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Teaching Tips, Best Practices,Teaching Tips, Best Practices,and Other Initiatives to Improveand Other Initiatives to Improve
CS EducationCS Education
Dan Garcia, Ph.D.Dan Garcia, Ph.D.Lecturer SOELecturer SOE, , EECS Dept, UC BerkeleyEECS Dept, UC Berkeley
(on Sabbatical in Melbourne until 2008)(on Sabbatical in Melbourne until 2008)
www.www.cscs..berkeleyberkeley..edu/~ddgarcia/edu/~ddgarcia/
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OverviewOverview
Quickie backgroundQuickie background SIGCSE plugSIGCSE plug
This talk from 3 in 2007This talk from 3 in 2007 ACE2008 in WollongongACE2008 in Wollongong
Improving CS educationImproving CS education Teaching TipsTeaching Tips
Best Practices fromBest Practices fromsurvey of US schoolssurvey of US schools
ACM Education BoardACM Education Board
TipsTips1. 1. ……
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Teaching Tips ArchiveTeaching Tips Archive
Goal: Gather great CS teaching tips on a Goal: Gather great CS teaching tips on a wikiwiki 4 seasoned educators seeded with 10 tips each4 seasoned educators seeded with 10 tips each
Categories : Categories : Lecturing, Office (hrs), Staff,Lecturing, Office (hrs), Staff,Exams, Labs, Section, Projects, Grading,Exams, Labs, Section, Projects, Grading, MetaMeta
www.www.cscs..berkeleyberkeley..edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/tips/edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/tips/
DDan Garciaan GarciaUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley
OOwenwen AstrachanAstrachanDuke Duke UnivUniv
NNick ick ParlanteParlanteStanford Stanford UnivUniv
SStuart tuart RegesRegesU WashingtonU Washington
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Share Your CS Passion Share Your CS Passion (Lecture)(Lecture)
For each of these, feel free toFor each of these, feel free toshout shout ““Amen, Brother!Amen, Brother!””,, andandwhy it did / didnwhy it did / didn’’t work for yout work for you
I show SIGGRAPH animationsI show SIGGRAPH animationsbeforebefore every lectureevery lecture I talk about opportunities forI talk about opportunities for
students to join my graphicsstudents to join my graphicsgroupgroup (UCBUGG)(UCBUGG)
The videos are available forThe videos are available for$40/video to ACM members$40/video to ACM members
www.siggraph.org/publications/video-review/ucbugg.berkeley.edu/
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Team-teach Team-teach (Meta)(Meta) Rather than having a singleRather than having a single
lecturer / TA cover everylecturer / TA cover everylecture / section, if two canlecture / section, if two canattend each other's sections,attend each other's sections,pair up & alternate weeks.pair up & alternate weeks. ON week they do everythingON week they do everything
(TAs would cover both (TAs would cover both secssecs)) OFF week they sit in the ONOFF week they sit in the ON’’ss
first section, as an observer,first section, as an observer,taking notes of how well thetaking notes of how well theON TA did, and debrief afterON TA did, and debrief after
TAs Buddy TA in weeks 2TAs Buddy TA in weeks 2through n-1 (not first and last)through n-1 (not first and last)
Learn tips from Learn tips from each othereach other!! Can avoidCan avoid stuff you hatestuff you hate
doing (that co-inst may enjoy)doing (that co-inst may enjoy)
gsi.berkeley.edu/resources/discussion/fiveways.html“Classroom Observation:
The Observer as Collaborator”–LuAnn Wilkerson
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Clickers & Peer Instruction Clickers & Peer Instruction (Lecture)(Lecture)
WeWe instituted them ininstituted them inour lower-div classesour lower-div classes Cost: ~$40/clickerCost: ~$40/clicker
Two pricing models,Two pricing models,subscription or purchasesubscription or purchase
Midway through lecture,Midway through lecture,ask ask ““concept testconcept test”” Students vote Students vote w/clickerw/clicker 22 min peer instructionmin peer instruction
time with neighbortime with neighbor–– Must reach consensusMust reach consensus
““TeamTeam”” votes again votes again We discuss answersWe discuss answers
Real-time feedback!Real-time feedback! Can ask real-timeCan ask real-time Q!Q!
A: 1B: 4C: 42
?
mazur-www.harvard.edu/research/detailspage.php?ed=1&rowid=8 www.interwritelearning.com/products/prs/
www.einstruction.com
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Empower TAs Empower TAs (Staff)(Staff)
Ask TAs teach a lectureAsk TAs teach a lecture Have TAs and readers helpHave TAs and readers help
write, beta-test, grade examswrite, beta-test, grade exams Let TAs participate in syllabusLet TAs participate in syllabus
discussionsdiscussions Open your life to your staffOpen your life to your staff
Share cell numbers (great forShare cell numbers (great foremergencies)emergencies)
Grade exam at your homeGrade exam at your home Take your Take your admins admins out to aout to a
fancy lunch every termfancy lunch every term
inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61c/www.chezpanisse.com
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Enlightened Grading Enlightened Grading (Grading)(Grading) Absolute grading, bump upAbsolute grading, bump up
at the end but never downat the end but never down Allow later exams to replaceAllow later exams to replace
earlier exam grade(s)earlier exam grade(s) Give EPA! sprinkle pointsGive EPA! sprinkle points
EffortEffort How much student triedHow much student tried Office hours? Does allOffice hours? Does all hw?hw?
ParticipationParticipation Does the person ask Qs inDoes the person ask Qs in
lecture or discussion?lecture or discussion? AltruismAltruism
Helping others in lab /Helping others in lab /newsgroup / office hoursnewsgroup / office hours
EPA grades are EPA grades are hiddenhidden, and, andcan boost upcan boost up ~ 1/2~ 1/2 +- grade+- grade
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Bring Laptops to Exams Bring Laptops to Exams (Exams)(Exams)
Visible timerVisible timer Interrupt Interrupt vs vs polling!polling!
Show exam bugShow exam bugcorrections on screencorrections on screen ……and can fix right thereand can fix right there
Auto-announce time leftAuto-announce time left echo 'say "You mayecho 'say "You may
begin."' |begin."' |/usr/bin/osascript/usr/bin/osascript
sleep 1800 sleep 1800 # 1/2 hour# 1/2 hour echo 'say "Sorry forecho 'say "Sorry for
the interruption... Youthe interruption... Youhave two hours left!"'have two hours left!"'| | /usr/bin/osascript/usr/bin/osascript
…… etc etc …… plaympeg plaympeg ./epilogue.mp3./epilogue.mp3
developer.apple.com/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/say.1.htmlhogbaysoftware.com/product/clockwork
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Conclusion, pt IConclusion, pt I
I presented 6 I presented 6 ““hiddenhidden””tips from our collectiontips from our collection LecturingLecturing Office (hrs)Office (hrs) StaffStaff ExamsExams LabsLabs SectionSection ProjectsProjects GradingGrading MetaMeta
As the Borg say:As the Borg say: Contribute your uniquenessContribute your uniqueness
to the collective (our to the collective (our WikiWiki))
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A Survey of Intro CS CurriculaA Survey of Intro CS Curricula
Jeff ForbesJeff ForbesDuke Duke UnivUniv
Dan GarciaDan GarciaUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley
Survey!
www.www.cscs..berkeleyberkeley..edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/introsurveyedu/~ddgarcia/teaching/introsurvey
Goal: Goal: Understand Understand what top US PhD-grantingwhat top US PhD-grantingschools did in their intro CS curriculaschools did in their intro CS curricula
Survey sent out, collected, results presentedSurvey sent out, collected, results presented Today IToday I’’ll talk about the best practices we noticedll talk about the best practices we noticed
12/24Teaching Tips, Best Practices, and Other Initiatives to Improve CS Educationwww.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia
Schools (2006 Schools (2006 ““US News & WRUS News & WR””))1.1. CMUCMU
MITMITStanfordStanfordUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley
5.5. CornellCornellUI Urbana-ChampaignUI Urbana-Champaign
7.7. U WashingtonU Washington8.8. PrincetonPrinceton9.9. UT AustinUT Austin
U Wisconsin-MadisonU Wisconsin-Madison11.11. Cal TechCal Tech
Georgia TechGeorgia Tech13.13. UC San DiegoUC San Diego
U Maryland - College ParkU Maryland - College Park15.15. HarvardHarvard
UCLAUCLA
15.15. U Michigan-Ann ArborU Michigan-Ann Arbor18.18. ColumbiaColumbia
Purdue - West LafayettePurdue - West LafayetteU PennU PennYaleYale
22.22. BrownBrownRiceRiceUNC - Chapel HillUNC - Chapel Hill
25.25. DukeDukeU Mass -U Mass - AmherstAmherstUSCUSC
28.28. Johns HopkinsJohns Hopkins29.29. NYUNYU
Rutgers - New BrunswickRutgers - New BrunswickUC IrvineUC IrvineVirginiaVirginia
Survey!
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What works really What works really wellwell and what is and what is brokenbroken??
BrownBrown High TA-student ratioHigh TA-student ratio Intro Experience DisparityIntro Experience Disparity
CalCal Closed required labsClosed required labs Undergrad teaching staffUndergrad teaching staff More pair programmingMore pair programming
CalTechCalTech CS11 is several CS11 is several minicoursesminicourses.. Each student only takes 1 ofEach student only takes 1 of
these a term (of their choice)these a term (of their choice) A course can be repeatedA course can be repeated
three times for creditthree times for credit CMUCMU
All courses taught in smallAll courses taught in smallsections sections –– no large lectures! no large lectures!
CornellCornell DrJava DrJava demos during lecturedemos during lecture Closed required labsClosed required labs 1/2 1/2 MatlabMatlab, 1/2, 1/2 JavaJava
Georgia TechGeorgia Tech (Compared to peers) very(Compared to peers) very
low attritionlow attrition 90% success in Media CS290% success in Media CS2
No closed labsNo closed labs HarvardHarvard
Teacher trainingTeacher training PrincetonPrinceton
ApplAppl to commerce, science, to commerce, science,engineering engineering w/real w/real datasetsdatasets
Too much to cover!Too much to cover! Huge increase in enrollmentsHuge increase in enrollments
Survey!
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What works really What works really wellwell and what is and what is brokenbroken??
PurduePurdue Lecture, labLecture, lab Hard to have creative projectsHard to have creative projects
but consistent gradingbut consistent grading RiceRice
Some want to move introSome want to move introScheme course to JavaScheme course to Java Easier later transitionEasier later transition But, wide background variety!But, wide background variety!
RutgersRutgers Online examsOnline exams Java as intro language!Java as intro language!
StanfordStanford Undergrad section leadersUndergrad section leaders Staffing in computer clusterStaffing in computer cluster
while students work onwhile students work onassignments, which are goodassignments, which are good
We (all of us) still tuning CS1 JavaWe (all of us) still tuning CS1 Java
UC IrvineUC Irvine Informatics curriculumInformatics curriculum
UCLAUCLA Getting students to program toGetting students to program to
specsspecs Intro experience disparityIntro experience disparity
UCSDUCSD Accelerated intro course trackAccelerated intro course track Closed labsClosed labs Teaching memory allocationTeaching memory allocation toto
beginnersbeginners UIUCUIUC
All courses!All courses! Undergrad-led reviewsUndergrad-led reviews Assembler EOS competitionAssembler EOS competition Programming studio structureProgramming studio structure Low-level understandingLow-level understanding New student communitiesNew student communities
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What works really What works really wellwell and what is and what is brokenbroken??
U PennU Penn Compelling programmingCompelling programming
assignmentsassignments USCUSC
Intro experience disparityIntro experience disparity UT AustinUT Austin
Students move well through CS2Students move well through CS2 Java doesnJava doesn’’t allow them to learnt allow them to learn
memory management!memory management! One course is One course is ““geeked geeked outout”” which which
could turn off non-programmerscould turn off non-programmers UWUW
Procedures-firstProcedures-first intro to OOPintro to OOP U WisconsinU Wisconsin
Information overloadInformation overload Reduce sources of infoReduce sources of info Active and collaborative learning!Active and collaborative learning!
““Information overload has beenInformation overload has beenmentioned repeatedly to me bymentioned repeatedly to me bystudents as a principle problem instudents as a principle problem inmany of their courses.many of their courses.
It is not uncommon for courses today toIt is not uncommon for courses today tohave a textbook or two, course notes,have a textbook or two, course notes,as well as lecture slides whichas well as lecture slides whichoverwhelm students with presentationsoverwhelm students with presentationsof the same or similar material.of the same or similar material.
Add to that course email, webAdd to that course email, webpages/links, pages/links, blogsblogs, etc. and students, etc. and studentsget trapped spending too much timeget trapped spending too much timereading and reviewing and insufficientreading and reviewing and insufficienttime actively applying their newlytime actively applying their newlygained knowledge.gained knowledge.
What has worked well for us is toWhat has worked well for us is toreduce the sources of information andreduce the sources of information andto direct studentsto direct students’’ efforts to more active efforts to more activeand collaborative learning both in andand collaborative learning both in andout of classout of class..””
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What are the innovative techniques being deployed?What are the innovative techniques being deployed?
MITMIT Overhauling EECS curriculumOverhauling EECS curriculum
Had been unchanged forHad been unchanged fornearly 30 yearsnearly 30 years
6.001 (Scheme) out, 6.001 (Scheme) out, Python in!Python in! 6.01 and 6.02 to6.01 and 6.02 to be newbe new
mandatory intro coursesmandatory intro courses Offer introOffer intro to deptto dept Cut broadly across EECSCut broadly across EECS Strong hands-on componentStrong hands-on component Build robots, apply conceptsBuild robots, apply concepts
like radio,like radio, Fourier transform,Fourier transform,networks, large systemsnetworks, large systems
Then choose 3 or 4 subjectsThen choose 3 or 4 subjectsfromfrom foundation coursesfoundation courses E.g., Circuits, Signals, SystemsE.g., Circuits, Signals, Systems
www.eecs.mit.edu/images/EECS_VI_Fall06_FINAL.pdfwww-tech.mit.edu/V126/N63/63course6.html
Survey!
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What are the innovative techniques being deployed?What are the innovative techniques being deployed?
Georgia TechGeorgia Tech Computational Media degree!Computational Media degree! Different entry points to majorDifferent entry points to major
CS1 for different majorsCS1 for different majors RoboticsRobotics Media ComputationMedia Computation
FlexibilityFlexibility CS Majors can takeCS Majors can take any CS1any CS1
ContextualizationContextualization CS1s are typically dry!CS1s are typically dry! Students today use Students today use flikrflikr,,
youtubeyoutube, etc -- leverage that!, etc -- leverage that! Allow the data to be THEIRSAllow the data to be THEIRS
movies, sounds, pixmovies, sounds, pix
www.cm.gatech.edu
Wil JustisWil Justis, Milton HS, Milton HS
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What are the innovative techniques being deployed?What are the innovative techniques being deployed?
UC BerkeleyUC Berkeley UC-WISEUC-WISE
Web-based learning systemWeb-based learning system Interactive, collaborative &Interactive, collaborative &
assessmentassessment Decrease passive learning inDecrease passive learning in
lecture (Old: 3lecture (Old: 3 LecLec, 2 Lab), 2 Lab) Increase active learning in labIncrease active learning in lab
(New: 1 (New: 1 LecLec, 6 Lab), 6 Lab) Top-down instructionTop-down instruction
Scheme,Scheme, Java, C, AssemblerJava, C, Assembler Self-paced coursesSelf-paced courses
1-unit course for programmers in1-unit course for programmers inMatlabMatlab, Pascal, C, Scheme,, Pascal, C, Scheme, Unix,Unix,C++, Java, PythonC++, Java, Python
Intro to programming in SchemeIntro to programming in Scheme Awesome undergrad tutors!Awesome undergrad tutors!
inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~selfpacewww.ucwise.org
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Conclusion, pt IIConclusion, pt II
There is so much moreThere is so much moreanalysis I didnanalysis I didn’’t present!t present! ItIt’’s all online; I encourages all online; I encourage
you to see our resultsyou to see our results
There is some greatThere is some greatinnovation in the US!innovation in the US! MIT, MIT, GaTechGaTech, UC Berkeley,, UC Berkeley,
Caltech, UIUC, Caltech, UIUC, ……
It would be great toIt would be great to learnlearnabout the innovationabout the innovationgoinggoing on hereon here to taketo takeback with me!back with me!
Survey!
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ACM Education ActivitiesACM Education Activities
The ACM EducationThe ACM EducationBoard has threeBoard has threeactive task forcesactive task forces Pipeline Crisis, ImagePipeline Crisis, Image
This This waswas ““enrollmentenrollment””
Technology and ToolsTechnology and Tools CurriculumCurriculum
As a member of theAs a member of theBoard, I want to learnBoard, I want to learnwhat your problemswhat your problemsare and are and how ACMhow ACMcould helpcould help!!
Education
acm.org/education
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One Take on EnrollmentOne Take on Enrollment•• Our numbers roughly half that of the 2000 peakOur numbers roughly half that of the 2000 peak
Education
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Response : Image SiteResponse : Image Site
Numbers across US halfNumbers across US halfthat ofthat of 20002000 Some coming backSome coming back
Need for computingNeed for computingprofessionals growingprofessionals growing
Computing image poorComputing image poor Nerds, no life, just codingNerds, no life, just coding
Computing Degrees &Computing Degrees &CareersCareers site launched site launched Supplemental brochureSupplemental brochure
sent to allsent to all US high schoolsUS high schools
computingcareers.acm.org
Education
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Technology and Tools SiteTechnology and Tools Site
ProblemProblem Computing educatorsComputing educators
((newbies newbies and vets) donand vets) don’’ttknow of all availableknow of all availableclassroom technology andclassroom technology andtools (too hard to keep up)tools (too hard to keep up)
SolutionSolution (still in beta)(still in beta) Build site for themBuild site for them
Just links Just links w/commentsw/comments What is missing?What is missing?
SupportSupport Web 2.0Web 2.0 Ratings, tags, how itRatings, tags, how it
worked forworked for you, etc.you, etc.
Final Location: techtools.acm.orgCurrently: www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/techtools
Education
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Conclusion, pt IIIConclusion, pt III
Take-away messagesTake-away messages Teaching tipsTeaching tips
What are yours?What are yours? Contribute to our Contribute to our wikiwiki
Best practicesBest practices What are yours?What are yours? Read survey for moreRead survey for more
ACM initiativesACM initiatives How could ACM help?How could ACM help? Talk to me about issues!Talk to me about issues!
LetLet’’s collaborate!s collaborate!
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