Assessing the Impact of Sustainability-Themed Programming Assignments
Jeffrey A. Stone · 2019
This lightning talk describes initial research to assess the impact of a set of multidisciplinary programming projects in introductory CS and IS courses. Students in these courses are given a series of programming projects designed around various components of sustainability (e.g. air pollution, wind power). These projects are intended to provide students with a lightweight, non-intrusive introduction to sustainability concepts while still assessing their ability to perform introductory programming tasks. This approach is intended to show students the applicability of programming towards sustainability concepts, but it is also intended help build students' knowledge and spark interest in applying sustainability concepts in their own communities and daily routine. Recently, we have undertaken an effort to more accurately assess the impact of these projects on students' knowledge, understanding, appreciation, and practice of sustainability concepts. Small post-project reflective writing exercises have been used to assess the influence that the sustainability-based projects have had on students' knowledge and behavior. This work has included initial development of custom reflective writing exercises and an accompanying grading rubric, as well as pre- and post-course surveys, but more work is needed to develop and/or refine these instruments and the overall approach. This assessment effort began in Spring 2018 and is currently in pilot. We are seeking additional interested faculty collaborators and feedback on the approach. Especially welcome are faculty who may have an interest in adopting and/or helping to develop assessment materials or sustainability-themed projects.