Propagating the adoption of CS educational innovations

Written with Cynthia Taylor, Jaime Spacco, Zack Butler, Heather Bort, Christopher L. Hovey, Francesco Maiorana, and Thomas Zeume.
Proceedings Companion of the 23rd Annual ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), pages 217-235, 2018. This is the report for an ITiCSE working group I co-organized with C. Taylor and J. Spacco. Its abstract appeared with the title ``Promoting the adoption of educational innovations'' and M. Barnas as an additional author in Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), page 368, 2018.


Abstract:

In this report, we survey the existing scholarship in STEM higher education regarding what motivates, encourages, and inhibits educators' decisions to adopt teaching innovations. After reviewing common theoretical foundations and considerations for adoption and dissemination studies, we identify challenges for encouraging adoption among educators in higher education. When possible, we provide evidence-based recommendations from the literature on how to overcome these challenges. We then consider the relevance of scholarship from general higher education and other STEM disciplines to the context of computer science in particular, discussing similarities and areas of divergence that would affect dissemination efforts. In order to better guide change agents in propagating beneficial teaching practices, tools, and resources, we conclude by summarizing best practices for promoting the adoption of innovations in computer science higher education.