Computer Science Education Research

Faculty Members

Dr Aidan Mooney has been an active member of the CS Education community for many years. His current research interests include Computational Thinking, Eye-tracking technoliges, Access learning and inclusive technologies. He has worked on and led numerous research projects on CS Education. His early interest was in the area of Problem Based Learning (PBL) where he focused on using this technique to enhance the experience of first year CS students. He subsequently looked in more detail at retention issues relating to first year students culminating in him completing an Action Research Project as part of a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning. He sees technology as playing a vital role in Education and has researched and developed a number of tools which were incorporated into Moodle to enhance student participation and learning (e.g. plug-in for Moodle to aid programming students get instant feedback on submitted programs).

Mark Noone is a University Tutor in the department of Computer Science at Maynooth University since 2019. His work within the department involves the running many of the departments large-scale outreach programs including an annual Summer Camp, Coderdojo and others. He also manages first year modules as the first year teaching assistant and lectures on some modules. He is currently finalising a Masters degree in Computer Science Education entitled "VisTex: An Investigation on the Role of Visual and Textual Languages when Learning to Program". This topic is focused on whether visual languages and textual languages provide differing outcomes for students at the early stages of their education, and whether some hybrid form of these languages could provide an alternative CS1 solution. An ouput of this research was the tool "Hybrid Java". His research interests include Computer Science Education, Programming Languages, Student Support and Outreach Scaffolding.

Research Student Members

Mark Noone
Sam O'Neill

Collaborating Institute Members

Dr Keith Quille - TU Dublin. Keith is a lecturer of computing in the Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus. Keith's primary area of teaching is in Software Development, CS1 and CS2 (C#, Java and Python) and applied machine learning but has also delivered a wide range of other modules. In addition to his current role in TU Dublin, Keith delivers computing camps in primary and secondary schools around Ireland, promoting computer science to all students. Keith has also been commissioned to develop resources by the NCCA for the new leaving certificate computer science subject.
Dr Keith Nolan - TU Dublin. Keith is a lecturer of computing in the Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus. Keith's primary area of teaching is in Software Development, CS1 and CS2 (C#, Java and Python) and User Experience and Visual Design and Computational Mathematics but has experience delivering a wide range of computing modules. Keith's primary research relates to mental health in Computer Science and support services designed to help students realise their full potential in computing.
Eileen Costelloe- TU Dublin . Eileen Costelloe is a lecturer of computing in the Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus. She has over twenty year' lecturing experience, primarily in the areas of Software Development and Analysis and Design, and has delivered a wide variety of other modules during this time. Prior to lecturing, she worked in software development and networking roles for a number of years. Throughout her years of teaching software development, she has developed a keen interest in innovative approaches to teaching and learning and her research work includes the design, development and deployment of SCORM-compliant reusable learning objects to support the teaching of introductory programming (Java) and the design and use of a scaffolding tool to assist undergraduate students in problem solving. As a member of the Teaching Undergraduate Programming Using Learning Objects (TUPULO) team, she helped co-ordinate a European project (Minerva) which investigated the key learning requirements of undergraduate programming students and produced a set of learning objects to address the needs identified. She currently uses a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach in teaching software development to first year programming students to promote collaborative learning and enhance critical thinking skills.