Teaching Tips, Best Practices, and Other Initiatives to Improve CS Education Dan Garcia, Ph.D....

Teaching Tips, Best Teaching Tips, Best Practices, and Other Practices, and Other

Initiatives to Improve CS Initiatives to Improve CS EducationEducation

Dan Garcia, Ph.D.Dan Garcia, Ph.D.Lecturer SOE, EECS Dept, UC BerkeleyLecturer SOE, EECS Dept, UC Berkeley(on Sabbatical in Melbourne until 2008)(on Sabbatical in Melbourne until 2008)

www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/

TeachingTeachingtipstips1. …1. …

Education

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2/24Teaching Tips, Best Practices, and Other Initiatives to Improve CS Education www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia

OverviewOverview Quickie backgroundQuickie background SIGCSE plugSIGCSE plug

This talk from 3 in 2007This talk from 3 in 2007 ACE2008 in ACE2008 in

WollongongWollongong Improving CS Improving CS

educationeducation Teaching TipsTeaching Tips

Best Practices from Best Practices from survey of US schoolssurvey of US schools

ACM Education BoardACM Education Board

TipsTips1. …1. …

Education

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Teaching Tips ArchiveTeaching Tips Archive

Goal: Gather great CS teaching tips on a Goal: Gather great CS teaching tips on a wikiwiki 4 seasoned educators seeded with 10 tips 4 seasoned educators seeded with 10 tips

eacheach Categories : Categories : Lecturing, Office (hrs), Staff, Lecturing, Office (hrs), Staff,

Exams, Labs, Section, Projects, Grading, Exams, Labs, Section, Projects, Grading, MetaMeta

www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/tips/www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/tips/

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DDan Garciaan GarciaUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley

OOwen Astrachanwen AstrachanDuke UnivDuke Univ

NNick Parlanteick ParlanteStanford UnivStanford Univ

SStuart Regestuart RegesU WashingtonU Washington



Share Your CS Passion Share Your CS Passion (Lecture)(Lecture)

For each of these, feel For each of these, feel free to shout “Amen, free to shout “Amen, Brother!”, and why it did / Brother!”, and why it did / didn’t work for youdidn’t work for you

I show SIGGRAPH I show SIGGRAPH animations before every animations before every lecturelecture I talk about opportunities I talk about opportunities

for students to join my for students to join my graphics group (UCBUGG)graphics group (UCBUGG)

The videos are available The videos are available for $40/video to ACM for $40/video to ACM membersmembers

www.siggraph.org/publications/video-review/ucbugg.berkeley.edu/



Team-teach Team-teach (Meta)(Meta) Rather than having a single Rather than having a single

lecturer / TA cover every lecturer / TA cover every lecture / section, if two can lecture / section, if two can attend each other's sections, attend each other's sections, pair up & alternate weeks.pair up & alternate weeks. ON week they do everything ON week they do everything

(TAs would cover both secs)(TAs would cover both secs) OFF week they sit in the ON’s OFF week they sit in the ON’s

first section, as an observer, first section, as an observer, taking notes of how well the taking notes of how well the ON TA did, and debrief afterON TA did, and debrief after

TAs Buddy TA in weeks 2 TAs Buddy TA in weeks 2 through n-1 (not first and through n-1 (not first and last)last)

Learn tips from Learn tips from each othereach other!! Can avoid stuff you hate Can avoid stuff you hate

doing (that co-inst may doing (that co-inst may enjoy)enjoy)

gsi.berkeley.edu/resources/discussion/fiveways.html“Classroom Observation:

The Observer as Collaborator”–LuAnn Wilkerson



Clickers & Peer Instruction Clickers & Peer Instruction (Lecture)(Lecture)

We instituted them in We instituted them in our lower-div classesour lower-div classes Cost: ~$40/clickerCost: ~$40/clicker

Two pricing models, Two pricing models, subscription or purchasesubscription or purchase

Midway through lecture, Midway through lecture, ask “concept test”ask “concept test”

Students vote w/clickerStudents vote w/clicker 2 min peer instruction 2 min peer instruction

time with neighbortime with neighbor– Must reach consensusMust reach consensus

““Team” votes againTeam” votes again We discuss answersWe discuss answers

Real-time feedback!Real-time feedback! Can ask real-time Q!Can ask real-time Q!

A: 1B: 4C: 42

?

mazur-www.harvard.edu/research/detailspage.php?ed=1&rowid=8 www.interwritelearning.com/products/prs/

www.einstruction.com


are needed to see this picture.



Empower TAs Empower TAs (Staff)(Staff) Ask TAs teach a lectureAsk TAs teach a lecture Have TAs and readers help Have TAs and readers help

write, beta-test, grade write, beta-test, grade examsexams

Let TAs participate in Let TAs participate in syllabus discussionssyllabus discussions

Open your life to your staffOpen your life to your staff Share cell numbers (great Share cell numbers (great

for emergencies)for emergencies) Grade exam at your homeGrade exam at your home Take your admins out to a Take your admins out to a

fancy lunch every termfancy lunch every term

inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61c/www.chezpanisse.com



Enlightened Grading Enlightened Grading (Grading)(Grading)

Absolute grading, bump up Absolute grading, bump up at the end but never downat the end but never down

Allow later exams to Allow later exams to replace earlier exam replace earlier exam grade(s)grade(s)

Give EPA! sprinkle pointsGive EPA! sprinkle points EffortEffort

How much student triedHow much student tried Office hours? Does all hw?Office hours? Does all hw?

ParticipationParticipation Does the person ask Qs in Does the person ask Qs in

lecture or discussion?lecture or discussion? AltruismAltruism

Helping others in lab / Helping others in lab / newsgroup / office hoursnewsgroup / office hours

EPA grades are EPA grades are hiddenhidden, and , and can boost up ~ 1/2 +- can boost up ~ 1/2 +- gradegrade



Bring Laptops to Exams Bring Laptops to Exams (Exams)(Exams)

Visible timerVisible timer Interrupt vs polling!Interrupt vs polling!

Show exam bug Show exam bug corrections on screencorrections on screen ……and can fix right thereand can fix right there

Auto-announce time Auto-announce time leftleft echo 'say "You may echo 'say "You may

begin."' | begin."' | /usr/bin/osascript/usr/bin/osascript

sleep 1800 sleep 1800 # 1/2 hour# 1/2 hour echo 'say "Sorry for the echo 'say "Sorry for the

interruption... You have interruption... You have two hours left!"' | two hours left!"' | /usr/bin/osascript/usr/bin/osascript

… … etc …etc … plaympeg ./epilogue.mp3plaympeg ./epilogue.mp3

developer.apple.com/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/say.1.htmlhogbaysoftware.com/product/clockwork



Conclusion, pt IConclusion, pt I I presented 6 “hidden” I presented 6 “hidden”

tips from our collectiontips from our collection LecturingLecturing Office (hrs)Office (hrs) StaffStaff ExamsExams LabsLabs SectionSection ProjectsProjects Grading Grading MetaMeta

As the Borg say:As the Borg say: Contribute your Contribute your

uniqueness to the uniqueness to the collective (our Wiki)collective (our Wiki)

Teaching tipsTeaching tips1. …1. …


A Survey of Intro CS CurriculaA Survey of Intro CS Curricula

Jeff ForbesJeff ForbesDuke UnivDuke Univ

Dan GarciaDan GarciaUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley

Survey!

www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/introsurveywww.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/teaching/introsurvey

Goal: Goal: Understand what top US PhD-Understand what top US PhD-granting schools did in their intro CS granting schools did in their intro CS curriculacurricula

Survey sent out, collected, results Survey sent out, collected, results presentedpresented Today I’ll talk about the best practices we Today I’ll talk about the best practices we

noticednoticed


Schools (2006 “US News & Schools (2006 “US News & WR”)WR”)

1.1. CMUCMUMITMITStanfordStanfordUC BerkeleyUC Berkeley

5.5. CornellCornellUI Urbana-ChampaignUI Urbana-Champaign

7.7. U WashingtonU Washington8.8. PrincetonPrinceton9.9. UT AustinUT Austin

U Wisconsin-MadisonU Wisconsin-Madison11.11. Cal TechCal Tech

Georgia TechGeorgia Tech13.13. UC San DiegoUC San Diego

U Maryland - College U Maryland - College ParkPark

15.15. HarvardHarvardUCLAUCLA

15.15. U Michigan-Ann ArborU Michigan-Ann Arbor18.18. ColumbiaColumbia

Purdue - West LafayettePurdue - West LafayetteU PennU PennYaleYale

22.22. BrownBrownRiceRiceUNC - Chapel HillUNC - Chapel Hill

25.25. DukeDukeU Mass - AmherstU Mass - AmherstUSCUSC

28.28. Johns HopkinsJohns Hopkins29.29. NYUNYU

Rutgers - New Rutgers - New BrunswickBrunswickUC IrvineUC IrvineVirginiaVirginia

Survey!


What works really What works really wellwell and what is and what is brokenbroken??

BrownBrown High TA-student ratioHigh TA-student ratio Intro Experience DisparityIntro Experience Disparity

CalCal Closed required labsClosed required labs Undergrad teaching staffUndergrad teaching staff More pair programmingMore pair programming

CalTechCalTech CS11 is several minicourses.CS11 is several minicourses. Each student only takes 1 of Each student only takes 1 of

these a term (of their these a term (of their choice)choice)

A course can be repeated A course can be repeated three times for creditthree times for credit

CMUCMU All courses taught in small All courses taught in small

sections – no large lectures!sections – no large lectures!

CornellCornell DrJava demos during DrJava demos during

lecturelecture Closed required labsClosed required labs 1/2 Matlab, 1/2 Java1/2 Matlab, 1/2 Java

Georgia TechGeorgia Tech (Compared to peers) very (Compared to peers) very

low attritionlow attrition 90% success in Media CS290% success in Media CS2

No closed labsNo closed labs HarvardHarvard

Teacher trainingTeacher training PrincetonPrinceton

Appl to commerce, science, Appl to commerce, science, engineering w/real datasetsengineering w/real datasets

Too much to cover!Too much to cover! Huge increase in Huge increase in

enrollmentsenrollments

Survey!



PurduePurdue Lecture, labLecture, lab Hard to have creative projects Hard to have creative projects

but consistent gradingbut consistent grading RiceRice

Some want to move intro Some want to move intro Scheme course to JavaScheme course to Java

Easier later transitionEasier later transition But, wide background But, wide background

variety!variety! RutgersRutgers

Online examsOnline exams Java as intro language!Java as intro language!

StanfordStanford Undergrad section leadersUndergrad section leaders Staffing in computer cluster Staffing in computer cluster

while students work on while students work on assignments, which are goodassignments, which are good

We (all of us) still tuning CS1 We (all of us) still tuning CS1 JavaJava

UC IrvineUC Irvine Informatics curriculumInformatics curriculum

UCLAUCLA Getting students to program Getting students to program

to specsto specs Intro experience disparityIntro experience disparity

UCSDUCSD Accelerated intro course trackAccelerated intro course track Closed labsClosed labs Teaching memory allocation Teaching memory allocation

to beginnersto beginners UIUCUIUC

All courses!All courses! Undergrad-led reviewsUndergrad-led reviews Assembler EOS competitionAssembler EOS competition Programming studio structureProgramming studio structure Low-level understandingLow-level understanding New student communitiesNew student communities

Survey!



U PennU Penn Compelling programming Compelling programming

assignmentsassignments USCUSC

Intro experience disparityIntro experience disparity UT AustinUT Austin

Students move well through Students move well through CS2CS2

Java doesn’t allow them to Java doesn’t allow them to learn memory management!learn memory management!

One course is “geeked out” One course is “geeked out” which could turn off non-which could turn off non-programmersprogrammers

UWUW Procedures-first intro to OOPProcedures-first intro to OOP

U WisconsinU Wisconsin Information overloadInformation overload Reduce sources of infoReduce sources of info Active and collaborative Active and collaborative

learning!learning!

““Information overload has been Information overload has been mentioned repeatedly to me by mentioned repeatedly to me by students as a principle problem in students as a principle problem in many of their courses.many of their courses.

It is not uncommon for courses It is not uncommon for courses today to have a textbook or two, today to have a textbook or two, course notes, as well as lecture course notes, as well as lecture slides which overwhelm students slides which overwhelm students with presentations of the same or with presentations of the same or similar material.similar material.

Add to that course email, web Add to that course email, web pages/links, blogs, etc. and pages/links, blogs, etc. and students get trapped spending too students get trapped spending too much time reading and reviewing much time reading and reviewing and insufficient time actively and insufficient time actively applying their newly gained applying their newly gained knowledge.knowledge.

What has worked well for us is to What has worked well for us is to reduce the sources of information reduce the sources of information and to direct students’ efforts to and to direct students’ efforts to more active and collaborative more active and collaborative learning both in and out of classlearning both in and out of class.”.”

Survey!


What are the innovative techniques being What are the innovative techniques being deployed?deployed?

MITMIT Overhauling EECS curriculumOverhauling EECS curriculum

Had been unchanged for Had been unchanged for nearly 30 yearsnearly 30 years

6.001 (Scheme) out, 6.001 (Scheme) out, Python Python in!in!

6.01 and 6.02 to be new 6.01 and 6.02 to be new mandatory intro coursesmandatory intro courses Offer intro to deptOffer intro to dept Cut broadly across EECSCut broadly across EECS Strong hands-on componentStrong hands-on component Build robots, apply concepts Build robots, apply concepts

like radio, Fourier transform, like radio, Fourier transform, networks, large systemsnetworks, large systems

Then choose 3 or 4 subjects Then choose 3 or 4 subjects from foundation coursesfrom foundation courses E.g., Circuits, Signals, E.g., Circuits, Signals,

SystemsSystems

www.eecs.mit.edu/images/EECS_VI_Fall06_FINAL.pdfwww-tech.mit.edu/V126/N63/63course6.html

Survey!



Georgia TechGeorgia Tech Computational Media degree!Computational Media degree! Different entry points to majorDifferent entry points to major

CS1 for different majorsCS1 for different majors RoboticsRobotics Media ComputationMedia Computation

FlexibilityFlexibility CS Majors can take any CS1CS Majors can take any CS1

ContextualizationContextualization CS1s are typically dry!CS1s are typically dry! Students today use flikr, Students today use flikr,

youtube, etc -- leverage that!youtube, etc -- leverage that! Allow the data to be THEIRSAllow the data to be THEIRS

movies, sounds, pixmovies, sounds, pix

www.cm.gatech.edu

Wil Justis, Milton HSWil Justis, Milton HS

Survey!



UC BerkeleyUC Berkeley UC-WISEUC-WISE

Web-based learning systemWeb-based learning system Interactive, collaborative & Interactive, collaborative &

assessmentassessment Decrease passive learning Decrease passive learning

in lecture (Old: 3 Lec, 2 Lab)in lecture (Old: 3 Lec, 2 Lab) Increase active learning in Increase active learning in

lab (New: 1 Lec, 6 Lab)lab (New: 1 Lec, 6 Lab) Top-down instructionTop-down instruction

Scheme, Java, C, AssemblerScheme, Java, C, Assembler Self-paced coursesSelf-paced courses

1-unit course for programmers 1-unit course for programmers in Matlab, Pascal, C, Scheme, in Matlab, Pascal, C, Scheme, Unix, C++, Java, PythonUnix, C++, Java, Python

Intro to programming in Intro to programming in SchemeScheme

Awesome undergrad tutors!Awesome undergrad tutors!

inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~selfpacewww.ucwise.org

Survey!


Conclusion, pt IIConclusion, pt II There is so much more There is so much more

analysis I didn’t present!analysis I didn’t present! It’s all online; I encourage It’s all online; I encourage

you to see our resultsyou to see our results There is some great There is some great

innovation in the US!innovation in the US! MIT, GaTech, UC Berkeley, MIT, GaTech, UC Berkeley,

Caltech, UIUC, …Caltech, UIUC, … It would be great to learn It would be great to learn

about the innovation about the innovation going on here to take going on here to take back with me!back with me!

Survey!


ACM Education ActivitiesACM Education Activities The ACM Education The ACM Education

Board has three Board has three active task forcesactive task forces Pipeline Crisis, ImagePipeline Crisis, Image

This This waswas “enrollment” “enrollment” Technology and ToolsTechnology and Tools CurriculumCurriculum

As a member of the As a member of the Board, I want to learn Board, I want to learn what your problems what your problems are and are and how ACM how ACM could helpcould help!!

Education

acm.org/education


One Take on EnrollmentOne Take on Enrollment

UC Berkeley Computer Science Annual Enrollment, 2002-present

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

CS3

CS61A

CS61B

CS61C

CS70

• Our numbers roughly half that of the 2000 peakOur numbers roughly half that of the 2000 peak

Education


Response : Image SiteResponse : Image Site

Numbers across US Numbers across US half that of 2000half that of 2000 Some coming backSome coming back

Need for computing Need for computing professionals growingprofessionals growing

Computing image poorComputing image poor Nerds, no life, just Nerds, no life, just

codingcoding Computing Degrees & Computing Degrees &

CareersCareers site launched site launched Supplemental brochure Supplemental brochure

sent to all US high sent to all US high schoolsschools

computingcareers.acm.org

Education


Technology and Tools Technology and Tools SiteSite

ProblemProblem Computing educators Computing educators

(newbies and vets) (newbies and vets) don’t know of all don’t know of all available classroom available classroom technology and tools technology and tools (too hard to keep up)(too hard to keep up)

Solution (still in beta)Solution (still in beta) Build site for themBuild site for them

Just links Just links w/commentsw/comments

What is missing?What is missing? Support Web 2.0Support Web 2.0

Ratings, tags, how it Ratings, tags, how it worked for you, etc.worked for you, etc.

Final Location: techtools.acm.orgCurrently: www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ddgarcia/techtools

Education


Conclusion, pt IIIConclusion, pt III

Take-away messagesTake-away messages Teaching tipsTeaching tips

What are yours?What are yours? Contribute to our wikiContribute to our wiki

Best practicesBest practices What are yours?What are yours? Read survey for moreRead survey for more

ACM initiativesACM initiatives How could ACM help?How could ACM help? Talk to me about Talk to me about

issues!issues!

Let’s collaborate!Let’s collaborate!


Education

Survey!

Teaching Tips, Best Practices, and Other Initiatives to Improve CS Education Dan Garcia, Ph.D....

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