Envisioning Workshops for Computing in Undergraduate Education

西北大学与普渡大学和科罗拉多大学合作，提出了一系列关于本科教育中计算机的三个设想研讨会，其目标是激发关于计算机在本科教育中的作用的全国性对话。最近，计算机科学（Computer Science，简称CS）课程（甚至是相对高级的课程）的非专业注册人数激增，这对许多为传统计算机科学专业提供课程的院系来说是一个挑战，这些院系与其他学科的教师在课程和课程上的合作可能有限。这些工作坊将展开大规模的讨论，讨论计算机和计算机科学在非计算机学科中的作用，以及计算机科学系如何开发新的跨学科途径和课程，以更好地满足日益增长和日益多样化的学生群体的教育需求，以了解更多有关计算机和计算机科学的知识。这种全国性的对话有可能：——向各部门展示前进的道路和参与的模式；已经做了哪些工作，哪些正在发挥作用？——激发有助于应对挑战的研究。——创建建议，甚至模板，以帮助指导部门和机构。——为努力和结果提供可信度。具体来说，这些研讨会将旨在以更具体和更可行的方式开始理解将计算机纳入大学和学院学位途径的一般挑战。与会者将来自服务于不同学生群体的广泛机构，包括CS和其他教师。预计这些研讨会将在计算机科学研究和教育界以及基于其他学科的利益相关者社区之间产生更大的一致性，从而更好地理解挑战，以及如何更全面、更有效地解决这些挑战。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Northwestern University, partnering with Purdue University and the University of Colorado, proposes a series of three Envisioning Workshops for Computing in Undergraduate Education with the goal of sparking a national dialog about the role of computing in undergraduate education. The recent surge in non-major enrollments in Computer Science (CS) courses -- even relatively advanced courses -- has been challenging for many departments that offer curricula designed for traditional CS majors, and that may have limited experience working with faculty in other disciplines on curricula and courses. These workshops will open a large-scale discussion on the role of computing and CS in non-computing disciplines, and on how CS departments can develop new interdisciplinary pathways and curricula to better meet the educational needs of the growing and increasingly diverse student body open to learn more about computing and CS.Such a national dialog has the potential to: -- Show departments a way forward and models for engagement; what is already being done, and what is working? -- Spark research that can help address the challenge. -- Create recommendations, and even templates, that will help guide departments and institutions. -- Provide credibility to the effort and the resulting outcomes.Specifically, the workshops will be aimed at beginning the process of understanding, in more specific and more actionable ways, the general challenge of incorporating computing into degree pathways across universities and colleges. Attendees will be drawn from a wide range of institutions serving diverse student populations, and include both CS and other faculty. The workshops are expected to produce a greater alignment within the CS research and educational community, and stakeholder communities based in other disciplines, leading to a better understanding of the challenges, and how they might be addressed more comprehensively and more effectively.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.