Work in Progress: Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) for Community College Students
Publication Date
6-25-2023
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Title
ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
Abstract
The nation's expanding digital workplace requires more computing professionals as well as workers with both domain and computing skills. Several universities have developed new interdisciplinary computing programs to meet these demands, but many lower-division students, especially those at community colleges, are not aware of these programs. Moreover, many students may not encounter learning experiences that foster their self-efficacy in pursuing these programs, creating an inequitable lack of opportunity for students at two-year institutions. In this paper we describe our approach to addressing these issues: the Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) program, which embeds computing modules into existing introductory statistics and biology courses. These modules use Python and are accessed via Google Colab, a free, web-based version of Jupyter Notebook. Critically, the success of the program requires instructors who feel comfortable teaching APEX content, particularly when they have little or no prior experience with computer programming. To this end, we created two Canvas courses, the first of which introduces faculty to Colab and Python, and the second of which contains APEX statistics and biology modules plus instructor solutions. We also piloted a faculty learning community (FLC) with a local two-year institution to foster a collaborative community and support faculty in adopting APEX materials, which included helping them to consider, plan, apply, and reflect on effective practices for integrating computing into their courses. Building upon these pilot efforts, we are actively expanding adoption of the APEX program in several ways. First, we have begun holding summer and winter training workshops for faculty at several additional community colleges. Second, we are refining and improving the FLC experience as we initiate new FLCs with these institutional partners. Finally, we will continue to assess the program's efficacy through a research plan that evaluates student and faculty experiences, allowing us to optimize the program and encourage faculty across the country to adopt our model of embedding computing experiences in lower division courses.
Department
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Valerie A. Carr, Jennifer Avena, David Schuster, Wendy Lee, and Belle Wei. "Work in Progress: Applied Programming Experiences (APEX) for Community College Students" ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings (2023).
