Need:Computational thinking (CT) has been identified and championed by many as one of the necessary skills for all modern people regardless of long-term education or employment goals. While the exact nuance and definition of CT can be debated, there is a clear call for it to be taught to all students. The theoretical framework of threshold concepts (TCs) provides a description of the state of uncertainty a learner experiences upon being introduced to key ideas within a discipline, defined as a liminal state by Meyer and Land. Upon integrating the TC into their understanding, learners forever change how they perceive the world through the concept. Unsuccessful traversal of this liminal space often results in mimicry and failure to develop an identity within the discipline and therefore may result in the student’s abandonment of the discipline.While there has been considerable work done in the introductory course (CS1) in computer science and efforts devoted to capstone or final year experiences, little work has been done in the intermediate or middle years. However, surveys of retention still show that we are losing a significant number of students at the end of the second and third years of study. Guiding Questions:This project seeks to explore and develop insight on the transformation from an intermediate computer science student to a computer scientist/software engineer.To explore and better understand the state of uncertainty experienced by intermediate CS students, the main research questions for the proposed work are:1. What are the threshold concepts experienced by intermediate CS students which influence the liminal state surrounding computational thinking?2. What troublesome knowledge/alternative conceptualizations (misconceptions) prevent intermediate CS students from achieving computational thinking capability?Outcomes:Initial interviews with students and faculty attempting to identify threshold concepts for the intermediate years failed to elicit enough information from student interviews to reliably determine the required characteristics for threshold concepts. As such, we needed to pivot our interview techniques and coding processes to better capture the information needed to identify the potential threshold concepts. We are mid-process with that right now and have some promising preliminary results from the switch in protocol.Broader Impacts:Identifying the threshold concepts inherent in computation thinking will provide new insight into the troublesome knowledge and challenges facing intermediate CS students, a group that has not been often studied, but a group that is still choosing to leave computing, even after years two and three of university study. Improving student learning and encouraging development of an identity and sense of belonging will lead to greater student success and retention for all students. The inability to create CS identity and have a sense of belonging impacts all students in terms of retention, but particularly impacts students from groups that are historically underrepresented in computing. Finding a way to scaffold a student’s traversal of the liminal space and overcome troublesome knowledge will assist in their ability to form identity and increase their sense of belonging, and would ultimately lead to persistence in the field.
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