Collaborative Research: EAGER: Growing Computer Science Education as a Discipline: Pathways to PhDs

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Purdue University, in collaboration with SageFox Consulting Group LLC, proposes an exploratory project to study career pathways for PhD students in Computer Science (CS) Education and the support needed to ensure the success of the students. As K-12 schools rapidly adopt new CS curricula, and undergraduate CS enrollments skyrocket, CS Education (CSE) research is increasingly called upon to guide decisions on curricula and pedagogy. To grow CSE as an academic discipline, new collaborations between CS and Education departments are crucial in the preparation of future CSE researchers with respect to courses, graduate programs, mentoring for students and faculty, and joint research efforts. At the institutional level this may be manifested by computer scientists and educators developing new joint degree programs and faculty appointments. At the national level, this may require new forms of infrastructure supportive of those on campuses where critical mass or resources are limited. This project aims to identify (1) career pathways and support, training, and mentoring needs for graduate students in CSE research, and (2) academic models that can support graduate students engaged in CSE research, at the institutional and national levels. The effort will start by identifying individuals and programs at academic institutions with active CSE research projects. Based on the feedback and assessment of community surveys and interviews, including CSE graduate students and their advisers, the project will build a Connected Learning Community (CLC) with the goal of connecting, empowering, and mentoring education and computing graduate students. Prototyping the CLC will also serve as a vehicle for better understanding the needs of the CSE graduate students and developing new pathways to support them.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.