Research Projects

Sherriff’s current research interests revolve around three particular projects - the Game Design Research Group, Empirical CSEd, and the NSF Showcase. Game Design Research Group

Game Design Research Group Homepage

The Game Design Research Group was founded in 2014 by Prof. Mark Sherriff and Prof. Mark Floryan. The purpose of the group is to provide undergraduate students a research experience with gamification and game design topics. For more information on the group or to inquire about joining, see our website. Empirical CSEd

Empirical CSEd Homepage

The goal of this project is to transform empirical CSEd research by building and supporting a community of CSEd researchers through: (1) creation and curation of laboratory packages to facilitate empirical CSEd research, (2) facilitation of cohorts of 10-12 educators who are mentored in developing and executing an empirical CSEd research study and (3) development and presentation of tutorials on empirical research methods at CSEd conferences. Laboratory packages are aids that provide researchers with a driving research question, a methodology for designing and executing a study, tools and resources to replicate the study, and results of previous related studies. The cohorts will have a more-focused interaction during a summer session to develop a study with a follow-up workshop to report and discuss results. Finally, the tutorials allow for broader dissemination of the key concepts of empirical CSEd research to the larger community.

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF DUE 1525373, 1525173, 1525028) with Dr. Jeff Carver @ The University of Alabama and Dr. Sarah Heckman @ NC State University NSF Showcase

NSF Showcase Homepage

Every year, twenty projects that are currently being sponsored by NSF are asked to present their work in an interactive, personal format during the break sessions and open slots at SIGCSE. The SIGCSE Symposium provides a forum for educators from K-12 through college to discuss issues and new ideas related to the development and implementation of computing curricula, along with other elements of teaching and pedagogy. The goal of the showcase is to share information about programs and research opportunities that attendees might not otherwise hear about. Presenters in the showcase report that they enjoy presenting their work in this format and that the attendees that come through the showcase are interested in learning and interacting with the presenters. 1341292

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF DUE 1341292) with Prof. Aaron Bloomfield

After SIGCSE TS 2019, the NSF Showcase returned to the direction of the NSF program officers.