Instructional Area

We are one of the nation's largest computer science instructional areas, redefining education at Illinois and beyond with award-winning, creative, world-class faculty. Leading diverse high-impact education and computer science-based initiatives, we invent and share innovative and inclusive educational practices, visualizations, technologies, and transformative learning experiences.

Strengths & Impact

A woman is pointing while teaching students at a whiteboard inside a classroom at the Siebel Center for Computer Science.

Summer Teaching Workshop

Our Summer Teaching Workshop brings together college instructors engaged with teaching computer science to discuss best practices, present new ideas, challenge the status quo, propose new directions, debunk existing assumptions, advocate for new approaches, and present surprising or preliminary results.

Leading-edge Teaching Technologies

  • Interactive Visualization Systems Laboratory enables exploratory deep dives into high-quality and impactful data.
  • PrairieLearn is an online problem-driven learning system that promotes mastery in solving STEM problems.
  • Computer Based Testing Facility (CBTF) is a secure proctored computer-based testing environment.
  • ClassTranscribe allows fully accessible video content and I•Note text, epub, pdf, and latex document generation.
  • Queue allows in-person and online efficient and effective office hours and group formation.
  • ScribeAR for augmented reality live captions, visualization, and speaker identification for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Faculty

Educational Data Mining, Teaching at Scale, Online Assessments, Collaborative Learning, Data-Driven Teaching

Blended Degree Programs, Pathways for Computing Education, Undergraduate Research, Professional Development and Training

Fully-Accessible Video-Based Learning; Video-to-Book Generation; ASL Glossary; Generating Accurate Captions and Content Description; Applied Machine Learning for Accessibility and Transformative Media Applications

Mastery Grading; Science and Technology Studies

CS1, Online Instruction, Frequent Small Assessment, Teaching at Scale, Effective Autograding

Teaching at Scale, Discrete Mathematics, Formal Models of Computation

Ethics and Professional Issues in Computing; Legal and Policy Issues in Computing; Digital Forensics; Computer Security; Applied Machine Learning

Outcomes Assessment

Data Discovery, Social Media, Open-Ended Creative Assessments

Discrete Mathematics, Frequent Assessment, AI Autograding

Assessment at scale, Isomorphic questions, Programming skill hierarchies, LLMs for question authoring and grading/feedback, Open educational resources (OER)

Broadening Participation in Computing, Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms, K-12 CS Education

Autograding Math Computations and Proofs; Applying Formal Methods and Program Analysis to Computer Education

Computer Architecture, Study Skills/Habits, Students' Sense of Belonging, Frequent Low-Stakes Assessments

Application of Universal Design for Learning for Inclusive Large Classroom Teaching; Real-World-Data-Based Assignments for Experiential Learning; Active Learning Practices in STEM Courses; Affective Learning Practices; Understanding of Learning Pathways

Motion Planning and Control, Autonomous Robots, Machine Learning

Assessment, Broadening Participation in Computing, Learning Analytics, Online Learning Platforms, Teaching at Scale

Teaching at Scale, Problem-Based Learning, Immersive Learning, Assessment, Learning Analytics

Teaching at Scale, Assessment, Collaborative Learning, Online Learning Platforms

Computer Science Education

Teaching at Scale, Assessment, Introductory Programming Education, Non-Majors

Broadening Participation in Computing; K-12 CS Education; Teaching Assistant Preparation; K-12 Teacher Preparation  

Pedagogy, Inclusive Classrooms, Adult and Multiple Pathways Computing Education

Experience-Based Learning, Team Projects, Peer Evaluations, Static Code Analysis

 

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