Perceptions of Computer Science
V.C. Galpin and I.D. Sanders
Reflections on Work-In-Progress Symposium, University
of the Witwatersrand, September 2002
Abstract
Research in South Africa, and internationally has shown that students
often have incorrect perceptions about the nature and content of computer
science at university level. Examples of misperceptions include: computer
science is programming, computer science is word processing, careers for
computer scientists involve little interaction with people, women do not
do computer science, etc. Another concern within the computer science
community is the low number of women taking the subject, and this may be,
in part, caused by these misperceptions.
In the School of Computer Science at Wits, we have developed a curriculum
to deal with these misperceptions. An important part of our first year
curriculum is conveying the breadth of Computer Science to our students.
This is achieved through less emphasis on programming, and more
emphasis on fundamental computer science concepts such as algorithms,
data structures and theoretical models of computers such as Turing
machines, as well as social and ethical issues and the limits of what
can be achieved with computers.
We have been collecting data to investigate the effect of this
curriculum. Part of this data collection involves surveying the
incoming class over the past four years. A question of interest is
how the students' perceptions (before they study computer science at
university) have changed over that period. It is important for us to
ensure that students have a realistic idea of what computer science at
university involves to avoid disappointment with the course material,
and hence we need to understand the current perceptions of students.
The research to be presented at the seminar will include an analysis
of the data collected at the start of each year, investigating trends
over the period that students were surveyed and gender differences
in perceptions. Additionally, suggestions for positively influencing
students' perceptions in advance of university study will be presented.
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