Freedom In Teaching Applied To Computer Science Education And Its Relationship To Accreditation And Diversity

Abstract

Much of the literature reviewed on the subject of freedom in teaching seems to emphasize that it is not only highly desirable and appreciated but deeply embedded in the core of the teaching profession. Although freedom in teaching has been used to mean freedom of academic institutions, instructors and students, but it has focused mostly on freedom of instructors in classrooms to discuss materials relevant to their courses and in their research. The intention behind this paper is not to look for evidence to support what is already known, but rather to contribute to the understanding of the subject by extending what is meant by the term freedom in teaching to cover freedom of disciplines. This paper seeks to use this extension to propose that freedom in teaching can help addressing and responding to many challenges that face a rapidly changing discipline such as the discipline of Computer Science. The paper focuses on how freedom in teaching computer science at both program and course levels may play a pivot role in responding to some of the discipline’s challenges. The paper also seeks to link freedom in teaching to issues such as diversity, accreditation and learning objects. The paper concludes by discussing the disadvantages and burdens that may come with freedom in teaching. Although that this paper focuses on the discipline of Computer Science as a case to study, but the arguments and discussion may be generalized to cover other disciplines that face similar challenges.