Inroads - June 2017

OPINION

Making Interdisciplinary Connections to Engage Students

copy something off the internet.

The second thing concerns inclusion.

The number one thing students need (and we all need) is a sense of community. So, whatever we can do to build community—even through a CS1 experience—is important. It’s exciting to see a microbiology student connected to people who do DNA and genetics. He found a community, all through an assignment in a class! That’s what brings about success and retains students—when they find communities they feel safe in and people they can go to for help and support. It’s not just interdisciplinary content, it’s interdisciplinary connections.

Mark: That’s brilliant, Elizabeth. Basically, you’re saying we can leverage some of this interdisciplinary excitement to build community.

Elizabeth: Exactly. Students need real problems and communities to share them with.

Learn More

Explore Mark’s and Elizabeth’s work in the EngageCSEdu collection [ 2] and explore promising practices for “Making Interdisciplinary Connections” and the engagement principle, “Build Student Community” on the EngageCSEdu Engagement Practices pages [ 3, 4].

Consider submitting your own introductory CS materials or joining our reviewer pool. For more information, contact us at engagecsedu@ncwit.org. 

Acknowledgements

Mark acknowledges the colleagues who have worked with him in computing across the curriculum, most notably Mike Drout (English, Wheaton College) and Scott Kleinman (English, California State University, Northridge). Elizabeth acknowledges Martin Muggli for his insights and help from Colorado State University. Beth thanks her wonderfully insightful colleagues at the National Center for Women & Information Technology, especially the social science team who helped construct the Engagement Practices Framework. “Making Interdisciplinary Connections” is a key technique within the Framework.

References

1. Alvarado, C., Dodds, Z. and Libeskind-Hadas, R.

Increasing women’s participation in computing at Harvey Mudd College. ACM Inroads 3, 4 (December

2012), 55–64.

2. EngageCSEdu collection; https://www.engage-csedu.org/search/materials. Accessed 11 April 2017.

3. EngageCSEdu. Grow Inclusive Community; https:// www.engage-csedu.org/engagement/grow-inclusive-student-community. Accessed 2017

February 7.

4. EngageCSEdu, Make Interdisciplinary Connections; https://www.engage-csedu.org/engagement/make-it-matter/make-interdisciplinary-connections-cs. Accessed 2017 February 7.

5. National Center for Women & Information Technology. Engagement Excellence Awards; https://www.ncwit.org/project/ncwit-engagecsedu-engagement-excellence-awards. Accessed 2017 February 7.

6. National Center for Women & Information Technology. Media Computation at Georgia Tech (Case Study 1); https://www.ncwit.org/mediacomp. Accessed 2017 February 7.