Innovative Practices in Teaching Information Sciences and Technology Further Experience Reports and Reflections

Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is a rapidly developing, interdisciplinary area of university research and educational programs. It encompasses artificial intelligence, data science, human-computer interaction, security and privacy, and social informatics. In both research and teaching, IST ambitiously addresses interdisciplinary synergies across this broad foundation. Many articles and books discuss innovative research practices in IST, but innovations in teaching practices are less systematically shared. Although new programs and new faculty join IST each year, they basically have only their own imaginations to draw upon in developing effective and appropriate innovative teaching practices. This book presents essays by experienced faculty instructors in IST describing insights that emerged from teaching and learning classroom practice, and that have been validated through classroom experience. The book is intended to help develop and strengthen a community of practice for innovative teaching in IST. 

Teaching as Innovation.- The false promises of application-driven learning: Mathematical thinking in today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape.- Professor in a Strange Land: An Expat Metaphor for Classroom Discussions.- When Less is More – A Java Introductory Course.- Teaching Information Technology Without the Technology: An unplugged approach to introducing IT concepts to first-year students.- Scenario-Based Design with ChatGPT: A First-Year Seminar Experience.- Hitting the Sweet Spot: Designing an Accessible Introductory Machine Learning Course for Informatics Students.- Unleashing the Problem-Solving Potential of Next-Generation Data Scientists.- Providing Iterative Cybersecurity Hands-on Learning Experience: Reflections on Teaching Cyber-Defense to Second Year IT Students.- Learning About Explainable AI with Very Little Programming For 4th Year Undergrads (or Younger).- Traversing the Software Development Life Cycle: Reflections on Teaching Object-Oriented Programming to Third Year IT Students.- Blurring the boundaries of teaching modes to Improve the experience of professional learners.- Semester Projects on Human-Computer Interaction as Service and Outreach, undergraduate and graduate.- Knowledge Integration and Knowledge Building: Engaging with different perspectives to create a place for knowledge building in a learning environment.- Single Point Rubrics: An Opportunity in Graduate Education.- Entering the Cybersecurity Workforce: Certification vs. College Degree..- Teaching as the Practice of Cultivating Relationships.- Achieving Consistent and Relevant Learning Outcomes on a Common Course.

John M. Carroll is Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at the Pennsylvania State University. His research is human-centered design of information technology, especially tools for collaborative and collective activity, and the transformative possibilities and risks entrained by new technology. Carroll serves on several advisory and editorial boards for journals, handbooks, and series. He is editor of the Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics. Carroll received the Rigo Award and the CHI Lifetime Achievement Award from ACM, the Silver Core Award and Pioneer in HCI Award from IFIP, the Goldsmith Award from IEEE, an honorary doctorate in engineering from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and the Faculty Scholar Medal in Social and Behavioral Science from Penn State. He is a fellow of AAAS, ACM, IEEE, IFIP, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the Psychonomics Society, the Society for Technical Communication, and the Association for Psychological Science.