Update on Computer ScienceCurriculum 2013

(CS2013)

Mehran Sahami

Computer Science DepartmentStanford University

sahami@cs.stanford.edu

Outline

• The Committee

• Themes

• Where we are at

– Survey of CC2001 and CS2008

– December conference call

– SIGCSE-11 panel

• Where we are going

– Tentative timeline

– February 2011 meeting

– Website for CS2013

Committee Chairs

• IEEE-CS Chair: Steve Roach (Univ. Texas, El Paso)

• Established working relationship

– Several phone calls and emails

– Met face-to-face in November at Stanford

Hi Steve!

Hi Mehran!

Steering Committee

• Committee on both ACM and IEEE-CS sides finalized

– Formed this with the notion of a single committee in mind

– Exchanged ideas on candidates

ACM• Mehran Sahami, Chair (Stanford)

• Andrea Danyluk (Williams College)

• Sally Fincher (Univ. of Kent)

• Kathleen Fisher (AT&T Research)

(Tentative; likely moving to Tufts)

• Dan Grossman (Univ. of Washington)

• Beth Hawthorne (Union County Coll.)

• Randy Katz (UC Berkeley)

• Rich LeBlanc (Seattle Univ.)

• Dave Reed (Creighton)

IEEE-CS• Steve Roach, Chair (UT, El Paso)

• Ernesto Cuadros-Vargas (Universidad Católica San Pablo, Peru)

• Ronald Dodge (US Military Academy)

• Robert France (Colorado State)

• Amruth Kumar (Ramapo College of NJ)

• Brian Robinson (ABB corporation)

• Remzi Seker (U. of Arkansas, Little Rock)

• Alfred Thompson (Microsoft)

Steering Committee

• Committee on both ACM and IEEE-CS sides finalized

– Formed this with the notion of a single committee in mind

– Exchanged ideas on candidates

ACM• Mehran Sahami, Chair (Large Private)

• Andrea Danyluk (Liberal Arts)

• Sally Fincher (International)

• Kathleen Fisher (Industry)

(Tentative; likely moving to Tufts)

• Dan Grossman (SIGPLAN)

• Beth Hawthorne (2 year colleges)

• Randy Katz (CRA-E)

• Rich LeBlanc (Prior CC efforts)

• Dave Reed (K-12, AP CS)

IEEE-CS• Steve Roach, Chair (Large Public)

• Ernesto Cuadros-Vargas (International)

• Ronald Dodge (Government)

• Robert France (Large Public, Int’l)

• Amruth Kumar (CC2001 review)

• Brian Robinson (Industry)

• Remzi Seker (Public)

• Alfred Thompson (Industry)

Advisory Committee

• Rationale for advisory committee

– Experience from prior CC/CS efforts

– Different perspectives for review (China, India)

– Relationships with other efforts (e.g., curriculum packs)

• Confirmed members

– Mark Guzdial (Georgia Tech)

– Eric Roberts (Stanford University)

• Provided extensive materials from CC2001 effort

– Bob Sloan (Univ. Illinois at Chicago)

• Additional members to be added opportunistically

Themes of CS2013 Effort

• “Big Tent” view of Computer Science– Multi-disciplinary work (“Computational X”)

– “Outward” looking view of the field

• Managing curriculum size– CS2001 reduced total required hours from CC’91

– Aim to reduce required hours from CS2001

• At least be no larger in number of required hours

• Course exemplars as opposed to stylized courses– Pointers to existing courses that incorporate knowledge units

– Not creating a set of reference classes

• Be aware of institutional needs– Variable goals, resources, and constraints

Broader View = Broader Appeal

• Sources of non-traditional CS students

Source: College Board

• Sources of non-traditional CS students

– Broader curriculum can capture diverse interests…

Broader View = Broader Appeal

Source: College Board

Machine Learning

Computational Biology

Where We Are At: Survey

• Developed survey to gather data for CS2013– Reviews usage of CC2001 and CS2008

– Rating of importance of existing knowledge areas

– Rating of principles (e.g., importance of stylized classes)

– Suggestions for new topics of import/knowledge areas

– Track results by institution type and US/Int’l

• Survey released at start of December as Google Doc– ~1500 US department chairs/directors of UG education

– ~2000 International department chairs

– Seeing good response (>130 responses as of today)

– Survey open until December 17

• Many thanks to Yan Timanovsky!

Where We Are At: Conference Call

• Scheduled conference call with full steering committee– December 16th (10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern, 6pm GMT)

– One hour call

• Agenda– Introduce committee to each other

– Discuss charter and current progress

– Assignments for review of CC2001 and CS2008• Plan area coverage

– Plan for February 2011 in-person meeting

– Other items to be determined

Where We Are At: SIGCSE-11 Panel

• Panel on CS2013 accepted to SIGCSE-11

– Setting the Stage for Computing Curricula 2013: Computer Science – Report from the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Task Force

– Panelists• Mehran Sahami (Moderator)

• Mark Guzdial

• Andrew McGettrick

• Steve Roach

• Introduce CS 2013 effort

• Discuss charter and initial themes of effort

• Engage community for feedback and involvement

Where We Are Going: Timeline

• (Rough) Plan:– Two in-person meetings of committee annually

– Two (significant) video/teleconferences of committee annually

• February 2011: 1st in-person meeting of full committee• Summer 2011: 2nd in-person meeting of full committee• December 2011: (Preliminary) Strawman draft of CS2013

– Outcomes/knowledge units lead; curriculum/pedagogy follow

• Summer 2012: Meeting to “manage/reduce the core”• Fall 2012: Stoneman draft of CS2013• Spring 2013: Ironman draft of CS2013 available at SIGCSE• Summer 2013: Final CS2013 Report

– Some room for slippage built into schedule

Where We Are Going: February 2011

• Need to plan meeting of committee for February 2011

– Exact dates to be determined

• Ask: commitment of support from ACM

– Budget (Travel, lodging, etc.)

– Logistical support (event planning)

• Will be seeking other funding (NSF) for future meetings

Where We Are Going: Website

• Have registered websites:

cs2013.com

cs2013.org

• Plan to use these as means for (draft) report dissemination and community engagement

• What’s currently there:

• Ask: can hosting be provided by ACM?

– Steve Roach is also looking into this on the IEEE-CS side

Questions/Feedback

Towards a Charter for CS2013

To review the Joint ACM and IEEE/CS Computer Science volume of Computing Curricula 2001 and the accompanying interim review CS 2008, and develop a revised and enhanced version for the year 2013 that will match the latest developments in the discipline and have lasting impact.

 

The CS2013 task force will seek input from a diverse audience with the goal of broadening participation in computer science. The report will seek to be international in scope and offer curricular and pedagogical guidance applicable to a wide range of institutions. The process of producing the final report will include multiple opportunities for public consultation and scrutiny.