Introducing the EC/CSE and building assessment into the curriculum

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Introducing the EC/CSEand building assessment
into the curriculum

• Kris Stewart
• San Diego State University
• NPACI/CSU Ed Center on CSE
• stewart_at_sdsu.edu
• www.edcenter.sdsu.edu

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What is Computational Science?

Science Discipline Biology, Physics, Chemistry,
etc.
Applied Mathematics Numerical Analysis, Modeling,
Simulation
Computer Science Hardware/Software
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What is Computational Science?

Teamwork and Collaboration
Science Discipline Biology, Physics, Chemistry,
etc.
Computer Science Hardware/Software
Applied Mathematics Numerical Analysis, Modeling,
Simulation
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EOT PACI
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• The mission of EOT-PACI is to develop human
  resources through the innovative use of emerging
  information technologies in order to understand
  and solve problems in education, science,
  business, government, and society. Please take a
  Button.
• http//www.eot.org/

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Education
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Goal Support a national level systemic impact
on CSE education (k-12, undergrad,
grad/training, informal science)
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Education some remarkable projects
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• Chickscope chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
• students watch embryo maturing using magnetic
  resonance imaging (MRI) over the Web
• Chemviz chemviz.ncsa.uiuc.edu/
• visualization tools and curriculum for
  computational chemistry (quantum chemistry
  computations, web crystallographic databases,
  etc.)
• The Why Files whyfiles.news.wisc.edu
• explanation of science behind the news (NISE)
• Biology Workbench workbench.sdsc.edu
• collection of computational biology tools and
  databases
• Maryland Virtual High School mvhs1.mbhs.edu
• Core models in the K12 classroom
• Sociology Workbench edcenter.sdsu.edu
• Online tools for survey data analysis, e.g.
  student evaluations

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Learning Technologies
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Goal Develop, apply, and assess computational
tools that enhance learning
www-fp.mcs.anl.gov/fl/accessgrid/
ncsa.webex.com/webex/
Juna Snow will give demo
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Access Inclusion
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Goal Increase participation and success of
women, minorities and people with disabilities
in CSE and in PACI
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Education Center on Computational Science
Engineering
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Mission

• Foster the incorporation of high performance
  research
• tools for scientific investigation into the
  undergraduate
• curriculum to better prepare learners for
  post-Baccalaureate
• activities where
• Collaborative, interdisciplinary teams,
• Sophisticated computer tools and
• Effective communication among the team members
  and with others
• are used in research and problem solving.

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Computational Science Curricula Evaluation and
Assessment
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• User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation
  Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology
  Education, NSF 93-152 www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/RED/EVAL
  /handbook/handbook.htm
• Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation and
  Dissemination, U. Wisconsin NPACI partner
• Template for a Group-Work Paradigm in an
  Undergraduate Supercomputing Course,
  www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/projects/hpcu/kris_hpcu.pdf

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Updates for CS 575 SupercomputingSpring 2001
Based on Blue Horizon Workshop, will incorporate
MPI and OpenMP into curriculum
http//www.npaci.edu/enVision/v16.1/
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Evaluation and Assessment of Classroom Practice

• Student Surveys - Need a compatible tool for
  instructor to examine results with
• Sociology WorkBench (SWB) developed by team of
  undergraduate computer science majors employed by
  the EC/CSE

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SWB Convenient Tool to Learn from Student Survey
Data

• Online tool for standard public data sets or
  your own data set http//edcenter.sdsu.edu
• Small Sample, therefore only useful as feedback
  for the instructor
• Can be used with forms interface directly into
  SWB format

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SWB as Analysis ToolView Student Comments (text)

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SWB as Analysis ToolIsolate on Specific Survey
Response

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What do I want to Explain with SWB?

Course had an initial, individual computational
experimentand a group computational experiment
later in the semester. More than half the
students indicated they learned more in the
laterproject. I wanted to explore the
characteristics (If A) of thosewho recognized
they learned more in a group.
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SWB as Analysis ToolExplain the Response on
Learning with enjoy groups

Dont like it but learned more
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SWB as Analysis ToolExplain learning with
active participation
Not surprising
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Advancing the Computational Infrastructure

• Resources -- Todays Digital Laboratory
• High-performance computing available today to the
  academic community
• Develop and Deploy
• Technology and application collaborations to push
  the capabilities of tomorrows digital laboratory
• Use and Apply
• Computational scientists applying enhanced
  capabilities to achieve new scientific results
• Disseminate and Incorporate
• Incorporating technologies into the digital
  laboratory and disseminating them for use in new
  communities

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NPACI Sources of Information
NPACI Sources of Information
NPACI Partnership Report enVision quarterly
science magazine, especially June2000Why the
Future May Very Well Need Us www.npaci.edu/enVisi
on/v16.2/director.html Online biweekly
electronic publication, www.npaci.edu/online/ ww
w.npaci.edu
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Subscribe to the Online Magazine and Envision
Quarterly
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San Diego Supercomputer Ctr (SDSC) NPACI
Biological Resources

• Biological Data Representation and QueryResearch
  and software for analyzing structural biology
  data. Phil Bourne NPACI Molec.
  Sci.http//www.sdsc.edu/pb
• NBCR http//nbcr.sdsc.edu/ The National
  Biomedical Computation Resource (NBCR) makes
  software tools available to the biomedical
  community
• Molecular Interactive Collaboration
  Environmenthttp//mice.sdsc.edu

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Whats Next?

• For CSU Faculty, the Ed Center will sponsor a
  Computational Science Olympics competition
  encouraging and rewarding undergraduate projects
  which demonstrate clever uses of computing in
  computational science. Deadline March 2001 and
  we request faculty involvement and encourage of
  your students.
• For the national Computational Science community,
  SIAMs CSE 2000 (Washington D.C.) and SC2000
  (Dallas, TX) Sept and Nov resp

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Your thoughts?Your suggestions?
Available http//www.stewart.cs.sdsu.edu/PPT/BW_2
9july00_kris.ppt