Interactive Tools for Computer Science Education
Team Advisor/PI
Project Description/Research Team Goals
This VIP team is focused on designing, implementing, and deploying interactive pedagogical tools that actively engage students in the process of learning foundational computer science topics. Currently, this team is working on the following three sub-projects, and new projects will likely be added in future years.
Issues Addressed
The ultimate goal of this team is to improve the state-of-the-art in computer science education, with a particular focus on addressing the challenges of scale posed by recent increases in enrollment in computer science programs.
Research Methods and Technology
Each project will go through three key phases:
1. Developing a web-based application designed to help students to learn by giving them guided practice and formative feedback.
2. Deploying the tool in CS courses at Rice, and using a controlled experiment to measure its impact on student learning.
3. Disseminating the tool so that it can be adopted by instructors at other universities.
Most projects involve a combination of frontend development (primarily JavaScript, with some HTML and CSS) and backend development (primarily Java, with some Python and SQL).
Preferred Undergraduate Interests
- Computer science education
Academic Majors of Interest
Open to all, but preference given to Computer Science majors
Prior Preparation/Requisite Experience
Prior programming experience is required! In general, COMP 140 + COMP 182 provide a good background. Certain tasks will be better suited to students who have a little additional experience, such as COMP 215 and/or COMP 312. Experience with the specific languages and frameworks used is not required or expected!
Compensation
Work study-eligible students may receive compensation from OURI.
Course Credit
COMP 390, COMP 490
Team Meeting
Each sub-project will have a weekly team meeting, which will be scheduled at the beginning of each semester based on the availability of the team members. In addition, there will be full team meetings roughly every other week -- also scheduled at the beginning of each semester based on availability.
Actively Onboarding New Members
Yes
Contact
For more information, email Prof. Rebecca Schreib (rjs@rice.edu).