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Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

Gordana Dodig CrnkovicSchool of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Mälardalen University, Sweden

http://www.idt.mdh.se/personal/gdc/

http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/computing

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Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

The Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox course focuses on constructive aspects of research within computing.

The main objective is to give a student an improved understanding of the state of the art techniques and tools essential for computational research thinking, modeling and problem solving, as well as academic writing and publication together with the basics of research ethics.

The course focuses on computational aspects of reasoning and model-building in constructive research.

The main objective is to give a student an improved understanding and knowledge of the state of the art in computational thinking techniques and tools essential for contemporary research, from Software Engineering to Brain-inspired computing, and Cognitive computing.

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Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

The course includes academic writing and publication and essentials of ethics.

As a result the student will be able to write a publishable research article that demonstrates the ability to use computational thinking and exhibits high standards of writing.

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Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

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Learning objectives

On successful completion of the course, student should

be able to:

- Identify and apply appropriate thinking tools from the

state of the art computational thinking toolbox.

- Understand and take into account the paradigm shift

taking place within the field of Computing.

Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

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Learning objectives

- Demonstrate understanding of the ideas presented in

specialist lectures.

- Improve skills in academic writing in English and 

publication.

- Show an ability to use basic concepts of research

ethics.

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Course content

The course deals with three main themes:

- Scientific way of thinking in research, with computational thinking in focus

- Writing and publication of academic research papers

- Values and ethical considerations in research

Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

Examination

– Lecture Notes, 2 credits, Grades A-F (3-5)

– Take-home exam, 1.5 credits, Grades A-F (3-5)

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Computational Thinking and Writing Research Toolbox

Lecture Notes– Approximately one page per lecture i.e. about 10

pages– Describes both the content of the lecture and your

own reflections

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Take-Home Exam– Read articles and answer questions– Your grade depends on your skills of argument

– In this course we have two groups, one at Mälardalen University, Sweden which have regular class meetings and guest lectures with course responsible Dr. Gordana Dodig Crnkovic.

– At the University of Sofia, Bulgaria the class leader is Dr. Aleksandar Dimov.

– For each lecture there will be one or several articles and a presentation on the course web page which is the basis for your study, and which you summarize on one page of your Notebook.

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How we work in the classes at MDH and Sofia Uni

Grading Principles

As the course title says, computational thinking and

writing are our main focus. That implies that the grade will

strongly depend on how much computational thinking and

writing skills you show in your assignments.

Basic level: (grade 3) is achieved when you show that

you have read the content of the lectures and you can

clearly explain what you have learned from it.

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Grading Principles

The highest level (grade 5) is reached when you are able to

analyze the content, drive your own conclusions, see

relationships and patterns, i.e. when you show thinking skills

on a more general level than a reproduction/rearrangement

of information.

The grade 4 is a level in between when you show elements

of both.

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Grading Principles

Missed deadlines imply lower grade if you do not have a

very good reason for not submitting your work in time.

Keep up with lectures – it becomes more difficult as

time goes by to write the Course Notebook!

All necessary course material will be found on this web

page.

Good luck!

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