Engaging Assignments, Concept Inventories, Peer Teaching: Effective Tools For Computer Science Classrooms

LUNCH
Lunch is served at 11:45 am.

ABSTRACT
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. So much is known about motivation, effective teaching, scaling, retention, and other issues in CS education, so many useful techniques and software tools have been released, and yet so many actual classrooms are missing these solutions and tools. Bridging this gap between the theory and practice of CS instruction is the central goal of my scholarship. In this talk I will describe how I bring research-backed teaching practices to my own classrooms, as well as how I seek to support computing educators through developing effective activities for learners, quantitative measures of learning gains, and training materials for peer educators.

SPEAKER BIO
Anastasia Kurdia is a Senior Professor of Practice and Undergraduate Coordinator at the Department of Computer Science at Tulane University. In these roles, she develops and teaches a wide variety of computer science courses and works on issues in computer science education with concentration on effective teaching and active learning, novel pedagogies, learning at scale, teaching with technology, increasing diversity in technical fields. Dr. Kurdia has received the Google CS Engagement Small Award, Ada Lovelace Woman of the Year in Greater New Orleans Area Tech Award, and a Teach Access Curriculum Development Award. Dr. Kurdia received her undergraduate degree from Belarusian State University, and her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. Before joining Tulane, she taught at several selective liberal arts institutions: Bucknell University, Connecticut College, and Smith College.