CS2013-final-report

Why do you teach the course this way
I created the course in Spring 1998. In its history over 400 students have worked one-on-one with nearly 300 local
organizations. It has evolved significantly over the past 14 years and continues to do so.
The course goals were stated earlier. In more succinct terms, the course focuses on developing students'
professional leadership and communication skills, and to help them understand the social context of computing.
Leadership skills cannot be learned from a lecture or book. Rather, they can only be learned by doing. Therefore
the class puts students in a leadership position where they are expected to lead a consulting engagement with a
client. They are not working for the client, rather they are leading a process with the client. And they are expected
to investigate the situation, propose and execute a plan, and direct the clients' participation in that plan. Similarly,
students cannot learn good professional communication skills except by using them in an authentic context.
A more thorough discussion of the course and these learning goals can be found in:
Mertz, J. and McElfresh, S. 2010. “Teaching communication, leadership, and the social context of
computing via a consulting course.” In Proceedings of the 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer
Science Education (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, March 10 - 13, 2010). SIGCSE '10. ACM, New York,
NY, 77-81. DOI= http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1734263.1734291
Students find the amount of writing that is required to be challenging. They enjoy the class, however, and by the
end of the semester when they see the effects of their work, they tend to be very satisfied. They especially
appreciate their experience in working with a community partner. Course evaluations are very good.
Body of Knowledge coverage
KA Knowledge Unit Topics Covered Hours
SP Social Context Social implications of computing in a networked world 3
SP Analytical Tools Evaluate stakeholder positions in a given situation. 8
SP Professional Ethics The nature of professionalism including care, attention and discipline,
fiduciary responsibility, and mentoring
9
SP Professional Ethics Accountability, responsibility and liability 1
SP
Professional
Communication
Reading, understanding and summarizing technical material, including
source code and documentation
2
SP
SP
SP
SP
Professional
Communication
Professional
Communication
Professional
Communication
Professional
Communication
Writing effective technical documentation and materials 10
Dynamics of oral, written, and electronic team and group communication 12
Communicating professionally with stakeholders 5
Dealing with cross-cultural environments 1
SP
Professional
Communication
Tradeoffs of competing risks in software projects, such as technology,
structure/process, quality, people, market and financial
3
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