Making the Abstract Concrete: A Proposal to Improve the Teaching of Advanced Computer Science Concepts in a Predominantly Hispanic Institute

这所大学服务于新墨西哥州北部以西班牙裔为主的人口。许多参加该机构的学生，无论出于什么原因，都没有机会发展他们的抽象技能。因此，他们很难在计算机科学等学科的学习中取得成功和自信。这个项目致力于解决如何将高级计算机科学课程中的抽象概念传授给这样一群学生的问题。该项目的基本假设是，通过具体的演示和动手实验，可以更好地向这些学生教授计算机科学的抽象概念。该部门目前正在进行将在实验室环境中使用的新硬件和软件的实验和演示。其目标是使更多的学生能够在毕业时对计算机科学有深刻的理解。这样的学生将在工作场所做出更好的贡献，更有可能继续读研究生。从这一努力中吸取的经验教训应该适用于拥有类似学生群体的任何机构。

This university serves the predominantly Hispanic population of northern New Mexico. Many of the students attending the institution have not, for whatever reason, not had the opportunity to develop their skills of abstraction. It is difficult then for them to be successful and self-confident in the study of disciplines such as Computer Science. This project seeks to address the issue of how to teach the abstract concepts found in upper-division Computer Science courses to such a student population. The basic assumption of the project is that the abstractions of Computer Science can be better taught to such students through concrete demonstrations and hands-on experimentation. The department is currently performing experiments and demonstrations of the new hardware and software to be used in the laboratory settings. The goal is to enable more students to graduate with a deep understanding of Computer Science. Such students will make a better contribution in the workplace and are more likely to go on to graduate school. The lessons learned from this effort should be applicable to any institution with a similar student body.