For many, coding can be difficult. A new effort at the University of Memphis, however, could strengthen coding comprehension for computer science majors, non-computer science majors, and students from underrepresented groups — like females, students of color, and those with first-generation status.
Vasile Rus, Ph.D., the Jack and Jane Morris Professor in Computer Science, has been awarded $1.99 million from the Institute for Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Education. The funds are for his project, which will look to develop and investigate a novel technology called iCODE.
The project's aim is to enhance learners’ code comprehension skills, which could have lasting positive effects on their academic success and future professional careers. It’s expected to have an inclusive and culturally responsive instructional design, while also adapting to individual learner characteristics — like prior knowledge, self-efficacy, engagement, and socio-cultural factors.
iCODE’s development will follow a design-based research and iterative systems-engineering approach with stakeholders — like university and community college instructors and students — informing the design through interviews, use cases, and walk-throughs.
Projects like this are crucial for U of M as it looks to keep its status as a top-tier research university. In mid-December, the U of M gained R1 status from the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, a highly coveted designation that local leaders say can be an economic boon for not just the school but the entire city.
Once R1 status is gained, however, it must retained — Carnegie releases new rankings every three years — and a key part of that is research expenditures.
Fortunately for U of M, Rus isn’t the only faculty member who’s scored a research award recently. Below are examples of awards given to the U of M in June:
- Richard Irwin, Ph.D., was awarded $675,904 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation
- Susan Neely-Barnes, Ph.D., was awarded a $627,164 grant and a $464,391 grant from the from the Health Resources and Services Administration
- Eraina Schauss, Ph.D. awarded $350,000 from the University of Memphis Research Foundation with The Urban Child Institute
U of M isn’t the only local institution to land a notable research award recently, as Rhodes College is set to receive a $639,165 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), to continue research related to antifungal properties.
The research is performed by chemistry professor Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Ph.D., and biology professor Terry Hill, Ph.D., along with their students, and it has the potential to find more effective antifungal drugs. It’s Rhodes’ fourth grant from the NSF tied to cell growth and fungi development.
“Uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms that orchestrate how fungi grow and divide allow us to develop technologies that take advantage of their utility and envision strategies to control their growth in harmful contexts,” said Jackson-Hayes, in a press release.
