Year: 2004
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Computer science education is a fledgling research discipline. Only recently have CS educators begun to explore important issues and methodologies in computer science teaching. However, without a mature research community or a common theoretical model, it can be difficult to develop a coherent research program. Efforts are duplicated between institutions, projects become mired in methodological problems and experimental rigour is sacrificed. In an effort to combat these problems, Sally Fincher (University of Kent) and Dr Marian Petre (Open University) have developed a method for fostering coordinated research efforts between CS educators from different universities. A group of interested CS educators from various institutions participate in a methodology workshop, followed by a year-long research project where each participant gathers data from his or her own institution, and a second combined workshop for data interpretation and preparation of a research report. The Australasian instantiation of this approach is titled BRACE: Building Research in Australasian Computing Education. The BRACE project currently involves CS Educators from 15 tertiary institutions in New Zealand, Australia and the UK in a study of the determinants of early programming skill. This paper describes Fincher and Petre’s methodology, the content of the current BRACE project, and the group’s goals for the future.
Authors: Patricia Haden, Sally Fincher, Marian Petre
Institution: Otago Polytechnic
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Science Applications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W998972739