Metaphors are powerful tools often used by instructors in CS1 courses to bridge abstract ideas and concrete student understanding. This study applies Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) to analyze how instructors and students conceptualize and communicate recursion through metaphor. We analyzed transcripts from three 50-minute lectures on recursion and surveys from 34 students in a CS1 course. We identified metaphorical expressions and derived conceptual metaphors from instructor lecture transcripts. We then compare student survey responses to these conceptual metaphors. Our analysis revealed several prevalent conceptual metaphors used by instructors for recursion. Student responses showed varying degrees of alignment, suggesting some metaphors do not resonate and may be misinterpreted. This work leverages CMT to provide insights into how recursion is taught and understood. This can help instructors become more conscious of their implicit metaphorical language and reveal insights into student understanding.

Metaphors are deeply embedded in the language of computing, from 'stacks' and 'queues' to 'trees' and 'handshaking'. Such metaphorical expressions not only shape but also fundamentally reflect our understanding and conceptualization of computing concepts. Students' descriptions of computing concepts have also been shown to be richly metaphor-laden, often framing abstract notions in more tangible or accessible ways. The rich metaphorical conceptualizations set the stage for a natural application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) in computing education research. At its core, CMT posits that metaphors are not just linguistic expressions but fundamental structures of understanding, influencing how we perceive and think about the world.

In this Research Full paper, we present a comparative study of using two pedagogical approaches, Peer Instruction (PI) and Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning-like (POGIL-like) in software testing. We discuss our results from multiple studies conducted over a period of four years, both in-person and online, using both PI and POGIL-like in undergraduate software engineering classrooms. Our particular focus is on the topics of unit testing, integration testing, and continuous integration. We compare learning outcomes and shifts in student attitudes compared to pure lecture-based instruction. We included two studies conducted using PI in undergraduate software engineering classes. In these studies, we examined how PI can be used to teach the 3 topics mentioned above. They replicated their own studies over a period of two years and found consistently significant cognitive gains and positive affective shifts in both an in person and online class. For POGIL-like, we included two studies in an undergraduate software engineering class - one in-person, and one online. The intervention design centered around the core tenets of POGIL: no prior information given to students (which is the exact opposite of a flipped classroom), and carefully crafted “models” and “activities”. POGIL-like utilizes “learning cycles”, and activity questions are crafted based on the Explore-Invent-Apply cycle combined with Directed/Convergent/Divergent question types, all aimed at encouraging students to leverage the collective knowledge of the group. These approaches, based on social constructivist concepts, have been well studied in STEM disciplines but are relatively recent arrivals in CS. Our particular contribution is that we analyze both pedagogies in teaching software testing, using results from studies that utilized the same instructor and course materials. We analyze the similarities and differences between both pedagogical approaches, and rate their suitability in teaching software engineering and software testing. Our primary research questions are: •RQl: How do students learn software testing and DevOps using PI and POGIL-like compared to pure lecture format classes? •RQ2: What are the relative advantages and disadvantages for PI and POGIL-like from the instructor's perspective? In each of the studies we analyzed, we collected and classified individual student responses from a pre- and post- course survey for each implementation of the course (lecture, PI or POGIL; in person or online; honors or regular). The pre- and post-surveys each included two components: a technical, content-related survey specifically designed to test student knowledge and synthesis in unit testing, integration testing, and continuous integration, followed by a standard affective instrument aimed at gauging student attitudes and perceptions around the same topics. We adopted within-groups and between-groups Analysis of Variance techniques to determine statistical significance in our correlations. In all 4 studies involving PI and POGIL-like, we found encouraging results showing that students had learned significantly better than pure lecture alone. In this paper, for both PI and POGIL-like, we discuss and compare overall correctness for each group, as well as cognitive and affective gains based on the pre- and post- surveys. We also classify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each pedagogy based on student feedback. We discuss the similarities in these approaches as well as implementation differences, in addition to impediments faced while implementing them, along with ideas to encourage increase more widespread adoption of these evidence-based pedagogies.

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry-based Learning (POGIL) is an active learning pedagogy that emphasizes process skills in addition to content, and has been shown to improve student learning outcomes in various STEM disciplines. We developed 4 POGIL-like activities for unit testing, integration testing and continuous integration, in software engineering. We delineate one of the activities in this paper, and explain how we implemented our POGIL-like pedagogy in the classroom. We measured student success through a cognitive pre- and post-course survey for those topics, and found significant increases in score correctness gains. We also document and hypothesize reasons for the cognitive gains from the POGIL-like pedagogy.

This full paper discusses the implementation and results of a hybrid spatial skills intervention in multiple introductory computing courses. Spatial skills abilities have been shown to have high correlation with students' success in STEM related fields. Studies have shown that running spatial skills interventions have increased student success in their corresponding fields. Additional research has found that spatial skills interventions are more successful when run in person with hands on activities. These studies saw that when spatial skills interventions are conducted online, there is no significant gain in a student's spatial skills. We discuss the implementation and results of a hybrid spatial skills intervention where the learning material is presented asynchronously online, and exercises and worksheets are completed by hand. We conducted our intervention across three universities at the same time in multiple introductory programming courses and found that our hybrid model resulted in significant gains in both students' spatial skills and programming ability. Students who did not participate in the intervention had an average decrease of -1.5 points (-5%) from pre to post scores on the Purdue Spatial Visualisation Test: Rotations (PSVT:R), used to measure spatial skills, and an average increase of 1.1 points (12 %) from pre to post on the Second Computer Science 1 Exam: Revised (SCS1R), used to measure students programming abilities. Students who participated in the intervention had an average increase of 1.2 points (4%) on the PSVT:R and an average increase in score of 1.6 points (18%) on the SCS1R. Students who participated in the intervention had an average total increase on the PSVT:R of 2.7 points (9%) and an average total gain on the SCS1R of 0.4 points (6%) compared to students who did not participate in the intervention. These results show that the use of a hybrid spatial skills intervention is a viable option to administering a spatial skills intervention and can be replicable at scale with little to no extra work from instructors.

In this Research Full paper, we present the results of a replication study in a semester-long, sophomore-level software engineering course utilizing Peer Instruction (PI). PI is an active learning pedagogy with roots in STEM Education. In this study, we examine the relationship between student response data from in-class PI correctness and students' performance on quizzes and exams. We worked with a fully remote, synchronous course offered over Zoom. The study we replicated was with an honors cohort of students with a diversity of undergraduate majors, while we focused on a non-honors course containing computing-related majors. Our intervention design included a flipped-classroom approach for each class session with required readings, reading quizzes, followed by PI in class using online breakout rooms for peer discussion. Our course modules were heavily based on industry practices and knowledge from the workforce, across several varied modules that encompass the complete software development lifecycle, and were as follows: Software Process Models (SPM), Software Architecture (SA), Databases (DB), User Interface/user Experience (UI/UX), Software Testing (ST), and Continuous Integration (CI). Our data points for analysis with fine-grained PI student response data were two-fold: scores from weekly online quizzes, and a summative final exam, administered online through a course management system (CMS), at different points during the semester after the PI sessions. The online quizzes and the online exam were timed, closed book/notes, and conducted during class periods. We analyzed and classified individual student responses before and after each question in each module and attempted to create response patterns for each module. We correlated these response patterns with exam and quiz scores using ANOVA techniques, on a variety of questions including Parson's problems. We report overall correctness on each type of vote, track student response patterns from in-class to quizzes and the exam, and quantify absolute percentages of students that demonstrate longer-term learning from the PI process. Our results show that 58% of students exhibited cognitive gains across all modules during PI sessions. Students who learn in class from PI perform well on the quizzes and the final exam, indicating persistence of the knowledge gained during PI several weeks after the actual sessions. We also found that those who fail to learn from the PI process in the class perform worse on quizzes and the final exam. Our results were consistent across all modules. More significantly, we found PI to be an effective way to teach our software engineering course based on student learning before and after PI, in a completely virtual environment, a result unique to our study. Based on our results, we discuss the implications for software engineering education, both in-person and virtual.

This paper discusses the results of partially replicating and modifying a study performed by Zingaro and Porter examining the relationship between fine grained clicker data from in class Peer Instruction and students' performance in quizzes and exams. Whereas Zingaro and Porter worked with a CS1 course, we worked with a sophomore software engineering course. We report overall answer correctness when students vote before and after PI discussion, track student response patterns from in-class to the quizzes and exam, and quantify absolute percentages of students that demonstrate longer-term learning from the PI process. Our results show that students who learn in class from PI perform well on the quizzes and the final exam, nearly as well as those who understood concepts prior to the classes in which those concepts were taught. We also found that those who fail to learn from the PI process in the class perform worse on quizzes and the final exam. We found PI to be an effective way to teach our software engineering course based on student learning before and after PI, a result unique to our study. Our results were consistent across the different topics in software engineering in which we employed PI.

Peer Instruction (PI) is an active learning pedagogy in which students actively participate in the classroom. There have been several research studies regarding the value of PI in computer science. The present work adds to this body of knowledge by examining outcomes from an undergraduate software engineering course with specific focus on the effects of PI on student learning in the topics of unit testing, integration testing and continuous integration. We find encouraging increases in levels of success as measured through a cognitive pre- and post-course survey for those topics. This work also documents and hypothesizes reasons for the cognitive gains from PI, as well as student attitudes towards PI.

Spatial abilities have been shown to have high predictability in students' success in STEM related fields. Studies have also shown that there is a correlation between students' spatial skills and programming abilities, but it is unknown how well students' prior spatial abilities can predict students' introductory programming abilities at the end of the semester. During this study we used a multinomal logistic regression to create a predictive model to predict students' introductory programming abilities at the end of the semester. The highest model accuracy (64.6%) was obtained when accounting for students' prior programming abilities, prior spatial skills, socioeconomic status, and three factors regarding students' attitudes towards computing. It was also found that when looking at the predictability of each individual variable, students' prior spatial ability had the highest predictability (56.6% accuracy) when compared to all other variables.

This paper discusses the validation of a modified computer science attitudes instrument. Dorn and Tew's Computing Attitude Survey was modified by adding questions on gender issues and questions regarding students' perceptions of the utility of computing. Current trends indicate an increasing gap in the genders graduating with degrees in computer science. The new questions explore student attitudes and perceptions of women in computing while items related to computer science utility explore the importance of CS in students' lives and careers. These modifications necessitated the re-validation of the new revised instrument and comparison of the results obtained with in the original instrument by Dorn and Tew.

This paper discusses the results of replicating and extending a study performed by Cooper et al. examining the relationship between students' spatial skills and their success in learning to program. Whereas Cooper et al. worked with high school students participating in a summer program, we worked with college students taking an introductory computing course. Like Cooper et al.'s study, we saw a correlation between a student's spatial skills and their success in learning computing. More significantly, we saw that after applying an intervention to teach spatial skills, students demonstrated improved performance both on a standard spatial skills assessment as well as on a CS content instrument. We also saw a correlation between students' enjoyment in computing and improved performance both on a standard spatial skills assessment and on a CS content instrument, a result not observed by Cooper et al.

\beginabstract Cognitive tests have been long used as a measure of student knowledge, ability, and as a predictor for success in engineering and computer science. However, these tests are not without their own problems relating to priming, difficulty (resulting in test fatigue) and time on exam. This paper discusses efforts to modify Parker et al.'s Second CS1 aptitude test (SCS1) \citeParker16 to reduce the time spent on the exam, provide greater customization to match concepts taught across three universities, and reduce redundancy of test questions all while maintaining the instrument's reliability. This instrument was modified for use on an ongoing grant investigating whether spatial abilities impact the success of students in introductory CS courses. The instrument developed in this paper is a revised shortened version of Second Computer Science 1 (SCS1) aptitude test, designated as SCS1R. \endabstract

In this paper, we describe research conducted around a 7-week curriculum designed to introduce middle school students to computer science with a focus on algorithmic thinking and programming. The pedagogical ideas employed in this curriculum were drawn from past research. Empirical investigations over two studies in a public middle school in the US examined changes in students' understanding of algorithmic constructs and the factors affecting that learning. Multi-level analyses revealed that students in both studies (1) achieved substantial learning gains in algorithmic thinking skills and significant growth towards a more mature understanding of computing as a discipline, and (2) found certain CT ideas and constructs more difficult than others. Prior computing experiences and math and English ability were found to be predictors of learning outcomes. Extracurricular experiences with technology also appeared to impact outcomes.

This session is for anyone currently using Alice Level 2 and/or Alice Level 3, or those exploring the possibility of using Alice in their curriculum. The discussion leaders and attendees will share teaching strategies, tips, and techniques with each other and those new to Alice. This is an opportunity to share assignments and pointers to web sites to access instructional materials, such as syllabi, student projects, exams, and other resources. There will be a special emphasis on the new Alice 3 to Java textbook and accompanying support materials, how Alice supports the transition to Java, and mapping Alice 2 and Alice 3 curriculum standards and guidelines.

This paper explores the question as to whether there is a relationship between a student's spatial abilities and her achievement in learning to program. After noting that there does seem to be a correlation, the paper explores the impact of trying to improve a student's spatial abilities. The paper reports on a preliminary study involving high school students. The study results suggest a correlation exists between receiving training in spatial skills and improved student performance in introductory computing. While the sample size in the study is small, this improvement appears to occur for students of different races/ethnicities and across different socio-economic statuses.

No abstract available.

In this experience report, we share our experiences in growing a community of practice for middle and high school teachers focused on teaching introductory computing with Alice. We have offered professional development for over four hundred teachers, teachers who each year provide nearly 2,000 students with an introductory computing experience in courses during the school day. We report on several lessons learned in creating, growing, and supporting a community of practice.

This session is for anyone currently using Alice 2 and / or Alice 3, or those exploring the possibility of using Alice in their curriculum. The session will focus on a mapping of an Alice curriculum and instructional materials to CSTA, code.org and ACM curriculum standards and guidelines for a wide range of age/grade levels. The discussion leaders and attendees will share teaching strategies, tips, and techniques for implementing these standards. This is an opportunity to share assignments and pointers to web sites to access instructional materials, such as syllabi, student projects, exams, and other resources with experienced Alice instructors and those new to Alice.

As computing curricula continue to make their way into K-12 schools, the issue of assessing student learning of computational concepts remains a thorny one. This paper describes the multiple forms of assessments used in a 6-week middle school curriculum with the goal of capturing a holistic view of student learning. A key aspect of this research is the use of instruments developed and shared in prior research. Included among these were several questions used in an Israeli nationwide exam to test middle school student learning of programming in Scratch. This paper reports on the use of the curriculum in two studies conducted in a public US middle school classroom, and compares performances of these students with those reported by the Israeli Ministry of Education in their large-scale study. It also argues for multiple modes of assessment of computational learning in K-12 settings.

Lack of teachers to teach computer science (CS) and pedagogically sound introductory CS curricula remain a significant challenge facing secondary schools attempting to teach CS. This paper describes our efforts to design and pilot an online 6-week middle/high school course using Stanford's OpenEdX platform. The pedagogy, curriculum and assessment are guided by learning theory. The course leverages OpenEdX features for contextual discussions and multiple-choice assessments that promote student learning and provide feedback. The paper reports on experiences in using instructor dashboards to identify targets of student difficulty and to aid curriculum redesign.

Past research extensively points to gross misperceptions of the discipline of Computer Science among students in middle and high school. As efforts to introduce computing education in K-12 gains traction in tandem with initiatives that address issues of interest and attitudes towards CS, misperceptions of computing as a discipline must also be addressed as early as middle school, which is known to be a key time for identity building. This paper shares the results of a curricular intervention that aims to show CS to students in a new light - in real world contexts and as a creative and problem-solving discipline; as something bigger and broader than the "computer-centric" view that students are known to harbor.

This workshop is designed to offer a hands-on introduction to Alice 3.1 (now out of beta), as used in introductory courses in high school and early college levels. The focus of this workshop is on using program visualization for introducing fundamental concepts of programming. The introductory features of Alice 3.1 will be presented in an active-learning style. Although some comparisons between Alice 2.x and 3.1 will be included, the content of the workshop does not assume familiarity with Alice 2.x. Participants will receive latest 3.1 update and sneak peek at early textbook chapters. Attendees are expected to bring their own standard (no netbooks or tablets, please) laptop with a mouse (2-button).

In today's world, it is critical that our students get exposure to security education as part of their Computer Science (CS) curriculum. The lack of security consciousness in digital workforce is costing businesses, government, and citizens severely every year. A significant reason behind this problem stems from the fact that the majority of higher education institutions do not have adequate resources to educate CS students in information assurance (IA) and security. While security is not required in the current CS curriculum, IA has been designated as a knowledge area in the proposed ACM/IEEE-CS CS Curricula 2013. Also, the absence of security topics in core CS subject matters not only leaves students security oblivious, but also prevents higher education institutions from applying for National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education Programs (CAE/IAE) accreditation, which provides access to government scholarships and grants. In this session, we will discuss challenges CS faculty face in integrating security topics in traditional CS courses and call attention to existing government funded supports that faculty can leverage in doing so. To share ideas and resources, we hope to bring together security educators who are active in this field with a community of CS educators who may not have any background in teaching security but recognize the need for it and are interested in teaching security topics as part of their regular course curriculum.

This paper describes the initial steps taken towards incorporating an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) into Alice. After initially describing an ITS, the paper focuses on the development of several tutorials for teaching specific introductory programming concepts that have been created using stencils. Initial results concerning usability and effectiveness of these stencil-based tutorials are provided.

In this paper, we describe the results of a four-year collaborative project conducted among six higher education institutions and their partner pre-college school systems across the US. The primary goal of the project was to offer professional development to middle and high school teachers to enable those teachers to create modules and courses to excite their students about computing. The project used Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among middle and high school students, to build understanding of object-based programming. More than 100 middle and high school teachers participated in the project, with approximately 80% of those reporting that they had used what they learned during summer workshops in their classrooms during the subsequent years.

We often learn of successful pedagogical experiments, but we seldom hear of the the ones that failed. For this special session we solicited submissions from the SIGCSE membership, selected the best from among these, and will have presentations at the session by the selected authors. Our contributions describe pedagogical approaches that seemed to be good ideas but turned out as failures. Contributors will describe their pedagogical experiment, the rationale for the experiment, evidence of failure, and lessons learned.

Part of computer science education research focuses on the design of new technologies and techniques for improving educational experiences. However, for these systems and techniques to be truly impactful, their use must be disseminated to the larger instructor population. Single-instance workshops, where instructors are brought together to learn about a new technique or system so that they can possibly adopt it, are a common dissemination method. Unfortunately, rarely do we see reports regarding their effectiveness. In this case study, we report on two NSF-funded single-instance workshops designed to support adoption of the Ubiquitous Presenter (UP) active learning classroom presentation system. Though only 44% of workshop attendees used the system in their classrooms, 65% of those used the system repeatedly. Overall this impacted 1570 students. Additionally, 60% of our attendees used the active learning features of UP - a much higher usage rate than in the general UP user population. We reflect on the aspects of the workshops which seemed to promote, and hinder, instructor adoption and, finally, suggest some metrics for evaluating innovation dissemination workshops in general.

To combat the decline of teaching computing courses in high schools, a plan was created to offer professional development (in both content and pedagogy) to high school computing teachers, and to have college faculty partner with those high school teachers to implement innovative curricula. This paper describes a pilot program that was run in support of an NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) project that funded this plan of action. Professional development activities were offered during summer 2006 and the resulting curriculum was taught in high school the following academic year (2006-2007).

This panel will showcase and compare three leading Initial Learning Environments (ILE): Alice, Greenfoot and Scratch.

This article explores the major design characteristics (both pedagogic as well as technical) that helped to shape Alice 2. It identifies several strengths of Alice as well as several weaknesses. An example problem is solved in Alice, covering many of the design characteristics. Finally, the effects and impacts of Alice instruction are presented, and the future directions of Alice development are provided.

This article distills a discussion about the goals, mechanisms, and effects of three environments which aim to support the acquisition and development of computing concepts (problem solving and programming) in pre-University and non-technical students: Alice, Greenfoot, and Scratch. The conversation started in a special session on the topic at the 2010 ACM SIGCSE Symposium on Computer Science Education and continued during the creation of the resulting Special Issue of the ACM Transactions on Computing Education.

This panel will showcase and compare three leading Initial Learning Environments (ILE): Alice, Greenfoot and Scratch.

No abstract available.

This paper describes the integration of the Alice 3D virtual worlds environment into a diverse set of subjects in middle school, including the development of tutorials, example worlds and lesson plans. In the summer of 2008 our experiences with middle school teachers included three-weeks of training in Alice and guidance in the development of lesson plans. Our experiences with middle school students involved two one-week summer camps of instruction in Alice. We found both the teachers and the students strongly engaged with Alice. The teachers created lesson plans with Alice worlds to interactively teach a topic and other lesson plans in which students build an Alice world on a particular topic either from scratch or using a template world. The students in the Alice camps had both instruction in Alice and free time to develop Alice worlds of their choice. We found that the students used a large variety of basic Alice concepts and computer science concepts in the worlds they built in their free time.

No abstract available.

Participants will be given 15 minutes of instruction on programming in Alice. Then, working in small groups, participants will attempt to develop a program in 30 minutes from one of several given starting scenarios.

We study how the relative values placed on a variety of software design criteria differs between beginning students, advanced students, and educators. We also consider how these values change depending on the specific design situation. Statistical analysis of data collectedfrom over 300 subjects reveals relatively small differences between the two student populations and significant differences between educators and students. In addition to often valuing different criteria, educators also value criteria more consistently across the design situations.

Students often have a great deal of difficulty specifying their requirements as part of their team project in the software engineering class. Omissions, errors, and vagueness all lead to students having a much harder time in design, code, and test when these problems surface. We wanted to know whether using Z, to help teams further refine their specifications, would produce better specifications. We performed a case study of three different types of student projects, to help determine the advantages/disadvantages of using Z for requirements specification. We found certain decided advantages for some types of projects, and some significant drawbacks for others.

This paper describes the evaluation of an NSF-sponsored educational research project. The primary focus of this project was to develop and evaluate a course curriculum designed to improve retention and performance for "at risk" introductory computer science majors. The results of this research suggest that the newly developed course and curriculum materials did improve students' performance and retention in computer science and their attitudes towards computer science.

Animated program visualization can be used to support innovative instructional methods for teaching beginners about objects, their behavior, and state. In this paper, we present a discussion of methods that define object behavior and character (class)-level state variables that track state changes for 3D animated objects in small virtual worlds. We have found that character-level methods provide a means to demonstrate inheritance. Examples of worlds and program code used in instructional materials are provided.

An objects-first strategy for teaching introductory computer science courses is receiving increased attention from CS educators. In this paper, we discuss the challenge of the objects-first strategy and present a new approach that attempts to meet this challenge. The new approach is centered on the visualization of objects and their behaviors using a 3D animation environment. Statistical data as well as informal observations are summarized to show evidence of student performance as a result of this approach. A comparison is made of the pedagogical aspects of this new approach with that of other relevant work.

This paper describes an approach for introducing recursion, as part of a course for novice programmers. The course is designed to make use of a 3-D animation world-builder as a visualization tool that allows students to see their own programs in action. One of the pedagogical goals of the course is to enable the student to gain an intuitive sense of and mathematical insight into the recursive process. The software, examples of animation using recursion, and some experiences in using this approach are discussed.

In learning to program, students must gain an understanding of how their program works. They need to make a connection between what they have written and what the program actually does. Otherwise, students have trouble figuring out what went wrong when things do not work. One factor that contributes to making this connection is an ability to visualize a program's state and how it changes when the program is executed. In this paper, we present Alice, a 3-D interactive animation environment. Alice provides a graphic visualization of a program's state in an animated small world and thereby supports the beginning programmer in learning to construct and debug programs.