<p>In the recent years, companies in the IT/cybersecurity industry have expressed their concerns about the lack of knowledge entry level cybersecurity employees are experiencing after graduating from a four-year cybersecurity program. Organizations such as National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) which is led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides a framework to map certain knowledge, skills, and tasks that have provided a way for universities to build their cybersecurity course curriculums. By following this framework at the competency level, it can be used to ensure students are adequately prepared for industry level jobs upon graduation from a four-year cybersecurity program.The goal of this study was to explore if there are gaps in terms of workforce development for cybersecurity competencies that graduates from ABET-accredited four-year bachelor’s cybersecurity -IT programs (Degrees and Majors) have? For this research, therewere three phases: a gap analysis, a survey, and a comparison. A gap analysis was conducted to assess the current cybersecurity curriculum for Purdue University’s undergraduate four-year program. The survey was conducted amongst a list of companies, obtained from Purdue University’s Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) who have previously hired students from the four-year cybersecurity program in the Polytechnic Institute. Finally,a comparison was done toshow what the gap analysis was, what was originally thought to be missing from the current curriculum, what industry said was missing, what was the same and what was different.Ithas been determined that a gap does exist, and this survey's results concluded there were three common issues with hiring newcybersecurity talent as well as identified what competencies wereoriginally thought to be missing based on the gap analysis and the industry survey. Also, while industry certifications are not required to secure entry level positions at the companies whoresponded to the survey, they certainly are preferred.This research can help make students from the four-year undergraduate cybersecurity program at Purdue University be more competitive when applying for entry-level cybersecurity industry positions upongraduation.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:57:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sandra Regina Lima dos Santos Silva.pdf: 7864343 bytes, checksum: 9d5535b0910129225200d038eaf8d31c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The aim of this research was to identify and question the challenges and difficulties faced by training teachers in the beginning of their career in Higher Education as well their ways of response to those demands. The study was carried with teachers who have actuated in Mathmatics undergraduate programs ministered by institutions located in the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. Out of a total of fourteen respondents, five have worked in public colleges and nine in private ones. This survey applied the qualitative approach as a methodologic procedure by using semistructured interviews and questionnaire. The research permitted to observe the Mathematics training teacher profile and his corresponding instruction, as well the types of teaching access and professional recognition. In order to find such data, we analysed the specificity and difficulties of teacher's conduction and the strategies which best respond to practice requirements considering the institutional conditions and working implications for the beginners of this segment. The cornerstone of this study lies on Higher Education teaching, training educators in the beginning of their career and their instruction learning. In general, the analysis of the data make it possible for us to state that beginner teachers face pedagogic and institutional challenges. In order to cope with that, such educator comes across situations which require a complex formative awareness about his teaching-learning process in Higher Education. The survey brought strong evidences that the support given by expert colleagues improves the specificity of beginners' practice. Through the analysis of this Mathematics beginner professoriate some particular elements were unveiled. They have been worthy when students respect them. In turn, their prior experience in Basic Education has seen as a condition to structure their practice in teaching programs. Moreover, they work in a pleasant and solidary environment which provides exchanges of pedagogic material and guiding with their partners. Finally, the results demonstrated that the beginning of teaching career has been founded apart when it comes to the dilemmas shown in this stage. In this case, training educadors have been seeking alternatives to cope with those problems evidencing that they are capable of building up their own learning from the pedagogic practice / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar e problematizar os desafios e as dificuldades dos professores formadores em início da carreira no ensino superior, bem como as formas de enfrentamento encontradas para responder a essas demandas. O estudo foi realizado com catorze professores formadores em início de carreira, que atuam nos cursos de licenciatura em Matemática, sendo cinco docentes de instituições públicas e nove de particulares, localizadas em São Paulo, Paraná e Rio Grande do Sul. Para este estudo, utilizou-se a abordagem qualitativa como procedimento metodológico, optando-se por entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionário. A pesquisa permitiu conhecer quem é o professor formador iniciante dos cursos de licenciatura em Matemática e sua trajetória de formação; identificar as formas de ingresso na docência e as relações com o reconhecimento profissional; analisar as especificidades e dificuldades do trabalho desse professor e as estratégias utilizadas para responder às demandas da prática; analisar as condições de trabalho e institucionais e suas implicações para o trabalho do professor iniciante, desse segmento de ensino. O eixo teórico norteador desta pesquisa contempla a docência no ensino superior, os formadores de professores, o início de carreira no ensino superior e aprendizagens da docência. De modo geral, a análise das informações obtidas permitiu afirmar que os docentes, em início de carreira, enfrentam desafios pedagógicos e institucionais. No enfrentamento desses desafios o formador iniciante depara-se com situações que demandam uma preocupação formativa mais complexa sobre o ensinar e aprender no ensino superior. A pesquisa também trouxe fortes evidências de que uma especificidade do trabalho desses iniciantes é a busca de apoio junto aos colegas mais experientes. No decorrer das análises, alguns elementos mostraram-se específicos para esse grupo de docentes que está atuando nos cursos de Licenciatura em Matemática. Eles sentem-se valorizados ao trabalharem com alunos que os respeitam e avaliam a experiência anterior na educação básica como estruturante para sua atuação no curso de licenciatura. Trabalham num ambiente agradável e solidário com os pares que possibilitam trocas de materiais pedagógicos e orientações. O início da carreira, conforme evidenciaram os dados da pesquisa, vai se constituindo de forma isolada ao se confrontar com os dilemas que se apresentam nessa fase da docência. Os formadores vão buscando alternativas para enfrentá-los, evidenciando que são capazes de produzir sua própria aprendizagem baseada na prática pedagógica

Excerpt:This presentation will consider the interplay between policy, international research and the design and development of a new mathematics teacher education program in the Republic of Ireland.

If a group of engineering deans were asked whether students at their institutions were successful and why, what information might they immediately or subconsciously use to measure or gauge the engineering students’ success? If only academic performance outcomes like GPA, individual course grades, or graduation rate race to their minds, then their rationale aligns with the majority of researchers. My research seeks to shift the mindset that frames engineering student success mainly within the boundaries of academic performance measures. By measuring students’ perceived autonomy, competence, social integration and relatedness within their programs, and aspirations after graduation, one can more accurately judge whether engineering students are achieving holistic student success. By utilizing surveys and exit interviews for freshmen Summer Bridge Program (SBP) participants, interviewing continuing and past SBP participants, and surveying engineering seniors, this research gathered more in-depth information on students’ experiences. In turn, one can better understand how the structures of engineering summer and undergraduate programs either contribute to or detract from student success and motivation. Results from SBP freshmen indicated that community building, structured studying, real-world experiences, residential life, and mentorship were perceived as valuable components by the students. Also, a perceived difficulty gap, based on students’ prior engineering experience(s), was uncovered. For continuing SBP students, there was an emphasis on Black community, leadership, and discourse when moving from SBP to larger departments. Lastly, within the seniors, we found that students tend to choose engineering careers regardless of their undergraduate experiences. This information can be used in practice for enhancing programmatic planning and design as well as potentially developing novel program components that contribute to students becoming more self-determined, motivated engineers. It is my hope that one day in the near future, engineering education faculty, administrators, and leaders will cultivate and measure success based on a more comprehensive assessment of lived experiences and better recognize how their decisions regarding programmatic structures impact students’ success and motivation.