Flipped Classroom vs. “Traditional” Lecture – I'm interested in determining if learning can be improved using the flipped-classroom approach vs. a traditional classroom approach where content is provided during class.
Algorithm Animation - Algorithms are inherently difficult for students to learn due to the abstractness of (1) the basic building blocks such as arrays or other data structures, and (2) the algorithmic technique underlying the algorithm such as divide-and-conquer, dynamic programming, etc. Algorithm animation seems like an intuitively useful pedagogical tool for explaining how algorithms work, since a graphical visualization of these abstractions should make them more concrete. Not surprisingly, several algorithm animations systems have been developed during the last several decades to help teach computer science concepts. Unfortunately, experimental studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of algorithm animation have shown that visualization itself is ineffective at improving learning. My research investigates the effectiveness of improving algorithm animation by the inclusion of an oral explaination in addition to the visualization.
Computer Science Workbench – The Internet is a wonderful resource for struggling Computer Science students since a Google search will solve any problem....well not really. The Internet has a lot of useful resources for learning about Computer Science, but it is scattered and sometimes hard to find. I'd like to create a Computer Science Workbench for learning about a broad range of Computer Science areas. Having these collected on one site and organized in a consistent matter would be really helpful.