@inproceedings{McCauleySabinKumaretal.2023, author = {McCauley, Ren{\´e}e and Sabin, Mihaela and Kumar, Amruth N. and Kiesler, Natalie and MacKellar, Bonnie and Raj, Rajendra K. and Impagliazzo, John}, title = {Using Vignettes to Elicit Students' Understanding of Dispositions in Computing Education}, series = {2023 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)}, booktitle = {2023 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)}, publisher = {IEEE}, doi = {10.1109/FIE58773.2023.10342915}, pages = {1 -- 5}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Vignettes are short stories along with a set of questions that engage the reader to comment on the story. Vignettes have been used in professional academic programs (e.g., teacher preparation and medical education), for professional development in various fields (e.g., teaching ethics in psychology and medicine), and in various research fields for data collection. In this work, vignettes are used to elicit students' understanding of dispositions in computing education. Professional dispositions enable behaviors that are valued in the workplace, such as adaptability or self-directedness. They are often explicitly stated in computing job postings. While the relevance of dispositions is widely recognized in the workplace, only recently have curricular guidelines for computing programs recognized professional dispositions as an integral part of competencies and as complementary to knowledge and skills. There is scarce literature on the use of vignettes in teaching undergraduate computing, or on how best to foster dispositions in students. In this project, four faculty from four diverse institutions in the U.S., along with three consulting experts, have collaborated to design and evaluate the use of vignettes in the classroom. This paper documents researchers' efforts to gain insights into students' perceptions of dispositions through the use of vignettes. Such insights may guide educators to identify pedagogical strategies for fostering dispositions among students. This paper presents an iterative process for vignette design with continuous review by researchers and focus group members. The vignettes in this study use stories of situations which demonstrate the application of a disposition, drawn from various fields and walks of life to represent diverse groups and experiences. Students are presented with the vignette story and asked to identify the disposition illustrated. To elicit students' understanding of dispositions in terms of their personal behaviors, students are asked to describe a situation in which they have experienced the disposition. Lessons learned in the design and use of vignettes are discussed.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KieslerKumarMacKellaretal.2024, author = {Kiesler, Natalie and Kumar, Amruth N. and MacKellar, Bonnie K. and McCauley, Ren{\´e}e and Sabin, Mihaela and Impagliazzo, John}, title = {Students' Perceptions of Behaviors Associated with Professional Dispositions in Computing Education}, series = {Proceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Vol. 1}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Vol. 1}, publisher = {ACM}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, doi = {10.1145/3649217.3653566}, pages = {353 -- 359}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Dispositions, skills, and knowledge form the three components of competency-based education. Moreover, dispositions are considered crucial for students to succeed in the workplace. Few studies investigate how dispositions manifest in the form of observable behaviors, which causes challenges for both students and educators. Computing students, for example, may not understand what is expected of them, and how to achieve dispositions. This paper presents the results of a qualitative, multi-institutional study on students' understanding of the dispositions adaptable, persistent, self-directed, meticulous, and professional. Perceptions were gathered by asking for exemplary situations of students applying each of the five dispositions in the context of assignments within computing courses. Students who indicated they did not apply the disposition were asked to describe the hindering circumstances. The data was evaluated by using Mayring's content analysis technique, resulting in the development of deductive-inductive categories of observable behaviors reflecting the student's perspective. For meticulous and professional, new categories representing observable behaviors were developed. For adaptable, persistent, and self-directed, the authors confirmed and extended prior work. Moreover, factors hindering students in applying the investigated dispositions are identified. The resulting categories with observable student behaviors are an important step toward the operationalization of competency-based learning outcomes including dispositions. A common understanding of dispositions will also help with the design of new forms of instruction and measures to foster the application of dispositions in the context of computing education.}, language = {en} }