Report from the ACM CCECC IT Curriculum Project by Jim Nichols & Cara Tang, PhD ACM Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges (acmccecc.org) January 2014

Outline The Process The IT Curriculum Guidelines Phase 1: Determine the mission Phase 2: Carry out the mission The IT Curriculum Guidelines Discussion and Feedback

The Process: Phase 1 (2011-2012) Explore the need for, and potential nature of, contemporary curricular guidance relevant to IT-related associate-degree programs Diverse working group from industry and academia produced recommendations Key conclusions Compelling need for IT curricular guidance for the associate-degree level Typical model built upon a comprehensive Body of Knowledge (BoK) is not well suited to dynamic field of IT

The Process: Phase 1 Key conclusions (cont.) IT curricular guidance should be built on a framework of core learning outcomes Constituted by core IT competencies Influenced by current and future needs of business and industry, certifications, related curricula, government and standards bodies, new and emerging technology, international perspectives Designed to provide staying power and adaptability Accompanied by meaningful evaluation metrics Emphasize “constituted by core IT competencies” - intersection of all IT domains

The Process: Phase 2 Inputs (2012-2014) US Dept. of Labor IT Competency Model EU ICT Competencies EMC’s 5 pillars of IT ACM/IEEE-CS Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Technology 2008 CSTA Strands ASSECT Model for Computational Thinking in IT http://www.acm.org//education/curricula/IT2008%20Curriculum.pdf

The Process: Phase 2 Participants Subject matter experts from business and industry Google, EMC2, NetApp, Dell, Cisco Systems, Oracle, CompTIA, Juniper Networks Two-year college faculty Adirondack CC, Austin CC, Black Hawk CC, Brookdale CC, CC of Baltimore County, Cosumnes River College, Estrella Mountain CC, Portland CC, Salt Lake CC, Stark State College Assessment Experts

The Process: Phase 2 NY Meeting Two full days Compose and vet student learning outcomes Training on assessment rubrics by A-Team Compose and vet assessment rubrics Product: First Reviewer’s Draft Distributed to 1000+ individuals in CCECC affiliate database, SIGITE conference in Calgary, Canada, booth at SIGCSE, CAPSpace web site Topics / LOs created are for intersection of IT degrees

The Process: Phase 2 Continued Work West coast / East coast meetings Considered feedback Review and adjust learning outcomes Craft assessment rubrics Map outcomes to other curricula Product: Current and Final Reviewer’s Draft Feedback due Monday, Jan. 13, 2014

IT Curriculum Guidelines Learning Outcomes Express core IT competencies across all IT-related associate degree programs Both technical and behavioral outcomes Span the first 3 levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating Lower Order Thinking Skills Higher Order Thinking Skills

IT Curriculum Guidelines Assessment Each learning outcome has a 3-tier assessment rubric Give further clarity to outcomes Meaningful evaluation Facilitate integration into assessment-based curricula Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations

IT Curriculum Guidelines Mappings Core IT learning outcomes mapped to US Dept. of Labor IT Competency Model ACM IT Baccalaureate Guidelines CSTA Computer Science Standards ACM Computing Classification System Potentially Others

Learning Outcomes Reviewer’s Draft CAPSpace

IT Curriculum Guidelines Distribution Across Bloom’s Levels Remembering Understanding Applying Lower Higher

Next Steps Final guidelines available Q2 2014 Course Examples Map your course outcomes to ACM’s core IT learning outcomes for associate degrees Industry Champions List your company as an industry champion of this ACM curricula

MPICT "ACM CCECC Draft Curricular Guidance for IT AS Degrees" - Mid-Pacific ICT Center Quarterly Newsletter, 2013, Quarter 4, Page 8. 2012 MPICT Winter Conference Interview with James Jones, Executive Director MPICT and Bob Campbell, Vice Chair ACM CCECC - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFBLAR6xkNU (18.5 minutes)

ACM Inroads articles "Curricular Guidance for IT Associate-Degree Programs" - ACM Inroads, December 2013, Volume 4, Issue 4; DOI: 10.1145/2537753.2537764 - http://www.capspace.org/committee/CommitteeFileUploads/p26-hawthorneDec2013.pdf "Associate-Degree Curricular Guidance for Information Technology" - ACM Inroads, March 2012, Volume 3, Issue 1; DOI: 10.1145/2077808.2077817 - http://www.capspace.org/committee/CommitteeFileUploads/p28-hawthorneMarch2012.pdf

ACM CCECC Contact Info ACM CCECC Members Elizabeth K. Hawthorne, Chair, e.hawthorne@acmccecc.org Robert Campbell, Vice-Chair, rcampbell@gc.cuny.edu Jim Nichols, jnichols@acmccecc.org Cara Tang, ctang@acmccecc.org Cindy Tucker, ctucker@acmccecc.org www.capspace.org Send feedback thru: capspace.org/contactus/ by January 13, 2014