Papers & Presentations
Martin, F., Greher, G.R., Heines, J.M., Jeffers, J., Kim, H.J., Kuhn, S., Roehr, K., Selleck, N., Silka, L., and Yanco, H. (2009, upcoming). Joining Computing and the Arts at a Mid-Size University. Proceedings of the 2009 Conference of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges - Northeastern Region (CCSCNE 2009), Plattsburgh, NY, April 24, 2009.
This paper describes two NSF-funded collaborations among faculty members in the Computer Science, Art, Music, and English departments at a public university in the Northeast USA. Our goal has been to create undergraduate learning opportunities across the university, focusing on connecting computer science to creative and expressive domains. In past publications, we have focused on student learning outcomes. This paper reports on the motivations, opportunities, and challenges for the faculty members involved.
Heines, J.M., Greher, G.R., & Kuhn, S. (2009). Music Performamatics: Interdisciplinary Interaction. ACM SIGCSE 40th Technical Symposium on CS Education, Chattanooga, TN.
This paper describes how a graphical user interface (GUI) programming course offered by the Dept. of Computer Science (CS) was paired with a general teaching methods course offered by the Dept. of Music in an attempt to revitalize undergraduate CS education and to enrich the experiences of both sets of students. The paper provides details on the joint project done in these classes and the evaluation that assessed its effect on the curriculum, students, and professors.
Urban, J., Heines, J.M., Fox, E.A., & Taylor, H.G. (2009). Panel on Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education. ACM SIGCSE 40th Technical Symposium on CS Education, Chattanooga, TN.
There is an imbalance in the supply and demand for computing professionals that has generated shortages in meeting personnel needs within industry. A major program was developed by the U.S. National Science Foundation to encourage innovations in undergraduate computing education. There are a variety of new projects that are revitalizing undergraduate computing education.
One approach to such revitalization is the introduction of interdisciplinary courses to expand the scope of computing education. The basic idea is to have students from various disciplines work together on computing projects to expand their educational horizons and make computing courses more appealing.
This panel brings together research managers with educators who have developed and taught interdisciplinary courses with these goals in mind. The panelists will share their experiences and solicit new ideas from the audience.
Greher, G., & Heines, J.M. (2008). Connecting Computer Science and Music Students to the Benefit of Both. Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI) 2008 Conference, Atlanta, GA, Sept. 25, 2008.
We present a hands-on, interdisciplinary project designed to help music education students think about how novices learn new symbol systems. The students design a musical instrument from a typical household object and create a musical composition for it. They then devise a notation system that others can understand well enough to perform their composition with little to no verbal or written direction.
Given this notation system, computer science students create Finale Notepad-like programs that implement it. The two groups of students interact during the “hand off” and when music students “try out” the programs developed by the computer science students.
Both groups of students benefit from learning to communicate with others whose backgrounds differ significantly from their own and from understanding what it really takes to create a notation system and a computer program that can be used by people who don’t share their perspective.
Heines, J.M., Jeffers, J., & Kuhn, S. (2008). Performamatics: Experiences With Connecting a Computer Science Course to a Design Arts Course. The International Journal of Learning 15(2):9-16. (This paper is a more detailed version of the presentation of the same title delivered at Learning ’08 Conference and linked below.)
This paper describes our efforts to stem the tide of declining CS enrollments by introducing innovations into our curriculum to give students more flexibility in course selection, especially in the freshman and sophomore years. Our approach is based on a partnership between the CS and Art, Music, and English departments in the area of exhibition and performance technologies.
In addition to describing our work, this paper provides the results of an evaluation conducted by an independent research. It reports on the impact this work has had on the CS and Art students and their respective projects, as well as on the professors and the way they teach their courses. It also describes steps that are being taken to improve the courses in the future.
Heines, J.M. & Jeffers, J. (2008). Performamatics: Experiences With Connecting a Computer Science Course to a Design Arts Course. Learning ’08 Conference, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL, June 5, 2008.
Our work is based on a partnership between the a Computer Science (CS) and Art, Music, and English departments in the area of exhibition and performance technologies. We define these areas broadly to encompass all CS applications in the creative and performing arts. These areas not only resonate with today’s media-rich culture, but reinforce the fact that virtually all computer applications now require the integration of creative elements. CS majors must learn to work with specialists in areas where the perspective is often quite different from their own. We believe that computer scientists have much to learn from those trained in the arts and vice versa.
The common thread in performamatics projects is that many tasks, performed by multiple people, must come together on a tight schedule by a specific date to achieve a desired result. Performamatics also implies that each team member must “perform” his or her task(s) in a way that can be integrated into a final product, regardless of whether that team member participates visibly in the culminating event.
Our paper reports on initial attempts to couple CS courses and integrate CS elements with courses in Art, Music, and Theater. We describe the techniques we used that were designed to increase the scope and level of creativity in student projects and the impact these techniques and the presence of interdisciplinary teams had on those projects. We discuss changes we will make to improve the experience for both groups of students in the future and suggest new techniques we may try to better achieve our goals.
Heines, J.M. (organizer), Jeffers, J., Goldman, K., Fox, E., & Beck, R. (2008). Panel on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Revitalizing Undergraduate Computing Education. Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeastern Region (CCSCNE) 2008 Conference, Staten Island, NY, April 11, 2008.
“Through the CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education (CPATH) program, NSF’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is challenging its partners — colleges, universities and other stakeholders committed to advancing the field of computing and its impact — to transform undergraduate computing education on a national scale, to meet the challenges and opportunities of a world where computing is essential to U.S. leadership and economic competitiveness across all sectors of society.”
One approach to such revitalization is the introduction of interdisciplinary courses to expand the scope of computing education. This approach has its roots in programs such as Lynn Stein’s “small footprint” core and Georgia Tech’s “threads.” The basic idea is to have students from various disciplines work together on computing projects to expand their educational horizons and make computing courses more appealing.
This panel brings together educators who have developed and taught interdisciplinary courses with these goals in mind. The panelists will share their experiences and solicit new ideas from the audience. We expect a lively discussion on the pros and cons of this approach.
