Broad Visions for Undergradate Computing:

1
Group I

• Broad Visions for Undergradate Computing
• Interdisciplinary Computing Education
• Chair Heikki Topi
• Scribe Klaus Sutner

2
A Brief History of Mankind

• Language 50,000
• Writing 5,000
• Printing 500
• Computing 50
• Impact cannot be overstated but is not widely
  understood

3
Subversion

• CS has infiltrated the sciences
• XXX ? Computational XXX
• The impact is not, however, limited to the
  sciences. These are also affected
• Entertainment
• Arts
• Business
• Healthcare
• Government

4
Challenges

• Developing dual expertise is hard (need strong
  motivation, faculty and students) and often not
  rewarded appropriately
• Curricular and administrative structures not
  supportive (cannot simply accumulate courses)
• Genuinely transdisciplinary work requires forms
  of cooperation that are currently rewarded by
  neither the disciplines nor academic
  administration

5
Challenges

• CS has yet to establish itself as a full partner,
  not just a service provider (compare to
  mathematics)
• High level synergies are hard to identify and
  pursue
• Computing is still CS centric the subdisciplines
  that are at the boundary of computing and other
  domains are easily sidelined in the discussion
• E.g., Information Systems has a 30 year history
  at the boundary between computing and business
  how can we benefit from the lessons learned by
  IS?

6
Computational Thinking

• Everybody needs some fundamental CS skills (the
  ever elusive core problem solving)
• The 4 Rs Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic,
  algoRithms
• Advanced applications of computational thinking
  have the power to transform the other fields ?
  opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation
• But the roles have to be balanced

7
Effective Activities

• Create literature (textbooks) that make it easier
  to bring interdisciplinary approaches to
  curriculum
• Package successful activities so that they are
  usable by many others
• Identify glamorous success stories (for
  undergraduates)
• Identify the core that is relevant in many places
• Hardwire interdisciplinarity into reward
  structures and grants

8
Effective Activities

• Find mechanisms to increase the perceived value
  of activities that transform education
• Create opportunities for discussion that crosses
  traditional departmental and disciplinary
  boundaries