1. George Mason University
SPARC
Public state research university
34K students (65% undergrad)
Virginia DC suburbs
Extremely diverse student body (<50% European, 33% first generation)
Computer Science department
44 faculty members
1000 undergraduate majors (2014: 900, 2010: 450)
365 MS students, ~150 PhD students
Undergraduate majors
14% female, 46% European, 27% Asian
CS 1 growth: 2015—500+, 2014—484, 2011—215
CS 2 growth: 2015—250+, 2014—214, 2011—106
Offutt, Ammann, Dobolyi, Lester, Rangwala, Setia, Wang, White

2. Challenges of the Surge
SPARC
This dramatic increase makes retention and quality preservation very difficult
Traditional CS1 and CS2 courses
Use the same assignments for practice and assessment
Expect all students to learn at the same rate
Catching cheaters is a major priority
We use antiquated content delivery (lectures)
Students are very diverse
Incoming knowledge
Learning speed
Learning styles
Offutt, Ammann, Dobolyi, Lester, Rangwala, Setia, Wang, White

3. The SPARC Concept The Black-belt Model SPARC
Self-paced demonstration of skills and knowledge
Students earn stripes and belts
Collaborative practice problems (peer learning)
No competition
Multiple attempts are allowed
Automated grading of assessments
Self-paced learning
Online content delivery
Instructors work with students individually
cs.gmu.edu/~kdobolyi/cs112/
Offutt, Ammann, Dobolyi, Lester, Rangwala, Setia, Wang, White