Interdisciplinary computing classes

Abstract

The benefits of interdisciplinary computing classes have been widely discussed. For the computing students, they provide a context in which to apply their skills, and appear to aid in recruitment and retention. For non-computing students, they provide additional skills to enhance their own crafts. For both, interdisciplinary programs open up new career possibilities and hone soft skills. In consideration of these and other benefits, the Point Loma Nazarene University Mathematical, Information, and Computer Sciences department have teamed up with the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics departments to offer several opportunities for interdisciplinary experiences to their students. In addition to the benefits, however, these programs produce significant challenges. This paper reviews the benefits of interdisciplinarity and discusses three different models of interdisciplinary experiences used at PLNU. It reports on the challenges that arose in each, and ways these difficulties were resolved. Finally, it discusses the hurdle of recruiting for such courses.

Hack, Slash & Backstab: A Post-Mortem of University Game Development at Scale

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Developing a Mobile Social Learning Application for Interdisciplinary Technology Courses

“…The course is cross-listed with Psychology and serves as an undergraduate upper-division general education course required for graduation. Cross-listed computing courses are becoming more popular and offer unique opportunities for computing programs and introduce more reluctant students to areas of computing through the integration of theories and concepts of other disciplines (Carter, 2014). In 2020, the software for COMP449 was enhanced with a mobile application, to provide students with a mobile-first alternative to accessing the gradebook, quizzes, discussion-board and blogs.…”

Introducing Computing Concepts to Non-Majors

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