My research in Computer Science education aims to broaden participation in computing through the motivating context of the arts.  I am currently exploring how to translate excitement about movies featuring Computer-generated Imagery (CGI) into increased curiosity and engagement with mathematics and computing.

Computing in the Arts – Since joining College of Charleston in 2013, I have contributed to shaping the direction of this innovative degree program that enables to students to synthesize computer science with the arts.  To read more about the Computing in the Arts Program click here.  This ACM SIGCSE 2014 paper discusses the design and formation of the CITA program.

I recently completed leading a six-year longitudinal study to measure the impact of the CITA curriculum on broadening participation of women in computing.  The results of this work has been published in ACM SIGCSE 2019 and ACM SIGGRAPH Educators Forum 2019.

Computing in the Movies – This ongoing experiment explores how contextualizing introductory data science with movies can increase interest and broaden participation in data science.  Click here to learn more about the pilot offered to high school students as part of CofC’s Honors College Summer Institute.