Dr. Spyros Doukakis, Fulbright Visiting Scholar to Villanova University from the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, Athens, Greece and the Institute of Educational Policy in the Greek Ministry of Education in Greece presents a colloquium on Monday, Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m., in Mendel Science Center 154. The talk focuses on brain imaging techniques that explore the functional organization of the human brain and the opportunities they provide to support learning in the field of computer science education.
Abstract:
Introductory computer programming classes use a great range of approaches to train novice programmers. In addition to achieving specific learning goals, instruction typically aims to also motivate students to engage in computational thinking, to build confidence, and to generate interest in further study in computer science. In this context, research studies focus on issues concerning the learning pathways, models and paradigms for teaching programming, which are meant to enhance and optimize programmers’ skills. Recent developments of brain imaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG), have provided additional opportunities for neuroscientists to explore the functional organization of the human brain. With the use of these techniques, the present research is an approach to supporting learning in the field of computer science education. In particular, we observe brain rhythms as trainees are learning or working on various types of programming tasks, using both textual and visual programming. On one hand, there is an attempt to connect neurosciences with cognitive science; on the other hand, the obtained research data will contribute to the identification of practices that can be applied to formal and informal computer science education.
About the speaker:
Dr. Spyros Doukakis is currently a researcher at Ionian University, Greece, and the special counselor for teacher training for the Institute of Educational Policy in the Greek Ministry of Education. He also holds the position of the academic and development advisor at Pierce-The American College of Greece, where he taught for more than fifteen years. He has regularly offered courses on advanced topics in Computer Science Education at the Ionian University, at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens, and at the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE), which sponsored his application for a Fulbright Visiting Scholarship to Villanova for the Spring 2018 semester. Dr. Doukakis has co-authored more than 80 papers in journals and conferences as well as book chapters. He is also the co-author/editor of twelve educational books (two of them are the national textbooks: Computer Science for 11th grade and Mathematics for 5th grade), a periodical publication for mathematics, and the creator of several educational materials. Dr. Doukakis is the only non-US educator who has ever been awarded the Harvard Prize Book Teacher Award.