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Faculty Perspectives on Developing Interdisciplinary Computing Programs: Benefits, Necessary Supports, and Recommendations

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41936

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41936

Download Count

183

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Paper Authors

biography

Valerie Carr San Jose State University

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Valerie Carr earned a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. She is now an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Psychology at San Jose State University where she conducts research regarding learning and memory across the lifespan. She teaches courses on human learning and neuroscience, and helped create SJSU’s minor in Applied Computing for Behavioral and Social Sciences (ACBSS). Valerie currently teaches the first course in the ACBSS 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 San Jose State University

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Maureen Smith

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Abstract

Graduates of computer science programs continue to be predominantly male and White or Asian [3], and the need to diversify the workforce is well recognized [4]. To address these issues, there is a growing movement to develop interdisciplinary computing opportunities for non-computer science majors [see 6, 7]. To encourage more faculty to develop interdisciplinary computing programs, faculty need to understand the obstacles to these programs as well as the benefits, not just to students, but for themselves. This paper describes results from an evaluation of the 2021 Interdisciplinary Computing Summer Institute (ICSI), that brings together faculty and program directors who are involved in interdisciplinary computing programs. Data were collected via a post-meeting survey from 27 participants representing a variety of fields, (e.g., computer science, biology, psychology). Three sets of results are reported. The first describes the barriers and challenges that faculty reported experiencing while developing and running these interdisciplinary computing programs (e.g., minimal support, different requirements in different colleges, challenges meeting the needs of under-represented students, and lack of resources). The second describes the benefits to faculty that arose from working in an interdisciplinary computing program (e.g., learning new skills, interdisciplinary collaborations, and being able to create a more inclusive campus). The final set describes takeaways that faculty believed would be beneficial to their programs and students (e.g., content and skills to include in the curriculum, co-curricular experiences to develop, how to prepare students for job interviews). We conclude with a set of recommendations for faculty who are currently developing or planning to develop interdisciplinary computing programs at their institutions.

Carr, V., & Wei, B., & Smith, M. (2022, August), Faculty Perspectives on Developing Interdisciplinary Computing Programs: Benefits, Necessary Supports, and Recommendations Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41936

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