This project examined the adoption of cybersecurity into computing programs within liberal arts programs and whether the rate constitutes an innovative program. The research questions focused on the lived experience existing faculty members have had with the cybersecurity curriculum within liberal arts computing programs. Liberal arts general…

Software engineering is a growing field, with ever-increasing demand for capable engineers who can design, implement, and test the software that is needed for the modern world. With this increasing demand for software engineers, there is a corresponding increase in the demand placed on computer science programs that graduate these engineers.…

All engineering careers require some level of programming proficiency. However, beginning programming classes are challenging for many students. Difficulties have been well-documented and contribute to high drop-out rates which prevent students from pursuing engineering. While many approaches have been tried to improve the performance of students…

Computer science instructors typically have many responsibilities, such as creating material, delivering lectures, clarifying student questions, and grading student deliverables, while the demand for computer science education has been increasing. Handling all of these responsibilities is challenging in itself. However, it is made worse when…

This study explored correlations between Virginia K-8 teachers' confidence in computer science (CS) teaching and their confidence in technology teaching using a quantitative, nonexperimental, explanatory research design. Two constructs of the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, 2012b)…

In computer science education, introductory computer programming courses tend to be the most challenging for novices, with higher dropout rates than other computer science courses. Recruitment and retention of students in computer science fields is an important area of focus in computer science education research, and previous research has…

The opportunity to innovate, experiment, and take chances in the classroom should be accessible to all students regardless of the social identities they hold; however, white women and women of color (WOC) in male-dominated physics, engineering, math and computer science (PEMC) learning environments, and STEM broadly, have been expected to take…

Although there have been numerous technological advancements in the last several years, there continues to be a real threat as it pertains to social engineering, especially phishing, spear-phishing, and Business Email Compromise (BEC). While the technologies to protect corporate employees and network borders have gotten better, there are still…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and motivational factors that influenced educational and career decisions of United States military veterans who transitioned out of the military and into an information technology (IT)-related career field. The study investigated the reasons veterans decided to pursue IT-related careers,…

Novice programmers need well-designed instruction and assessment informed by research and critical perspectives to conquer the historical challenges associated with completing introductory computer programming courses successfully. These issues include high dropout and failure rates, the struggle to acquire and retain basic programming knowledge,…

The underrepresentation of women and women of color in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is of little surprise to those of us who have kept abreast of the statistical data supporting this phenomenon. In order for the United States (U.S.) to remain "economically and globally competitive" (Ong,…

This dissertation in practice explores the intersection of computer science education, specifically computational thinking and programming, with mathematics achievement among 15- year-old students in selected English-speaking countries. The research addresses a gap in understanding whether skills developed through computer science can positively…

Shortages within the cybersecurity workforce are not new; fluctuations in supply and demand, fiscal and monetary constraints, and technological advances have influenced changes within the cybersecurity workforce nationally and globally. Cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) impact many different cybersecurity roles within different…

Jung and Won's (2018) review of elementary school ER found a lack of understanding of instructional practices for ER with young children. Other researchers have called for further studies into what effective classroom orchestration and interaction look like within ER classrooms (Ioannou & Makridou, 2018; Xia & Zhong, 2019). This study was…

All students studying Computer Science (CS) deserve to have their basic psychological need for belonging satisfied. In this dissertation, I present two studies of belonging among CS students at the University of Washington-Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering. In the first study, my collaborators implemented a resubmission…