About the series
Title: AP Computer Science Principles: Broadening Participation and Changing the Landscape of Computer Science Education
CISE Distinguished Lecture
Abstract:
Computer Science Principles is a new course being developed through a unique collaboration between the National Science Foundation, the College Board, and computer science educators. Currently being piloted nationwide, the course will become the newest College Board Advanced Placement offering during academic year 2016-17. Synergistic relationships with the Computer Science Teachers' Association, ACM, Google, Code.org, as well as other public and private initiatives such as Exploring Computer Science, Project Lead the Way, Beauty and Joy of Computing, CS4Alabama, Mobile Computing, and other CE21 projects have contributed to widespread support and adoption of CS Principles. Both the course and its performance-based assessment are designed to further broaden participation in computer science. Furthermore the curriculum framework affords schools and teachers considerable flexibility in how required content and skills are taught. We will provide a status report on the new course and its near- and short-term potential for having considerable impact on the future of computer science education.
Amy Briggs - Middlebury College
Biography
Amy Briggs is Professor of Computer Science at Middlebury College in Vermont and co-PI on the NSF/College Board CS Principles project. She received her PhD in computer science in 1995 from Cornell University. At Middlebury she teaches undergraduate courses in introductory computer science, data structures, theory of computation, discrete mathematics, programming languages, and software development. Her research interests are in computer science education and mobile robotics. She is co-director of the Middlebury Robotics and Vision Research Lab, where she and colleagues collaborate with undergraduate students on research projects in visually-guided mobile robot navigation. Professor Briggs is a member of the Liberal Arts Computing Consortium, a group of computer scientists dedicated to undergraduate computer science education and curriculum development.
Owen Astrachan - Duke University
Biography
Owen Astrachan is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Computer Science and Professor of the Practice at Duke where he has taught in four decades and two millennia. In addition to teaching computer science, he builds curricula and approaches to teaching intended for broad adoption and adaptation. Prof. Astrachan received an NSF Career award for introducing design patterns into undergraduate courses, was an inaugural recipient of the NSF/CISE Distinguished Education Fellow Award for emphasizing problem-oriented approaches, and is the PI for the NSF/College Board CS Principles Project designed to create a broader, more accessible AP course in computer science. In 1995 he received Duke's Robert B. Cox Distinguished Teaching in Science Award, in 1998 he received the Outstanding Instructor Award while on sabbatical at the University of British Columbia, and in 2002 he received Duke's Richard K. Lublin award for "ability to engender genuine intellectual excitement, ability to engender curiosity, knowledge of field and ability to communicate that knowledge". He enjoys thinking, running, collaborating, and pushing limits gently.
The Webinar will be held from 11:00am to 12:00pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.
Please register at https://nsf.webex.com/nsf/j.php?ED=243051062&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D by 11:59pm Eastern Time on Tuesday March 4, 2014.
After your registration is accepted, you will receive an email with a URL to join the meeting. Please be sure to join a few minutes before the start of the webinar. This system does not establish a voice connection on your computer; instead, your acceptance message will have a toll-free phone number that you will be prompted to call after joining. In the event the number of requests exceeds the capacity, some requests may have to be denied.
