Information Technology Education takes part in national study
September 12, 2014
Project FICSIT (Factors Influencing College Success in Information Technology)
The Information Technology Education Program will participate this fall in a nationwide
study conducted by Harvard University under the auspices of a National Science Foundation
grant. The study, titled Project FICSIT, will analyze college students' education
background and previous IT-related experiences for predictors of performance when
students study Computer Science in college. As many as 200 SF students from various
IT entry level classes will take part in the study.
The study will reveal how decisions concerning the use of technology made by high
school teachers in the teaching of science and mathematics and the growing number
of high school computer science courses relate to the performance of 12,000 college
computer science students nationwide, who will be recruited from randomly selected
2-year and 4-year colleges and universities.
This study has the capacity to both reveal and evaluate the use of the most promising
educational practices and interventions, including both in-school computing instruction
and after-school programs, competitions, and clubs, and to assess the effects of a
match between experiences during the high school years with the evolving landscape
of introductory college computer science courses. Such knowledge can only help to
ameliorate the high failure rates that prematurely end the pursuit of a potential
computer science degree, especially for females and under-represented minorities who
historically opt out of this field earlier and in greater numbers than other classmates.
Both college and high school computer science instructors can also benefit from understanding
the factors contributing to effective preparation for students' first college computer
science course.
For more information, contact Jorge Ibanez at 352-395-5979 or jorge.ibanez@sfcollege.edu.
