The number of computer science (CS) courses has been dramatically expanding in U.S. high schools (HS). In comparison with well-established courses in mathematics and science, little is known about how the decisions made by HS CS teachers regarding how and what to teach impact student performance later in introductory college CS courses. Drawing on…

Programming is recognized as being challenging for teachers to teach and difficult for students to learn. For decades, computer science educators have looked at innovative approaches by creating pedagogical software tools that attempt to facilitate both the teaching of and the learning of programming. This dissertation investigates the motivations…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss one instructional design that leverages problem-based learning and game structures as a means of developing innovative higher education courses for students as responsive, lived experiences. This paper reviews a curricular redesign that stemmed from the evaluation of an introductory course in computer…