Computing Education Task Force (CETF)
The Computing Education Task Force (CETF) was launched in the Fall of 2020. This faculty task force is charged with helping us all reimagine computing education for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Training in the use of computers and information technology began at Michigan in LSA in the 1950s. The Communication Sciences PhD program, founded in 1957, brought together scholars from Psychology, Speech, Linguistics, Mathematics, and Information Theory. In 1961, this CS program expanded to include undergraduate training, and in 1965 became the LSA Department of Computer and Communication Sciences. In 1968 the College of Engineering launched their own Department of Computer, Information, and Control Engineering. And in 1984, these LSA and COE departments came together in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Since then, the LSA Computer Science major has been housed in this COE department.
Computers and information technology play important roles in nearly every aspect of modern life. As the internet increasingly shapes society, it’s essential that we educate students from a wider range of backgrounds to participate in the design and assessment of its services and applications. Whatever they pursue after graduation, our students are sure to put computers and information technologies to work throughout their professional and private lives. We have an obligation to prepare them all to do this both responsibly and well. In these times, this is an important aspect of a liberal arts education.
For all these reasons, the College has launched a small, ad hoc Computing Education Task Force (CETF), charged with imagining a program that could enable all LSA students to gain and leverage computational literacy. Dean Curzan and all of the Associate Deans have strongly endorsed this idea, and feel this work is important for the future of the College. Read the Charge for the Task Force.
During the year, the CETF will seek ideas and input campus-wide, from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, through a variety of mechanisms which they will share with you. If you or your unit have a special interest in this topic, feel free to reach out to uged.exec.sec@umich.edu.
Activities
New! Final Report from the Computing Education Task Force – January 2022
Recent Posts
- Release of the LSA Computing Education Task Force Final ReportIn September 2020, the Dean’s Office of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts launched a faculty Computing Education Task Force (CETF) charged with imagining a program that would enable all LSA students to leverage computing within a digital world for… Read more: Release of the LSA Computing Education Task Force Final Report
- The history of the idea of everyone learning about computingThe co-chair of the computing education task force, Mark Guzdial, wrote a blog post about the history of computer science. The idea that every undergraduate on campus should take a course in computing dates back to 1961, long before Silicon Valley and… Read more: The history of the idea of everyone learning about computing
- What Liberal Arts and Sciences Students Need to Know About ComputingCatch up on the recent work of the Computing Education Task Force and the three themes of computing in LS&A at the University of Michigan. Click here to read.
- Promote diversity by teaching to many goals for computingProfessor Mark Guzdial (co-chair of the Computing Education Task Force) shares that universities should support diversity in CS thoughts and goals to have students from diverse backgrounds in computing. Click here to read.
- Welcome!Thanks for stopping by. We encourage you to bookmark this site so that you can keep up to date with activities of the committee, announcements/communications and upcoming events. Feel free to use the comments section to let us know what you think.… Read more: Welcome!
