A new theory of student success

ASU team revamps theoretical computer science class for modern learners

Prove that a computer can do anything. Or prove that it can’t.

What computers fundamentally can and can’t do is the purview of theoretical computer science. In the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, future engineers study important computing theories, striving to understand the true capabilities of machines.

A Fulton Schools team is hard at work looking for new ways to make the study of theoretical computer science accessible and engaging for all types of learners.

Joshua Daymude, a Fulton Schools assistant professor of computer science and engineering, says that the goal of his theoretical computer science class is to help students recognize common paradigms and develop an intuition about whether computational problems are solvable.

Daymude says one of the fundamental lessons he teaches in his CSE 355 Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science class is a sense of the limits of technology.

“The class argues that there are infinitely more things computers cannot do than what they can do,” he says. “And these things that they can’t do aren’t just mathematical curiosities but are actually important considerations in software design.”

Because it provides essential, fundamental knowledge, CSE 355 is typically taken near the midway point in a student’s computer science curriculum and is required for most computer engineers.

In Daymude’s class, students ponder questions like: Can different programming languages have fundamentally different capabilities? What makes one problem harder than another? They answer these questions by developing logical and mathematical proofs, and the assistant professor notes that some learners can have trouble adjusting to the class format.

“All of a sudden there’s no code,” Daymude says. “It feels much more like a pure math or even philosophy class than it does computer science. So, it throws a lot of students for a loop.”

Now the student has become the master

Daymude took CSE 355 as an undergraduate computer science student. Even though the class was taught by now-Emeritus Professor Charles Colbourn, widely regarded as one of the school’s best lecturers, Daymude recalls that he and fellow students often struggled with the fast pace of new abstract concepts and the infrequent feedback they got on assignments.

When he assumed a faculty role in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence and was tasked with teaching CSE 355, Daymude observed that the class had an unusually high retake rate, signaling that many students struggled with the topic. He began to wonder if new developments in technology, combined with a thoughtful, empathetic understanding of the student experience could improve student outcomes.

“The material is challenging, but it was clear that something needed to be done differently with the class itself,” Daymude says. “We needed to build new touchpoints for students to engage with the material in a way that helps them achieve real mastery.”

Daymude turned to Lindsey Lewandowski Robinson and her teammates. Robinson is a senior learning experience designer in the Fulton Schools Learning and Teaching Hub. She and her team use their expertise to help faculty members reinvigorate their curricula. They help develop hybrid and online courses that create an inclusive learning environment to support the success of all students.

Together, Daymude and Lewandowski Robinson created a totally new teaching model for CSE 355. They developed a fully remote class for the ASU Online program and a hybrid version for on-campus students. In the hybrid class, students watch the same video lectures as their ASU Online counterparts, then complete in-person learning activities in a highly interactive space.

Lewandowski Robinson explains that the team in the Learning and Teaching Hub worked with Daymude to develop new materials to bring the best of both worlds to all students.

“We aimed for the in-person and online experiences to be aligned but with variations that keep the audience top of mind,” she says. “Our goal is to give in-person students a compelling reason to attend class while ensuring online students have the resources to feel fully supported.”

Lewandowski Robinson observes Daymunde’s work in the Learning and Teaching Hub’s media studio. Here, Daymude explains Cantor’s diagonalization argument, a mathematical proof that demonstrates that the set of real numbers is not countable. The pair have developed video lectures and online tools that can be used in tandem with in-person instruction to help computer science students master the difficult subject. Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

New materials for a new way of learning

The pair’s first order of business was to decide how the new class would function. Lewandowski Robinson compares the process to building a house, where you first start with a blueprint and then begin construction.

“Josh and I brainstormed to define the objectives of this course, keeping the learners and their experience in mind every step of the way” she says. “With the learning objectives in place, we then discussed what learners would need to do to show mastery of each of the learning objectives throughout the course and the materials we could provide to support them.”

From there, they defined how to best use video assets, interactive simulations, online assessment tools and peer review and discussed how those elements would play alongside Daymude’s in-person interactions with students enrolled in the on-campus version of the class.

They divided the curriculum into smaller weekly modules that are each kicked off with short, but engaging, video lectures from Daymude, recorded in the Learning and Teaching Hub’s media studio. The lectures have questions and discussion topics included to make them as interactive as possible. After watching the videos, online students use Slack and other learning technologies to collaborate, while on-campus attendees engage in-class.

They also added assignments designed to help students develop a more personal connection to the material. At key checkpoints throughout the semester, students use Zoom to create a video diary telling their “story so far,” helping them to explain, in plain language, what they are learning in class and why it matters.

“One of the things I’m most proud of that’s new in this course is that we put a big emphasis on storytelling,” Daymude says. “The videos help students reframe why they are learning this sometimes-abstract material and understand that what we are really teaching is the difference between what’s possible and impossible.”

From pilot program to proven success

In spring of 2024, Daymude and Lewandowski Robinson ran a small pilot to test the new format with a group of 14 students. Following highly successful results, they launched the revamped class in earnest this fall, with 60 students enrolled in an ASU Online section and another 140 students enrolled in a hybrid in-person and online section.

Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, commends the collaboration and says it exemplifies the hard work being done by the school to ensure student success.

“A mastery of theoretical computer science pays off richly over an engineer’s career. The fundamentals really are forever,” Maciejewski says. “Ensuring that our students understand this material is essential, and Josh’s work will keep our students competitive in a field where hardware and software continues to change at a fast pace.”

Scott Mahler, senior director of the Learning and Teaching Hub, agrees and encourages more faculty members to consider how to best leverage engaging instructional approaches and technological tools to create classes that appeal to many types of learners.

He says, “With the goal of empowering lifelong learners in mind, Lindsey and our team are here to help faculty members deliver their materials in the most impactful way possible.”