Does "focus on K-12 teachers and parents" mean that question about university-level teaching will be out of scope?

Question

Does "focus on K-12 teachers and parents" mean that question about university-level teaching will be out of scope?

Proposal: Computer Science Educators

Answer 1

I'm looking forward to participating in this group! Thanks for putting it together.

That said, it would be easier for me to recruit my colleagues if you broaden the description to include post-secondary CS teachers. The current title of this group, "Computer Science Educators," implies that all CS educators are welcome. The description, however, restricts involvement to those interested in K-12.

Please clarify either the title or the description. Are college folks welcome here?

Answer 2

I think we should remove the words declaring a focus. The description includes the "All backgrounds, levels of teaching experience, and familiarity with CS are welcome." It is the community that determines the focus. If a number of high school teachers post frequently, that becomes the focus. If teachers and professors working at the college level are the most frequent contributors, that is where the focus will be. I would hope to see a mix. And what is even meant by focusing on parents? Do we expect parents of CS students to post here? Even if they work in the field or studied CS in college, I doubt we are going to see them join this community.

AP classes are designed to mirror what students might learn in a first semester course at college. It is often these introductory courses that are the most challenging to teach, so many of the issues are the same.

As a high school teacher, I would want to read posts from those working at the college level. I already have the AP forums (hosted by college board) that focus almost entirely on APCS. A wider scope of topics and issues would better serve me because it would shed more light on the varied experiences teachers and students have at the college level. The description should not discourage college instructors from participating.

Answer 3

Just one more point of consideration: K-12 is totally meaningless in a large part of the globe.

From Wikipedia:

K–12 comprises the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, South Korea, Turkey, Philippines, Egypt, Australia, India and Iran.

Well, I happen to live in the EU, so I had to Google the term. I initially thought 12 had to do with age, meaning this site was going to focus on the education of 6-12 year old kids.

So even if the age restriction stays (defining a focus is restricting in a way, you have to admit that), it should be reworded in a way everyone can understand it.

Anyway, as someone working in adult education (university + company employee trainings) I'm really interested in this project - that is, if adult education is not excluded.

Answer 4

Either something is in scope or it is out of scope. Declaring a focus is meaningless when you have no mechanism to control and no reason to believe that questions will fall predominantly in the range of K-12. The line should be removed - it servers no functional purpose and the definition should remain as concise as possible.

Answer 5

A focus on one aspect does not exclude others being discussed at all.

While a majority of questions and askers from tertiary education would likely go to either Academia SE, Computer Science SE, or one of the specific technology SE, there are still questions that (much as with Math Educators SE) can apply to everyone from new entrant to graduate.

If desirable, rewriting the description to say "... with a focus on primary and secondary education, those in more advanced CS education are also welcome".