CSC News
King, Schmidt Awarded DELTA Grant for Course Redesign
Congratulations to Dr. Jason King, teaching assistant professor, and Dr. Jessica Schmidt, teaching assistant professor, on receiving a NC State DELTA Grant for Critical Path Course Redesign. The grant supports their proposal titled, “Critical Path Course Redesign for CSC316: Data Structures for Computer Scientists – Applying Theory to Practice”, and is valued at $30,772.
Abstract: CSC316: Data Structures is a third semester, required course for Computer Science (CSC) majors and minors. The course serves 100-200 students every semester. Through the Critical Path Course Redesign Grant, Drs. King and Schmidt will work collaboratively with instructional designers and other DELTA personnel to provide the highest quality resources for students in CSC316. We aim to address four primary challenges: 1) smoothing the transition into the theory-based CSC316 course from the prerequisite CSC216 course, which focuses on practical object-oriented programming and basic software engineering; 2) emphasizing the connection between algorithm theory and the software development lifecycle; 3) improving students’ ability to incorporate algorithm analysis and selection of efficient data structures when engineering software that solves a real-world problem; and 4) improving students’ written and verbal communication skills when justifying why they select specific algorithms or data structures to solve a given problem.Critical Path (CP) Course Redesign Grants support the partial or entire redesign of large enrollment or critical path courses using learner-centered pedagogical principles supported by interactive, computer-based materials and activities. The CP grants focus on challenges created by high-demand and critical path courses such as increased enrollments, inconsistency in learning experiences, repeat enrollments, learning space constraints and/or high DFW rates. Using best practices in pedagogy and instructional technology to enhance teaching and learning, redesign efforts examine different methods to create more consistent learning experiences for students, motivate students to become active learners, and promote educational efficiency. These redesigns have the potential to reduce high DFW rates, to influence students’ choices in their intended discipline, and to keep students on a timely path toward academic progress and graduation.
For more information on the DELTA Grants for Critical Path Course Redesign, click here.
A related story with a list of all DELTA Grant recipients can be found here.
~coates~
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