How Do I Get People to Use My Ideas?: Lessons from Successful Innovators in CS Education

Abstract

Improving Computer Science (CS) education requires increasing the meaningful usage of research-supported pedagogy and curriculum. Studies on propagation have largely looked at dissemination and adoption from the perspective of adopters: what motivates them to discover, experiment with, and continue using innovative teaching. This study adds to a growing body of research on approaches to encourage adoption by examining the perspectives and advice of successful propagators-education researchers who have had their innovations widely adopted. Drawing on interviews with fourteen CS education researchers, this paper identifies both points of convergence and unique insights across several broad areas: barriers to adoption, the structure of academia, relevant principles of design and techniques for deployment, and strategies for propagation. Notable findings include: the structure of academia has aspects that both impede and facilitate successful propagation; traditional academic funding sources do not adequately support ongoing propagation; and some successful strategies for getting the word out involve oblique approaches for reaching potential users. This exploration of common successful approaches can serve as a guide for developers and educational advocates when working to attract new users and broaden impact.

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

Publication Date

3-3-2023

Department

Computer Science

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3545945.3569779

Notes

Conference held from March 15-18, 2023 in Toronto.

Language

English

Format

text

Link to Full Text

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