Michael O'Grady – författare

The march towards on-line and blended teaching—present before the Covid-19 pandemic—has been accelerated by it, and there is no going back. Students and staff may object, but the economic drive towards “greater productivity” will inevitably result in less face-to-face (f2f) instruction. Therefore, it is incumbent for those delivering this precious, in-person resource to make maximum use of time…which raises the question, “how”?

The second edition of Higher Education Computer Science offers some potential answers. It also addresses other questions, such as “why have f2f teaching at all?” “what is the purpose of f2f?” and “what is the appropriate balance between the two?” The first edition began to offer suggestions for optimising limited opportunities to get together with students.

Aligned with that, this unique new volume examines how to use the technology available to maximum advantage: For example, resources such as Moocs and other on-line instructional materials can provide invaluable pedagogic support. In addition, the book addresses ‘problem-based learning,’ using robotics in the teaching of programming, and a multidisciplinary approach to data science. Although it includes a chapter on distance learning, there is greater emphasis placed on the soft, transferable skills and employability skills that are best delivered in person. Further, the work provides several examples of putting theory into practice when teaching computer science at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Written by experienced practitioners, each chapter tackles a particular teaching activity or topic within computing, presented in such a way that other practitioners can use. As such, this new volume will be an invaluable resource to those who want to protect and optimise in-person teaching.

There is currently a great emphasis on teaching quality in Higher Education. In the UK, the Teaching Excellence Framework and the National Student Survey have contributed significantly to this focus. Additional support for staff to develop teaching skills has also come from the Higher Education Academy, whose fellowship scheme encourages HE staff to focus on their practice in the classroom.

The growth in the number of students attending university has resulted in a much wider range of learning styles amongst them. Many students do not fit the idealised average of being adept at learning from primarily text-based media. Two further trends are also driving change and innovation in academic staff teaching. The first is the availability of online teaching materials such as MOOCs. The second is the emphasis now given to student postgraduate employability, represented by certain aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework that require students not only to know information, but alsoto be able to articulate that knowledge and to demonstrate their skills.

With a desire to enable our students to achieve their highest potential, many staff undertake initiatives to facilitate learning that accommodate a wide range of learning styles. This book focuses on approaches to teaching and learning within the discipline of Computer Science. The book consists of a selection of chapters that describe a particular teaching activity or topic within Computing in HE, presented in such a way that other practitioners can adopt and adapt them as a way of helping them to develop their own teaching. It provides a number of practical cases of putting theory into practice when teaching Computer Science to both undergraduate and postgraduate students in Higher Education institutions.

A chapter on the importance of developing soft skills and a professional online presence is also included as an essential part of preparing the students for their future employment.