Collaborative Research: Infrastructure and Development of a Computer Science Concept Inventory for CS2

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This collaborative project involving four institutions (University of California-San Diego, Oberlin College, University of California-Berkeley, and Swarthmore College) will develop a Concept Inventory (CI) for the second introductory programming course (CS2) in computer science. CIs are validated assessments of course content knowledge, and can be used to compare teaching approaches, identify student misconceptions, and quantify learning gains. In physics, the Force Concept Inventory was responsible for a widespread shift in the ways that physics students are taught. The development of a CI for CS2 will have a similar impact on the way computer science will be taught across the country.This project will follow the CI development process established by Adams and Wieman, which has been used to develop CIs for many other sciences. The process includes: consulting with a diverse expert panel to establish common CS2 content and identify core course concepts; interviewing students to identify common misconceptions; consulting with experts to create questions; administering draft, open-ended questions to students; statistically verifying the assessment; and releasing the CI to the community. The project will also design a software system for creating and deploying CIs, and will make this software publicly available. The project team will hold training sessions on (1) using the CI to improve CS education, and (2) using the software to engage in further CI research. Evaluation of the work will be overseen by an external evaluator who will validate the CI via student and faculty interviews.