Board 61: Work in Progress: Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) for Community College Students

Valerie A. Carr; Jennifer Avena; David Schuster; Wendy Lee; Belle Wei

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Computers in Education Division (COED) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Computers in Education Division (COED)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 6
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42877
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42877
Download Count: 217

Paper Authors

biography

Valerie A. Carr San Jose State University

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Dr. Valerie Carr earned her PhD in Neuroscience and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience before joining the Department of Psychology at San Jose State University, where she is now an Associate Professor. She conducts research regarding learning and memory across the lifespan and teaches courses relating to memory, neuroscience, and interdisciplinary computing. She actively collaborates with faculty across several departments on SJSU’s minor in Applied Computing for Behavioral and Social Sciences (ACBSS), and is a co-advisor for the minor. Additionally, she teaches the first course in the minor series, which covers the application of Python to current social science topics, as well as the use of programming in careers such as data analysis, user experience research, and econometrics.

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Belle Wei is Carolyn Guidry Chair in Engineering Education and Innovative Learning at San JosÃ© State University (SJSU). Previous roles include: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University, Chico; a decade of service as

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Abstract

The nation’s expanding digital workplace requires more computing professionals as well as workers with both domain and computing skills. Several universities have developed new interdisciplinary computing programs to meet these demands, but many lower-division students, especially those at community colleges, are not aware of these programs. Moreover, many students may not encounter learning experiences that foster their self-efficacy in pursuing these programs, creating an inequitable lack of opportunity for students at two-year institutions. In this paper we describe our approach to addressing these issues: the Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) program, which embeds computing modules into existing introductory statistics and biology courses. These modules use Python and are accessed via Google Colab, a free, web-based version of Jupyter Notebook. Critically, the success of the program requires instructors who feel comfortable teaching APEX content, particularly when they have little or no prior experience with computer programming. To this end, we created two Canvas courses, the first of which introduces faculty to Colab and Python, and the second of which contains APEX statistics and biology modules plus instructor solutions. We also piloted a faculty learning community (FLC) with a local two-year institution to foster a collaborative community and support faculty in adopting APEX materials, which included helping them to consider, plan, apply, and reflect on effective practices for integrating computing into their courses. Building upon these pilot efforts, we are actively expanding adoption of the APEX program in several ways. First, we have begun holding summer and winter training workshops for faculty at several additional community colleges. Second, we are refining and improving the FLC experience as we initiate new FLCs with these institutional partners. Finally, we will continue to assess the program’s efficacy through a research plan that evaluates student and faculty experiences, allowing us to optimize the program and encourage faculty across the country to adopt our model of embedding computing experiences in lower division courses.

Citation
Format

Carr, V. A., & Avena, J., & Schuster, D., & Lee, W., & Wei, B. (2023, June), Board 61: Work in Progress: Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) for Community College Students Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42877

TY - CPAPER
AB - The nation’s expanding digital workplace requires more computing professionals as well as workers with both domain and computing skills. Several universities have developed new interdisciplinary computing programs to meet these demands, but many lower-division students, especially those at community colleges, are not aware of these programs. Moreover, many students may not encounter learning experiences that foster their self-efficacy in pursuing these programs, creating an inequitable lack of opportunity for students at two-year institutions. In this paper we describe our approach to addressing these issues: the Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) program, which embeds computing modules into existing introductory statistics and biology courses. These modules use Python and are accessed via Google Colab, a free, web-based version of Jupyter Notebook. Critically, the success of the program requires instructors who feel comfortable teaching APEX content, particularly when they have little or no prior experience with computer programming. To this end, we created two Canvas courses, the first of which introduces faculty to Colab and Python, and the second of which contains APEX statistics and biology modules plus instructor solutions. We also piloted a faculty learning community (FLC) with a local two-year institution to foster a collaborative community and support faculty in adopting APEX materials, which included helping them to consider, plan, apply, and reflect on effective practices for integrating computing into their courses. Building upon these pilot efforts, we are actively expanding adoption of the APEX program in several ways. First, we have begun holding summer and winter training workshops for faculty at several additional community colleges. Second, we are refining and improving the FLC experience as we initiate new FLCs with these institutional partners. Finally, we will continue to assess the program’s efficacy through a research plan that evaluates student and faculty experiences, allowing us to optimize the program and encourage faculty across the country to adopt our model of embedding computing experiences in lower division courses.
AU - Valerie A. Carr
AU - Jennifer Avena
AU - David Schuster
AU - Wendy Lee
AU - Belle Wei
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 61: Work in Progress: Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) for Community College Students
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42877
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42877
ER -