- What are the indicators of incoming student success in introductory level computer science in colleges and universities?
- Does computer science learning in high schools contribute to success/improvement in other disciplines, especially mathematics and science?
- What is the link between age/educational development and the potential to learn and master computer science concepts?
- Are there issues of ergonomics in the introduction of computing devices with young children?
- Is there a link between previous math learning and success in computer science at the high school level?
- What are the major factors that lead to students making early choices not to pursue computer science?
- What is the role of informal education programs in scaffolding learning in computer science, especially in communities where access to computer science learning in school is limited?
- What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of MOOCs in middle school and high school student learning?
- What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of MOOCs for the professional development of computer science teachers?
- What models professional development are most effective for improving teacher mastery of computer science concepts and pedagogy?
- What are the impacts of current efforts to market computer science to students?
- To what extent do poverty and lack of home access to computer science tools impact computer science performance and or interest in school?
- Do one-to-one devices per child programs have any impact on computer science interest or performance?
- What are the major factors in computer science teacher retention?
- What is required to increase the availability of teacher preparation programs for computer science teachers?
- What is the impact of transitioning the the content of teacher preparation courses in "educational technology/AV" to a focus on computational thinking across STEM?
- What is the ideal balance between content knowledge learning and pedagogical learning in computer science teacher preparation and alternative certifications?
- Do hybrid programs (educators and volunteer partnerships) improve student access to rigorous computer science courses and increase the pool of well-prepared computer science teachers?
Which of these do you think is most important?
And what have we missed?
Chris Stephenson
CSTA Executive Director "
Source: ACM CSTA Blog, available here:
http://blog.acm.org/archives/csta/2013/11/critical_questi.html
Thank you to Mark Guzdial for posting this update on his blog!
I am particularly interested in the link between ages and the potential to learn computer science concepts, especially in younger children and how learning CS might contribute to other learning areas. Also, I am interested in the area of teacher professional development in computer science education, with a focus on educating generalist F-7 teachers (as per the Australian system).
What interests you or what would you add to the list?