitative and qualitative research that forms a profile of the family background, schooling experiences and personal characteristics of women who are successful computer science students at this level. Forty-five male and female technology students were surveyed to determine emerging gender differences and 4 females were interviewed. Contrary to previous studies, the lack of early and extensive computer experience did not limit these women. Recommendations for increasing female participation in computer culture include providing parents, teachers, and students with career information and improving critical problem solving skills in math instruction. / ix, 172 leaves ; 28 cm.

This study implemented an experimental introductory CS course for non-CS majors focusing on two pedagogic factors: 1) the use of a visual blocks programming language known as App Inventor for Android (AIA) and 2) the adoption of SBL as the main teaching methodology. Participants included 30 undergraduates enrolled in two introductory CS courses; the experimental course (CS116) and a traditional lecture oriented CS course. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was implemented in both courses at several stages. Statistically significant differences were found in the Control of Learning Beliefs, Help Seeking, and Intrinsic Motivation scales, were CS116’s participants scored higher rates. In CS116, entry and exit interviews were conducted as well as a mind maps analysis. Their results showed a positive response to the pedagogic factors, positive attitudes towards CS, and an improvement in the understanding of CS. The majority of participants did very well and showed creativity with not one student failing the course. They found the experimental course to cultivate collaboration, creativity, and motivation to learn. The experimental approach was found have a positive effect on students’ motivation, achievement, and attitude towards CS. / Department of Computer Science

Thesis (MTech (Further Education and Training))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012. / This research explored the utilization of problem solving techniques by Computer Applications Technology (CAT) teachers in grade 11. The requirements and criteria as set out in the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), were applied in this study. CAT is only introduced in grade 10 in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. The researcher thus focussed on the surrounding schools that offer CAT as a subject. The research focussed on the teacher and the teaching of problem solving techniques in CAT. The researcher used a case study design and employed a constructivism as the theoretical framework. Classroom observations, interviews and both teacher generated and formal documents served as data sources. A thematic analysis approach was adopted to make sense of the data. The analysis of the different data sources indicated that the respondents did not fully comply with the requirements set by the NCS and CAPA with reference to the teaching of problem solving techniques in CAT. The researcher recommends that courses are presented to address the gaps in the knowledge and skills of teachers in CAT referring to problem solving techniques. This creates both the opportunity and challenge to tertiary institutions to align their curricula and training programmes to address the gaps identified by this research.

The use of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools for teaching object-oriented systems analysis and design (OOSAD) has many potential benefits, but there are also several problems associated with the usage of these tools. A large portion of these problems relate to the usability and learnability of these tools. Learnability is one of the most important attributes of usability and refers to the capability of the system to enable the user to learn its application. The main research question that this study aims to address is “How can the learnability of OO CASE tools for computing education in South Africa be evaluated?”. In order to answer this question several frameworks for evaluating CASE tool usability and learnability were investigated. One of these frameworks, as proposed by Senapathi, was selected as being the most appropriate for evaluating CASE tool learnability for computing education. This framework maintains that the learnability of a CASE tool is dependent on context of use factors such as the tool used, as well as user characteristics such as gender. The primary aim of this research was thus to validate Senapathi's framework for CASE tool learnability in a South African context. A secondary aim of the research was to extend the implementation of the framework in order to enable the comparison of two CASE tools and to support the inclusion of other user characteristics. An experiment was performed at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in 2006. The participants recruited for this experiment were second year computing students at NMMU. During this experiment, the learnability of two OO CASE tools, namely IBM's Rational Software Modeller and Microsoft's Visio, was evaluated and compared. The quantitative and qualitative results supported Senapathi's results and showed that her framework could be used to evaluate CASE tool learnability and could be adapted to evaluate two CASE tools. The results also showed that the majority of the participants rated the learnability of Microsoft Visio higher for both tasks and that the main reasons participants preferred Visio was due to its simplicity, familiarity and recoverability.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anxiety reducing teaching methods and computer anxiety levels and learning gain of students in a college level introductory computer course. Areas examined were the computer anxiety levels of students categorized by selected demographic variables, the learning gain of students categorized by selected demographic variables, and anxiety levels and learning gain of students after completion of the course. Data for the investigation were collected via the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL) and the Computer Opinion Survey (CAIN), developed by Michael Simonson et al. at Iowa State University. The nonequivalent pretest/posttest control group design was used. The statistical procedure was the t test for independent groups, with the level of significance set at the .05 level. The data analysis was accomplished using the StatPac Gold statistical analysis package for the microcomputer. Based upon the analysis of the data, both hypotheses of the study were rejected. Research hypothesis number one was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing teaching methods would show a greater reduction in computer anxiety levels than students in a traditional class. Hypothesis number two was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing methods would show a greater learning gain than students in a traditional class. This research revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the computer anxiety levels or the learning gain of students between the control group and the experimental group.

This study is an account of the Computer Science for All Initiative in New York City (CS4All). In this study, I draw on actor-network (Latour 2005) approaches to trace connections among actors in assemblage with this effort to bring computer science education to all students in all grade bands of New York City public schools in the span of ten years. I explore terms contained in the announcement and official descriptions of the initiative such as “public private partnership” “in use” (Varenne 1977) among actors. I trace assemblages and work involved in training in-service teachers to teach computer science. I also situate initiative goals related to, among other terms, employment, literacy, and equity “in use” as they relate to initiative activities such as recruitment and evaluation. This dissertation may be of most interest to those with connections to efforts to expand computer science education, and I hope it will also interest anyone who wants to engage with examples of changes in schooling. While this account traces a small span and limited part of the assemblage connected to the CS4All initiative, my hope is that it provides a worthwhile elaboration on the who, what, when and where of initiative efforts. I aim to treat descriptions of the initiative as a starting point to examining the large amount of work and many actors assembled with the initiative, both human and non-human. I join others in anthropology of policy who look to how policy is assembled in practices that are situated and far flung (Shore and Wright 1997; Levinson and Sutton 2001). In doing so, I aim to provide opportunities for those who wish to engage with schooling policies to make useful connections to an account of situated activities assembled with CS4All. In tracing an assemblage of actors involved in an initiative to change New York City public schools, I focus on actors and work outside of classrooms to extend this inquiry into the shaping of the conditions of schooling beyond school buildings and program settings. However, I also include teachers and the many roles they play in shaping the initiative in this account. I found actors assembled with a range of goals as they worked to connect the expansion of computer science education with institutions. Attempts to create standards, forms and evaluations unfolded in assemblage with these multiple goals and motivations for involvement. I hope this account is useful in joining with other examinations of how the conditions of schooling encountered by teachers and students in classrooms are made and remade in assemblages that extend beyond classrooms, through an instance of efforts to make changes in the largest public school district in the United States.

Bug Fixer is a web-based application that complements lectures with hands-on exercises that encourage students to think about the logic in programs. Bug Fixer presents students with code that has several bugs that they must fix. The process of fixing the bugs forces students to conceptually think about the code and reinforces their understanding of the logic behind algorithms. In this work, we conducted a study using Bug Fixer with undergraduate students in the CSCE1040 course at University of North Texas to evaluate whether the system increases their conceptual understanding of the algorithms and improves their Software Testing skills. Students participated in weekly activities to fix bugs in code. Most students enjoyed Bug Fixer and recommend the system for future use. Students typically reported a better understanding of the algorithms used in class. We observed a slight increase of passing grades for students who participated in our study compared to students in other sections of the course with the same instructor who did not participate in our study. The students who did not report a positive experience provide comments for future improvements that we plan to address in future work.

by Lau Yuk-kam, Eileen. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leave 60). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.vii / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Organization of the Report --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.4 / Literature Review --- p.4 / Data Collection --- p.5 / Curricula Information --- p.5 / Job Advertisement --- p.6 / Data Analysis --- p.7 / Chapter III. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Computer Science (CS) Curriculum --- p.8 / Information System (IS) Curriculum --- p.10 / Differences between CS & IS Curricula --- p.14 / Related Works --- p.15 / Chapter IV. --- RESULTS --- p.17 / Computer Related Curricula in Hong Kong --- p.17 / Computer Related Job Market in Hong Kong --- p.25 / Chapter V. --- ANALYSIS --- p.29 / Design of Computer Curricula by Local Universities --- p.29 / Employers' Perception of CS & IS --- p.31 / CS & IS Job Mis-match --- p.34 / Appropriateness of Universities in Preparing Graduates --- p.35 / Computer Science Curricula --- p.35 / Information Systems --- p.36 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION & FUTURE WORK --- p.38 / Future Work --- p.39 / APPENDIX --- p.41 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.60

The goal of this study was to determine if performance-based tests should be routinely administered to students in computer application courses. The purpose was to determine the most appropriate mode of testing for individuals taking a computer applications course. The study is divided into areas of assessment, personality traits, and computer attitudes.

Test items supplied with seven textbooks approved for use in Computer Science I and II curricula in Texas public schools were categorized by Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Eating was done by a panel of ten judges selected from a group of participants at a taxonomy workshop. The selection criterion was demonstration of at least 80 percent competency in item classification. Judges received a small stipend for completing the rating task. Of 2020 possible items, 998 were randomly selected for analysis. Equal percentages of items from each text were then randomly assigned to each rater. All statistical analyses were computed using SPSS/PC+ (version 2.1). In both courses, CLD frequencies decreased through the three lower levels. The percentage of questions falling in these levels was approximately 83 percent for both courses. However, the higher-level course contained almost 10 percent more Knowledge level questions than did the lower course. At the higher taxonomic levels, the decline was roughly five percent per level in CS I but erratic in CS II. Analysis by book also revealed wide differences within each course.