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Computing Research in Curricula: Knowledge, Education & Training

How to do Computing Education Research

A workshop for CSEd researchers and practitioners (and others) at IIT Gandhinagar

3rd February 2024 (Saturday) — 4th February 2024 (Sunday) OR 5th February 2024 (Monday)

(A choice between a two-day format and a two-and-a-half-day format will be made in due course, based on the preferences of the participants.)

You likely know what it means to study computing. But what does it mean to study computing education? What kinds of questions do we ask, and how do we go about answering them?

Join us for the CRiCKET workshop to have a hands-on experience navigating the current and future landscape of CS Education, with a particular emphasis on how research (CER: Computing Education Research) in this area works.

Though ostensibly about computing education, what we’re really going to study is how to learn things about humans. Obviously, education is about humans. But several other branches of computing largely or partly do, or could, work with humans too. Obvious candidates are areas like HCI or usable security; less obvious might be areas like formal methods (how to make logics and tools that people can work with effectively) and programming languages (how to design languages, how to design error messages, etc.); even systems and algorithms have human components. So anyone who is interested in learning about how to learn things about humans will find useful content here, and is welcome.

The format will not be slides-and-lectures. There will be virtually no slides, and there will be very little lecturing. Rather, we will do lots of hands-on activities, and we will have several conversations. Most of the learning will take place bottom-up.

Target Audience. The workshop is designed for people who are interested in the methods of learning about humans. Though the site is written in terms of computing education research, we welcome anyone interested in these methods. You could be a graduate student, postdoc, or faculty member. You could also be a person who works in industry (e.g., EdTech). Either way, you should have a real interest in understanding the methods of working with humans, whether in computing education or some other field.

The Team. The workshop will be led by Shriram Krishnamurthi. You could find out more about his research manifesto or check out the many books he has co-authored, or settle down for some opinionated essays and research updates, or enjoy a steady stream of updates involving a larger breadth of interests.

The workshop will be hosted at IIT Gandhinagar and is chaired by Neeldhara Misra and co-organized by Venkatesh Choppella.

Important Dates. This is an in-person event with the following timeline (deadlines are 11:59PM IST):

Date Event
1st Nov 2023 Applications open
15th Dec 2023 Deadline for application
1st Jan 2024 Initial shortlist and waitlist
10th Jan 2024 Final invitations
15th Jan 2024 Registration deadline
3rd Feb 2024 Event begins!

Inquiries. Please direct any questions you have to cer2024iitgn@gmail.com with CSEd Workshop Inquiry as the subject.

Support. We gratefully acknowledge support from IIT Gandhinagar.

Here are the things we want you to learn to think about in computing education research:

  • What kinds of areas does CER cover?
  • What kinds of questions does CER ask?
  • What kinds of study designs do we see?
  • What kinds of analysis methods are used?
  • How (and where) are findings presented?

Because our goal is to have a highly interactive event, we’ll adjust the schedule to accommodate participants. We can speed up on parts that are easy, and slow down on parts that are hard. Therefore, we won’t be publishing a detailed schedule a priori. The “schedule” below is just a skeleton to help you with logistics.

Note

This will be either a two-day event or a two-and-a-half-day event. The final schedule will be posted here around mid-December. We think a 2.5 day format gives us more flexibility to do deeper work. However, if the majority of people can only attend two days, then we will squeeze the event into that. The application form assumes you will attend the two day event, and asks for your availability for the extra half day.

It is very likely that each question in the topics list will get its own session. Some of these sessions will end with extended homeworks, and the next session will be devoted to going over the work that participants do. We will use a variety of techniques to respond and evaluate work, always with a constructive, not judgmental, end.

9:30AM · Registration

10AM · Session I

11:30AM · Coffee Break

12PM · Session II

1:30PM · Lunch Break

3PM · Session III

5PM · Coffee Break

10AM · Session IV

11:30AM · Coffee Break

12PM · Session V

1:30PM · Lunch Break

3PM · Session VI

5PM · Coffee Break

7:30PM · Banquet

Note

Whether we will have a third day depends on survey responses. We think having two evenings for reflection and work would be beneficial, but we’ll adjust if people really can’t make it.

10AM · Session VII

11:30AM · Coffee Break

12PM · Session VIII

1:30PM · Lunch

Venue

The event will be held at IIT Gandhinagar. Gandhinagar is close to Ahmedabad.

Please see this page for more details about reaching IITGN and this page for general information about the IIT Gandhinagar campus.

  • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD) is an international airport serving the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India and is nearer to our IIT campus.
  • Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station (ADI), locally known as Kalupur station is the main terminus which is very well connected with the other parts of the country.
  • Geeta Mandir & Paldi are the bus terminals of Ahmedabad city.

You will recieve WiFi credentials on arrival.

The campus is divided into a few key areas:

  • Residential (staff and faculty housing)
  • Student Hostels (ft. Mess + Coffee/Juice Shops + Amul Shop + Groceries)
  • Academic Area (ft. Classrooms + Offices + Labs + Library)
  • Sports Complex (ft. Swimming Pools + Climbing Wall + Squash/Badminton/TT Courts + Football/Cricket fields + Running Track + Gym + a Juice Shop)
  • Central Arcade (ft. Canara Bank + ATM + Post Office + Medical Center + Dry Cleaning + Vegetable Shop)
  • Research Park and Entrepreneurship Cell (ft. industry offices + the startup ecosystem at IITGN)

If you can find the time, feel free to explore the campus during your visit! There are buses that go from the campus to the city and back. The bus schedule can be found here.

There are also two EECO shuttles that go around the main areas of the campus every 15 minutes. You can find the schedule here and you can typically ask the security folks at the gate for any help you need in identifying these vehicles.

For the venue of the event, ask for Academic Block 1. The room number is 101 and is also called a learning theatre. You can find the academic area by walking from the main gate towards the large red building (called the “Lal Minar”), you will follow a main road that curves a bit, and in the process pass by the hostels on your left. Once in the academic area, you can either ask directions to Block 1 or the only active tea shop (called 2 Degree).

The medical facilities are in the central arcade. The regular number is 079-2395-1116 and the emergency contact is +91-7069795000 (Emergency number). You can find out more about the medical center here.

In general you can find out more about our campus from our website and by following the social media accounts.

We will meet in AB1/101 (Learning Theatre).

Devices

We will be asking you to do work during the event. It will therefore be useful for you to have some kind of computing device. A phone probably has too small a screen for large-scale editing and collaborating with others. A laptop or at least tablet would be far preferred. However, we do not have any expectations of operating systems, CPU, memory, etc. Anything on which you can comfortably edit documents (Word, Google Docs, etc.) and draw some basic pictures (with the drawing package of your choice) is sufficient.

Communication

The event will be conducted in English. However, we expect have participants from across the country. While all languages are welcome during conversations:

  • When in a group, please make sure you are using a language that everyone is comfortable with.

  • When communicating with the whole class, please use English.

Expectations

“It is not enough to be in the right place at the right time. You should also have an open mind at the right time.”

—Erdős Pál

The workshop is participatory in nature. Being a fly on the wall may be technically possible to pull off, but will very likely be suboptimal. The organizers will work towards ensuring that you are in an environment that is inclusive and open. In that setting, we expect you to:

  • Attend the whole event (modulo unanticipated circumstances).
  • Be mentally present and to interact with each other, not spend your time looking at your computer or phone. Put your devices away unless directed to use them. You can read your email, WhatsApp, etc. later.
  • Let your guard down. Everyone who is attending is doing so because there are things they don’t know. Therefore, however uncomfortable it may be, speak up when there are things you don’t understand. You probably aren’t the only one who’s confused!
  • Participate in discussions. As you will see, there is often no “right answer”. You may not be comfortable initially, but we hope to create an environment where everyone is welcome to speak up. The workshop is purely in-person and off the record: please make the most of this!
  • Ask questions. There are no “stupid questions”. There may be some banter, and it will all be in good spirit. Don’t let it intidimate you!
  • Feel free to disagree with others, and expect them to disagree with you! This is normal. Civilized and on-topic debates are welcome.
  • Respect differences between participants from different parts of the country, of different language capabilities, of different personal value systems, etc.

The workshop is now closed for applications.

Note to participants: There are no registration fees for the workshop. Also:

  • For student participants, a limited number of shared hostel rooms available, and these will be allocated to student participants at no cost.

  • For non-student participants, we have a limited number of rooms in the guest house available at standard rates, please send an email to cer2024iitgn@gmail.com with the subject Guest House Accommodation for details of charges. Participants planning to stay at nearby hotels will have to make their own arrangements to cover the relevant costs.

  • We expect outstation participants to cover their travel-related expenses, and local participants are also expected to make their own arrangements to commute to the venue. We are currently unable to offer any TA/DA reimbursements.

The workshop is designed for people who are interested in the methods of learning about humans. Though the site is written in terms of computing education research, we welcome anyone interested in these methods. You could be a graduate student, postdoc, or faculty member. You could also be a person who works in industry (e.g., EdTech). Either way, you should have a real interest in understanding the methods of working with humans, whether in computing education or some other field.

There are no explicit pre-requisites, although some experience with the instructional aspects of computing classes will be invaluable for those focused on CER.

The workshop is intended to train participants in the methods of learning things about humans. You will leave with your head buzzing with ideas for questions to ask, and will have the tools to follow through on them end-to-end: figuring out your experimental setups, collecting data, documenting results, and presenting your findings. You will also meet peers with like-minded interests, and this typically ends up spurring collaborations, and we will set things up to facilitate discussions during and beyond the workshop. All sessions will be interactive and hands-on.

However, this is not to be thought of as a shortcut to a publication. What you can expect is an intense but rewarding journey through the current landscape of these methods, and the expert guidance you will have access to will ensure that you will have an effective and efficient learning experience. Please bring with you your curiosity about humans and roll your sleeves up to get the most out of this workshop.

If you are attending only because you hope to have a paper at the end of the event, you will probably be disappointed and this may not be the event for you. Instead, you should come because you hope to grow over the course of a career.

No. Doesn’t matter who you are: if you’re admitted, it’s because we believe you belong. (Unfortunately, due to space limits we may not be able to accept everyone who belongs…so don’t read this as a dual implication!) So don’t let others make you feel otherwise, even if they are more slick, loud, experienced, etc. We know better. If you’re here, you belong; that’s why we admitted you. Welcome.

Diversity and respect for every individual are among the core values of both IIT Gandhinagar and the organizing team. If you face discrimination or harrassment of any kind, please report it to the organizers immediately.

On the accessibility front, we are an wheelchair-friendly campus. The Central Library of IITGN follows the guidelines given by the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) for users with disabilities.

If you have other accessibility needs, please get in touch with us and we’ll do our best to satisfy them: please send an email to cer2024iitgn@gmail.com.

A limited number of shared hostel rooms ideal for student participants are available at no cost. Guest house accommodation is typically single-room and suitable for working professionals. A limited number of rooms are available at cost, please send an email to cer2024iitgn@gmail.com with the subject Guest House Accommodation for details of charges.

No. The goal is to have a high-quality intensive, in-person, hands-on event.

Please direct any questions you have to cer2024iitgn@gmail.com with CSEd Workshop Inquiry as the subject.

All participants are welcome to join us as on Discourse to engage in conversations ahead of the workshop! The invitation email has the invite code and a link to a broadcast-only whatsapp group as well (which will be used for announcements related to the logistical aspects of the workshop).

Adithi Iyer (IIT Gandhinagar)

Amey Karkare (IIT Kanpur)

Anirban Dasgupta (IIT Gandhinagar)

Anupama Pradeepan (IITGN)

Arup Kumar Chattopadhyay (IIT Madras)

Arvind W Kiwelekar (DBATU Lonere)

Atul Pratap Singh (IIT Madras)

Bhavesh Neekhra (Ashoka University)

Bhavini Korthi (IIT Gandhinagar)

Bhumika Shah (Gujarat University)

Binita Maity (IIT Gandhinagar)

Divya Joseph (Raspberry Pi Foundation)

Dr. Amiya Ranjan Bhowmick (Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai)

Dr. Archana Kumari (School of Education, Devi Ahilya University, Indore)

Dr. Girija Limaye (DES Pune University)

Dr. Nishant Pandya (BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus)

Gnaneswar Kulindala (IIIT Hyderabad)

H Srimathi (SRM Institute of Science and Technology)

Hrishikesh

Jatin Ambasana (Unitedworld School of Computational Intelligence)

Jyothi Krishnan (IIT Gandhinagar)

Kareena Beniwal (IIT Gandhinagar)

Lavanya S.C (Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology)

Mamta Manaktala (Raspberry Pi Educational Services)

Mrityunjay Kumar (IIIT Hyderabad)

Mrudula Adawadkar (Beyond Classroom Pune)

Nawazish Parween (Cluster Innovation Centre ,Delhi University)

Neeldhara Misra (IIT Gandhinagar)

Neha Garg (IIT Gandhinagar)

P. Sita Rama Murty (Vishnu Institute of Technology)

Parthasarathy PD (BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus)

Prajish Prasad (FLAME University)

Pranav Vats (IIIT Hyderabad)

Professor (Dr) Gurrala Srinivasa Rao (Indian Naval Academy Ezhimala)

Rashmita Panigrahi (Raspberry Pi Foundation)

Riddhi Bharani (Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce)

Rinkal Mansukhbhai Sardhara (L J University)

S P Suresh (Chennai Mathematical Institute)

Sakshi Sharma (IIT Ropar)

Saurabh N. Mehta (Vidyalankar Institute of Technology)

Shubham Kumar

Siddharaj Mopkar (vidyavriksh.com)

Srikumar Subramanian (Krea University)

Sudarshan Iyengar (IIT Gandhinagar)

Vaishnavi Sundararajan (IIT Delhi)

Venkatesh Choppella (IIIT Hyderabad)

Vipul Vaibhaw

Viraj Kumar (IISc)

Yashpal Yadav (IIIT Hyderabad)

CRiCKET 2024 Poster