survey results
item
cluster 1: computer science as accomplishment
subcluster: Don’t just learn from the examples.
cluster 2: computer science as an intellectual Discipline
subcluster: computer science is creative and valuable.
50 the work you do in computer science in the real world requires a lot of creativity.
58 research in computer science often develops really important ideas.
60 reasoning skills used to understand computer science material can be helpful to me in
understanding things in everyday life.
Related items: concepts and understanding are important.
12 i am not satisfied until i understand why something works the way it does.
22 theoretical computer science, such as analysis of algorithms, isn’t very relevant to the real world.
44 When i solve a computer science problem, i explicitly think about which computer science
ideas apply to the problem.
46 if i get stuck on a computer science problem, there is no chance i’ll figure it out on my own.
64 if you can do something you don’t need to understand it.
other
4 nearly everyone is capable of succeeding in the computer science curriculum if they work at it.
26 after i study a topic in computer science and feel that i understand it, i have difficulty
solving problems on the same topic.
48 there are times i solve a computer science problem more than one way to help my
understanding.
items on which faculty disagreed
24 the curriculum in computer science covers many disconnected topics.
30 i find that reading the textbook carefully is a good way for me to learn the topics covered in
my computer science courses.
32 it’s better to jump into a problem instead of trying to analyze it first.
34 it’s a lot more satisfying to do an assignment on your own than with help.
38 When you submit a group project, the instructor can’t tell how good your individual work was.
80 communications of the acm | may2010 | vol. 53 | no. 5
agree with
faculty Response
senior
agreement
with
faculty
change
seniors
vs cs1
faculty cs1 cs2 senior
reject 91 98
reject 80 94
reject 75 73
95
90
61
4
10
– 14
reject 42 51
46
4
reject
reject
55 73*
44 55
80
68
25*
24*
reject
reject
reject
51 65
25 57*
46 47
66
76
58
15
51*
12
reject 62 53
reject 51 53
73
51
11
0
reject 48 55
54
6
reject 51 57
63
12
reject 24 51
68
44*
reject 27 45
73
46*
reject 46 53
49
3
endorse
endorse
endorse
83 82
56 84*
70 80
68
66
61
– 15
10
– 9
endorse 79 82
reject 73 75
endorse 72 65
80
56
44
1
– 17
– 28*
reject
reject
59 84*
79 80
85
80
26*
1
reject 30 26
reject 45 57
34
61
4
16
endorse 41 49
61
