Liberal Arts Computing Curricula:
Innovations, Challenges, and Opportunities
A pre-symposium event at SIGCSE 2020 organized by members of the SIGCSE Committee on Computing Education in Liberal Arts Colleges. This event will let us share and learn about curricular innovations, challenges, and opportunities particular to our liberal arts settings.
Event Agenda
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1:30-1:45 | Introductions, Agenda and Goals |
| 1:45-2:10 | One-Minute Curriculum Pitches |
| 2:10-2:35 | Curriculum (Un)Poster Session - Group A |
| 2:35-3:00 | Curriculum (Un)Poster Session - Group B |
| 3:00-3:20 | Break |
| 3:20-3:30 | Challenges and Opportunities Overview |
| 3:30-3:50 | Challenges and Opportunities Breakout A |
| 3:50-4:10 | Challenges and Opportunities Breakout B |
| 4:10-4:30 | Full Group Report Out and Identification of Emergent Themes |
| 4:30-5:00 | Optional Business meeting |
| Evening | Optional dinner groups |
Curriculum (Un)Poster Session
Those presenting curricula have been divided into two groups. Each group will be available for small group discussion of their curricula. If desired, presenters may use laptops, small posters (2’x3’ maximum), handouts, flyers, or other media of their choice. Presenters will have available a round table for 8 or a flat wall surface.
UPDATE: A star (*) indicates presenters who will not be in attendance. We may combine the A and B sessions depending on how many presenters and others are present.
Group A
- Benedictine College - Donald J. Bagert - Having It Both Ways: The Benefits of Adding a Second Bachelor’s Degree in CS
- *Bard College - Keith O’Hara - Linking Language and Thinking with Code
- Fresno Pacific University - Simon Sultana and Whitney Bortz - Designing Curriculum to Meet Varied Community Needs with Limited Resources
- Furman University - Andrea Tartaro, Chris Healy and Chris Alvin - Computer Science in General Education and an Applied Major
- *Point Loma Nazarene University - Lori Carter - A Computational Science Minor that Works Across Multiple Disciplines
- Siena College - Jim Teresco - Lessons learned from adding a new Software Development major
- Walla Walla University - Jonathan Duncan - Removing Barriers to Student Success in the Introductory Sequence
Group B
- *Auburn University - Daniela Marghitu, Nancy Barry, Fatemeh Jamshidi - How to Connect Music Education with Computer Science and Engineering Education
- *Bethell University - Cathy Bareiss - A CS program covering bleeding edge fields while developing quality life long learners
- *Creighton University - David Reed - The Benefits of Partnering in a Multi-program, Information-centered Department
- *Denison University - Jessen Havill - Broadening horizons to broaden participation: from problem-oriented intro courses to a new Data Analytics major
- *Fulbright University Vietnam - Sebastian Dziallas - Building the Airplane While Flying It: Co-Designing a Curriculum With Students at a New Institution
- *Loyola University Maryland - Megan Olsen - Designing Curriculum with Multiple Majors to Provide Student Flexibility for Studying Abroad and a Large Humanities Core
- *Swarthmore College - Tia Newhall, Rich Wicentowski, Andrew Danner, Ameet Soni - Balancing curricular goals of breadth, depth, and broadening participation under the enrollment crisis
Challenges and Opportunities Discussion
The submitted challenges and opportunities have been divided into six thematic groups with each group having two submissions. One submitter will lead the discussion for the first breakout and the other will lead the discussion for the second breakout.
UPDATE: A star (*) indicates presenters who will not be in attendance. We will seek alternate discussion leaders, combining the topics A & B at some tables.
Managing Growth
- A. Challenges of Growing Fast while Maintaining Community and Collegiality - Bruce Maxwell
- B. *How Can We Limit Enrollments While Preserving Access? - Bob Geitz
Computing for Non-Majors
- A. Computational Literacy for Non-traditional Students - Maria Hwang
- B. *What Do We Teach the Non-majors? - John Rager
Ethics and Information Literacy
- A. *Information/CS Literacy for All Students - Mario Nakazawa
- B. *Incorporating Ethics into the Computer Science Curriculum - Ameet Soni
Interdisciplinary Programs
- A. *Serving Computing and Data Science Needs in a Liberal Arts Setting - Karl Schmitt, facilitated by Jessen Havill
- B. *STEM Scholars Program for Recruitment and Retention - Megan Olsen
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
- A. *Leverage Digital Humanities to Foster Collaboration between Computer Science and Other Liberal Arts Disciplines - Robert R. Kelley
- B. Oh, you’re a computer scientist! I have this great idea… Let’s collaborate! - Andrea Danyluk, facilitated by Doug Baldwin
Recruiting for Teacher Certification
- A. Recruiting Students BA vs BS and K12 Teacher Certification - Mike Zamansky
- B. Recruiting Students into CS Teaching Certification Programs - Jim Matthews and Robin Flatland
Business meeting
The focus of our business meeting is planning next steps for the Committee on Computing Education in the Liberal Arts. Discussion will focus on the following topics. Where the Committee has previously solicited input on these topics, that information is provided as a starting point for discussion and we hope that we will also generate new ideas during this meeting.
The business meeting will be facilitated by Amanda Holland-Minkley, ahollandminkley@washjeff.edu. You may contact Amanda before or after the meeting with ideas to discuss or areas in which you would like to contribute.
- SIGCSE 2021 Pre-Symposium Event
- Topics or Themes: What should be the focus of next year’s pre-symposium event?
- Reflections on the Pre-Symposium Format: What worked well and what might be improved?
- Additional Committee Projects
- Topics or Venues for Additional Workshops/Symposia
- Opportunities for Virtual Meetings/Gatherings
- Information and Resource Gathering Projects
- Outreach Projects: Making Liberal Arts Computing More Visible
- Defining the Committee Structure
- Models for a Permanent Organization
- Fundraising for Committee Activities
- Identifying Project Leaders
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