Overview of the Discipline of Computer Science - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 35

Table 3.1 Factors that
encourage/discourage males/
females in the choice of
computer science

Boys Girls Both genders

Encourage [2]

Discourage [1]

the appropriate cell. Our experience says that in most cases, the following
picture is clearly observed at the end of this process: Cell [1], which includes
factors that discourage girls from studying computer science, and Cell [2],
which includes factors that encourage boys to study computer science, are
full, while the other cells remain almost empty.
The class discussion that follows this trigger leads the students to rethink
their perspective regarding gender diversity in computer science classes. Par-
ticularly, the students begin observing their bias very clearly. This increased
awareness is used in order to further discuss with them how to encourage
diversity in their future classes.
Following this discussion, data about gender diversity (such as, statistics
from different countries) are presented to the students and the importance of
diversity is emphasized.

3.5.3 Soft Skills

According to Sukhoo et al. ( 2005 ), “Soft skills […] is concerned with managing and
working with people, ensuring customer satisfaction with the intention of retaining
them and creating a conducive environment for the project team to deliver high
quality products within budget and on time and exceeding stakeholders' expecta-
tions” (p. 693-694).
A fast Google search suffices to reveal that almost all problems associated with
software development processes are connected to people (mainly customers and
team members) and that their origin is rooted not in technological aspects but in
cognitive and social aspects—i.e., the expression of soft skills. Therefore, it is im-
portant to address the teaching of soft skills in the MTCS course.
Hazzan and Har-Shai ( 2013 , 2014 ) propose teaching soft skills using active
learning (see Chap. 2) by applying:

1. General teaching principles: e.g., semi-situated learning (where content is pre-
sented in an authentic context and learning is based on social interaction and
collaboration; Lave and Wenger, 1991 )
2. Soft skills teaching principles: e.g., teamwork, reflection, and diversity (addressed
also in this topic)
Accordingly, the following activities all aim to enable the prospective computer
science teachers to practice these teaching methods both as learners and as teachers,
by holding open discussions, giving examples of real cases, reflecting on personal
experiences, and role-playing and simulating real life situations.