Featured Columns

Professional responsibility. Recognize and be guided by

the social, professional, and ethical issues involved in the
use of computer technology.

Professional Issues

Computing Curricula 2001:

Reverse Engineering a Computer
Science Curriculum (Part 2)

Practical capabilities and skills relating to computer

science
Design and implementation.
Specify, design, and
implement computer-based systems.
Evaluation. Evaluate systems in terms of general quality
attributes and possible tradeoffs presented within the
given problem.
Information management. Apply the principles of
effective
information
management,
information
organization, and information-retrieval skills to
information of various kinds, including text, images,
sound, and video.
Human-computer interaction. Apply the principles of
human-computer interaction to the evaluation and
construction of a wide range of materials including user
interfaces, web pages, and multimedia systems.
Risk assessment. Identify any risks or safety aspects that
may be involved in the operation of computing
equipment within a given context.
Tools. Deploy effectively the tools used for the
construction and documentation of software, with
particular emphasis on understanding the whole process
involved in using computers to solve practical problems.
Operation. Operate computing equipment and software
systems effectively.

C. Dianne Martin

n my previous column, I invited you to read Chapter 11

of the CC2001 report to reflect on the desired outcomes
and ultimate "product" we hope to produce in four
years of undergraduate computer science education.
From the report, I presented the high-level
characteristics we are trying to cultivate in our students
because of a well-integrated, up-to-date, and robust
curriculum. The CC2001 Computer Science Report also
provides us with a detailed list of capabilities and skills that
are worth examining. Students of computer science must
develop a wide range of capabilities and skills. Some of
those skills are specific to degrees in computer science;
others are more generic and would be expected of any
graduate of a technical discipline (CC2001, Chapter 11.2).
These capabilities and skills, taken directly from the
report and listed below, are divided into three general
categories: (1) cognitive capabilities relating to intellectual
tasks specific to computer science; (2) practical skills
relating to computer science; and (3) additional transferable
skills that may be developed in the context of computer
science, but are of a general nature and applicable in many
other contexts.

Additional transferable skills

Communication. Make succinct presentations to a range
of audiences about technical problems and their
solutions.
Teamwork. Be able to work effectively as a member of a
development team.
Numeracy. Understand and explain the quantitative
dimensions of a problem.
Self-management. Manage one's own learning and
development, including time management and
organizational skills
Professional development. Keep abreast of current
developments in the discipline to continue one's own
professional development.

Cognitive capabilities and skills relating to computer

science
Knowledge and understanding. Demonstrate knowledge
and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles,
and theories relating to computer science and software
applications.
Modeling. Use such knowledge and understanding in the
modeling and design of computer-based systems in a
way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoff
involved in design choices.
Requirements.
Identify and analyze criteria and
specifications appropriate to specific problems, and plan
strategies for their solution.
Critical evaluation and testing. Analyze the extent to
which a computer-based system meets the criteria
defined for its current use and future development.
Methods and tools. Deploy appropriate theory, practices,
and tools for the specification, design, implementation,
and evaluation of computer-based systems.

inroads The SIGCSE Bulletin

A look at the skills reveals that they are similar to the

reoccurring concepts mentioned in Computing Curricula
'91. They cut across all computer science courses and
provide the integrating themes that help students gain a
holistic view of their field. Defining learning objectives to
achieve threshold competency standards in the skills above
represents a valuable opportunity for a department engaged
in undergraduate computer science education. Setting such
objectives makes it easier to understand the overall impact
of the curriculum and makes it possible to assess the
effectiveness of the educational process. While learning
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Featured Columns
in the report that are expected of any graduate in computer
science. For that to be achieved each skill needs to be
explicitly cared for and called out among the learning
objectives of specific courses within the curriculum. We
cannot simply hope that they will emerge as a by-product
of good teaching, core content and enough credit hours.
Computer science faculty must be intentional in designing
integrated curricula with learning objectives, outcome
criteria, and assessment metrics that produce graduating
students who are well equipped with the knowledge and
skills they need to be highly competent professionals in the
rapidly changing computer field.

objectives will certainly vary by the type of program and

the characteristics of individual institutions, the example
objectives presented in CC2001 provide a useful model for
local implementations and are worth careful consideration.
When designing learning objectives to cultivate the
skills, it is useful to examine each skill in light of Bloom's
Taxonomy of Learning Objectives [Bloom, 1956]:
Knowledge: Does the student know the basic facts and
information related to the skill?
Comprehension: Does the student understand what they
mean?
Application: Can the student apply the facts and
information to solve problems?
Analysis: Can the student use the facts and information
to analyze new information and solve more complicated
problems?
Synthesis: Can the student put together information and
skills from multiple domains to reach a higher level of
understanding across knowledge domains and solve
complex problems?
Evaluation: Can the student use synthesized knowledge
to evaluate situations, formulate new problems, find
solutions and make recommendations for action?

Reference
Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational
objectives: The classification of educational goals:
Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York ; Toronto:
Longmans, Green. (For an explanation of the actions verbs
that characterize learning objectives to assess each
cognitive level, see http://www.dlrn.org/library/dl/ guide4
.html)

Each level of the taxonomy builds on the previous one

and requires deeper understanding of the knowledge and
skill in order to be able to perform at the new level. When
designing the learning objectives for a specific course
related to a specific skill, it is helpful to think about what
level of learning is the goal for each objective and what
performance measurement will indicate mastery. For
example, in introductory courses, the goal may be to
achieve the first three levels of mastery. In intermediate
courses, the goal should be to achieve levels 2.0 through
4.0. In advanced courses, learning objectives should
provide learning experiences and assessments that measure
mastery at levels 4.0 through 6.0. This idea is reinforced in
CC2201. Although benchmarking standards defined are
for the minimum and the average, it is nevertheless
important for programs in computer science to provide
opportunities for students of the highest caliber to achieve
their full potential. Such students will be creative and
innovative in their application of the principles covered in
the curriculum; they will be able to contribute significantly
to the analysis, design, and development of systems which
are complex, ... and they will be able to exercise critical
evaluation and review of both their own work and the work
of others.
In CC2001, computer science departments are charged
to ensure that the skills in each of the categories -cognitive, practical, and general -- receive sufficient
coverage in the curriculum so that all students have the
necessary background prior to graduation to demonstrate
proficiency in the skills. Despite differences in emphasis,
approach, and content between one program and another,
there are certain minimal characteristics clearly delineated
inroads The SIGCSE Bulletin

Reflections

Lees Law
John A.N. Lee

ust prior to World War II, I received my first hardcover

adult book as a present and read it from cover to
cover quickly. It was James Barries Peter Pan and
not only do I still have that book, but I still love to read
it again and again. So, I am reminded that for the past
year or so I have been following the lead of Captain Hook
in making sure that I have said my last speech. If you
will remember, there was one thing that frightened Hook,
and that was the crocodile. But, the problem had been
solved for some time after the crocodile had swallowed an
alarm clock with a rather loud ticking noise which gave an
announcement of his proximity. Hook knew that one day
the clock would wind down and that he would be eaten by
the crocodile, so just to make sure that he had the last word
he spent a lot of time giving his farewell speech.
Knowing that retirement was creeping up on me like
the crocodile, I have been trying to get that last meaningful
message out for the past year(s). In most of those talks I
have, from experience, elucidated the mechanisms by
which younger faculty determine that one of their older
colleagues is getting senile. This mechanism also carefully
displays Lees Law that I have taught my students for
many years that is, that everything in computer science

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