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Models to Measure Students’ Learning in Computer Science

bobbyc February 24, 2024 February 24, 202401 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, classroom, coaching, Computer Science, education, Learning Designer, programming, Teaching

As computer science becomes integrated into K-12 education systems worldwide, educators and researchers continuously search for effective methods to measure and understand students’ learning levels in this field. The challenge lies in developing reliable and comprehensive assessment models that accurately and discreetly gauge student learning. Teachers must assess learning to support students’ educational needs better. …

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Potential of LLMs and Automated Text Analysis in Interpreting Student Course Feedback

bobbyc February 10, 2024 February 10, 202401 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Computer Science, data-driven, education, Professional Learning Facilitator, programming

Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) with automated text analysis tools offers a novel approach to interpreting student course feedback. As educators and administrators strive to refine teaching methods and enhance learning experiences, leveraging AI’s capabilities could unlock more profound insights from student feedback. Traditionally seen as a vast collection of qualitative data filled with sentiments, …

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Effective Technology Tools for K-12 CS Teachers

bobbyc January 27, 2024 January 27, 202401 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, ALICE, Computer Science, education, Learning Designer, Professional Learning Facilitator, programming, Scratch

Technology plays a crucial role in teaching computer science and programming concepts to K-12 teachers. The most effective technology tools include interactive coding platforms such as Scratch, Snap! and Blockly. These tools provide a user-friendly interface and visual coding blocks, allowing students to learn programming concepts through hands-on activities and projects (Kashif Amanullah & Bell, …

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Teaching Programming with Minecraft Education: A Reflection

bobbyc December 3, 2023 December 3, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Collaboration, Collaborator, Computer Science, education, Learning Designer, Minecraft Education, programming

Introduction In the dynamic landscape of education, integrating innovative tools to enhance learning is essential. This term, I embarked on a collaborative journey to weave Minecraft Education into our Programming 11/12 course. Our objective was to enliven the curriculum by presenting programming concepts in a more engaging and interactive manner. This reflection delves into our …

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The Role of ChatGPT in Introductory Programming Courses

bobbyc November 10, 2023 November 10, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Change Agent, chatGPT, Computer Science, education, programming

Introduction Programming education is on the cusp of a major transformation with the emergence of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. These AI systems have demonstrated impressive capabilities in generating, explaining, and summarizing code, leading to proposals for their integration into coding courses. Aligning with ISTE Standard 4.1e for coaches, which urges the “connection of …

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Measuring Student Contribution in a Software Engineering Team

bobbyc October 28, 2023 October 28, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Collaboration, Collaborator, Computer Science, Contribution, Data-Driven Decision-Maker, education, software engineering

Introduction In software engineering, there is very little consensus on how to measure an individual developer’s contribution. Although many measures have been proposed, their usefulness in the industry lacks validation, particularly from the perspectives of team leaders and managers (Lima et al., 2015). The lack of measurement also challenges educators (Gardner et al., 2003). This …

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Teaching Computer Science with Minecraft

bobbyc October 15, 2023 October 15, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Change Agent, classroom, coaching, Collaboration, Collaborator, education, Learning Designer, Minecraft, programming

Introduction to Minecraft Minecraft is currently one of the most popular games of 2023, boasting over 140 million monthly active users, according to searchlogistics.com. Despite this popularity, many players overlook that Minecraft offers an engaging and immersive environment for learning terminal commands, programming basics, computational thinking, and even artificial intelligence. In this blog post, I …

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The Pros and Cons of Autograders in Programming Courses

bobbyc September 30, 2023 September 30, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, autograder, Change Agent, Computer Science, Connected Learner, education, Professional Learning Facilitator

Programming courses typically require assignments where students write code to fulfill specific specifications. In such courses, an autograder serves as an automated tool designed to assess student code submissions by conducting input and output tests. Autograders have been in existence since the inception of computer science as a field of study (Hollingsworth, 1960). More recently, …

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Reflecting on a Study of Competitive Programming and Cultural Inclusion

bobbyc August 12, 2023 August 12, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, coaching, Collaboration, Collaborator, Computer Science, education, Learning Designer, programming

Length of Study The study is designed to take place over two academic terms, which provides adequate time to collect meaningful data. The inclusion of an initial summer term without competitive programming establishes a baseline for comparison. The second summer term incorporates competitive programming using standardized questions, allowing assessment of this pedagogical approach. The fall …

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Leveraging GitHub Co-pilot to Enhance Introductory Programming Education

bobbyc August 5, 2023 August 5, 202301 - Visionary leadership, 02 - Teaching, Learning, & Assessments, 03 - Digital age learning environments, 04 - Professional Development & Program Evaluation, 05 - Digital Citizenship, 06 - Content Knowledge & Professional Growth, Connected Learner, Learning Designer

Overview Introductory programming courses are the foundation for students to gain fundamental coding abilities and analytical thinking skills required for various fields. However, programming poses unique challenges for beginners, like struggling with syntax, grasping complex concepts and developing logical reasoning. As computer science education continues to evolve, AI-powered tools like GitHub Copilot are emerging that …

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Author: bobbyc