Three traditions of computing: what educators should know

Abstract

Educators in the computing fields are often familiar with the characterization of computing as a combination of theoretical, scientific, and engineering traditions. That distinction is often used to guide the work and disciplinary self-identity of computing professionals. But the distinction is, by no means, an easy one. The three traditions of computing are based on different principles, they have different aims, they employ different methods, and their products are very different. Educators in the field of computing should be aware of the fundamental differences between the traditions of computing so that they can offer their students a truthful and balanced view about computing branches. In this article the three traditions of computing are presented and some of their underlying assumptions, principles, application areas, restrictions, and weaknesses are portrayed. Also, some of the landmark arguments in the debates about the identity of computing disciplines are discussed.

Moving Technology-Enhanced-Learning Forward: Bridging Divides through Leadership

“…In the TEL research area, cross-disciplinary views come together from varied disciplines: pedagogy, computer science, and media technology to name a few. Tedre and Sutinen (2008) write, "It is notoriously difficult to conduct research in the intersection of research traditions without making a mess of it" (p.…”

An easy approach to epistemology and ontology in computing theses

“…For instance, Gödel [7, 8, §1] argued that mathematical objects exist in the very same manner as tables and screwdrivers do. In mathematics, ontological realists argue that there are mathematical objects that exist independently of people; ontological idealists argue that mathematical objects exist by virtue of our minds; and nominalists argue that mathematical objects do not quite "exist" [21,25,[226][227]. The image of mind-independence of mathematics was questioned by, for example, Lakatos [14] and Bloor [1].…”

“…The variety of research topics in computing makes it nigh impossible to formulate an overarching prescription on how computing research should properly be done [24,25]. Researchers in each computing subfield prefer a different set of methods.…”

Towards identification and classification of core and threshold concepts in methodology education in computing

“…Computing deals with a range of different kinds of problems, and different types of problems are rooted in different intellectual traditions [30]. Understanding what different kinds of problems entail is difficult as it stands, different kinds of problems each introduce their own sets of concepts, and they all point to different research trajectories.…”