Passion, Beauty, Joy, and Awe Continued SIGCSE 2009 Chattanooga, Tennessee March 5, 2009 Eric Roberts Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University Past Chair of the ACM Education Board

In Our Last Episode . . . That there is currently a crisis in computing education is not in doubt. McGettrick et al., SIGCSE 2007 — As everyone has now been aware for some time, computing enrollments in the United States and most of Europe have plummeted since 2001. This drop is of significant economic concern because those same countries are training far fewer people than they need to fill the available positions. In the United States, there are now many more jobs in the IT sector than there were at the height of the dot-com boom, with all projections pointing toward continued growth.

What a Difference a Year Makes That there is currently a crisis in computing education is not in doubt. McGettrick et al., SIGCSE 2007 — As everyone has now been aware for some time, computing enrollments in the United States and most of Europe have plummeted since 2001. This drop is of significant economic concern because those same countries are training far fewer people than they need to fill the available positions. In the United States, there are now many more jobs in the IT sector than there were at the height of the dot-com boom, with all projections pointing toward continued growth. In Silicon Valley and at Stanford, the answers are clear: Demand for talented software developers is as high as it’s ever been. CS enrollments are skyrocketing, nearly erasing any previous loss. Are enrollments still falling? Is this still true after the meltdown?

Introductory Course Enrollment Trends 1800 1600 All CS intro courses 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 CS106A (our CS1) 200 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 projected

The Reasons for the Downturn Fears about the long-term economic stability of employment in the computing industry continue to have a profound effect on student interest in our discipline. 1. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the elementary and secondary level tends to push people away from the discipline long before they reach the university. 2. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly, all too much of the reality of work in the field—is unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun, particularly in comparison to other opportunities that bright students might pursue. 3.

The Single Best Enrollment Predictor 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 500 400 300 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 A statistical analysis undertaken by my colleague, Mehran Sahami, found that 88% of the 1993-2003 enrollment variance at Stanford can be explained by the NASDAQ average of the preceding year. But the NASDAQ—along with other markets—has been declining steadily over the last year. If enrollments have historically tracked the high-tech economy, why are enrollments rising?

There are Fewer Places to Go 7 7

We Still Have Work To Do 2. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the elementary and secondary level tends to push people away from the discipline long before they reach the university. 3. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly, all too much of the reality of work in the field—is unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun, particularly in comparison to other opportunities that bright students might pursue. reality

Computing Faces Huge Challenges in Schools People who have software development skills command high salaries and tend not to teach in schools. In many schools, computing courses are seen as vocational rather than academic. The NCAA has eliminated academic credit for most computing courses on this basis. Students who are heading toward top universities are advised to take non-CS courses to bolster their admissions chances. Because schools are evaluated on how well their students perform in math and science, many schools are shifting teachers away from computer science toward these disciplines. Those disciplines, moreover, often oppose expanding high-school computer science. Administrators find tools like PowerPoint more sexy and exciting. J Computing skills in general—and programming in particular—have become much harder to teach. Teachers have few resources to keep abreast of changes in the field.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . A Tale of Two Meetings It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . —Charles Dickens On September 13 and 14, Jan Cuny at the National Science Foundation organized a meeting in Atlanta to think broadly about new designs for the AP CS exam. This meeting, which was chaired by Owen Astrachan, was one of the best and most exciting meetings I have ever attended. 1. On September 13 and 14, Jan Cuny at the National Science Foundation organized a meeting in Atlanta to think broadly about new designs for the AP CS exam. This meeting, which was chaired by Owen Astrachan, was one of the best and most exciting meetings I have ever attended. 1. On the weekend of October 24, the College Board held the AP Computer Science National College Faculty Colloquium in Chicago to discuss the AP exam. I didn’t attend, but reports from several attendees indicated that the energy they took with them from the Atlanta meeting was lost after Chicago. 2. On the weekend of October 24, the College Board held the AP Computer Science National College Faculty Colloquium in Chicago to discuss the AP exam. I didn’t attend, but reports from several attendees—and Chris Stephenson in particular—indicated that much of the energy they took from the Atlanta meeting was lost after Chicago. 2.

The Seven Big Ideas from the Atlanta Meeting Computing is a creative activity that draws on a wide variety of fields, such as natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, social sciences, business, and the arts. 1. Abstraction is a central problem-solving technique in computer science. 2. Algorithms are the essence of computational problem solving. 3. Writing programs is an integral part of solving computational problems. 4. Theoretical and practical limitations affect what can be solved computationally. 5. Computing enables and empowers innovation, exploration, and creation of knowledge. 6. Computing drives and is driven by economics, culture, society and ethics. 7.

Jan Cuny’s “Clean Slate” Project http://www.cra.org/Activities/summit/Cuny_A_Clean_Slate_Approach_to_High_School_CS.pdf

The End

AP CS Is Relatively Small

AP CS is Losing Ground The Computer Science exam is the only Advanced Placement exam that has shown declining student numbers in recent years. Eliminated in 2009

Degree Production vs. Job Openings 160,000 Ph.D. 140,000 Computer Science Master’s 120,000 Bachelor’s 100,000 Projected job openings 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 Engineering Physical Sciences Biological Sciences Sources: Adapted from a presentation by John Sargent, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Commerce, at the CRA Computing Research Summit, February 23, 2004. Original sources listed as National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Statistics; degree data from Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey; and NSF/SRS; Survey of Earned Doctorates; and Projected Annual Average Job Openings derived from Department of Commerce (Office of Technology Policy) analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics 2002-2012 projections. See http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/content.php?cid=22.