Audience Tools

Specializations

  • Computing Education
  • Child-Computer Interaction

Research Areas

Biography

Jean Salac is a postdoctoral researcher and Computing Innovations Fellow at the University of Washington's Code & Cognition Lab. Her research interests include computer science education and child-computer interaction, particularly in justice-focused computing for young learners. Her work has won Best Paper at the International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER) and an honorable mention for Best Paper at the conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (SIGCHI). She has also been named an EECS Rising Star. She earned her PhD in 2021, her M.S. in 2020 from the University of Chicago, and her B.S. from the University of Virginia in 2017, all in Computer Science.

Education

  • Ph D, Computer Science, University of Chicago, 2022
  • MS, Computer Science, University of Chicago, 2020
  • BS, Computer Science, University of Virginia, 2017

Awards

  • William Rainey Harper Dissertation Award, University of Chicago’s Highest Honor for Graduate Students - University of Chicago, 2021-2021
  • Best Reviewed Paper, ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - ACM, 2020-2020
  • EECS Rising Star, Rising Stars Academic Career Workshop for Women - EECS, 2020-2020
  • Graduate Fellow, Computing Research Association - Education - Computing Research Association, 2020-2020
  • Online Organizing Committee Member, IEEE RESPECT Conference for Equity and Sustained Participation - IEEE RESPECT, 2020-2020
  • Bridge Builder Leadership Award, University of Chicago - University of Chicago, 2019-2019
  • Computer Science Department Teaching Award, University of Chicago - University of Chicago, 2019-2019
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation - National Science Foundation, 2019-2019
  • Physical Science Division Teaching Award Nomination, University of Chicago - University of Chicago, 2019-2019
  • Graduate Student Leadership Award, University of Chicago - University of Chicago, 2018-2018
  • Rader Award for Undergraduate Research, University of Virginia - University of Virginia, 2017-2017
  • AAPI Young Leader, White House Initiative for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) - WHIAAPI, 2016-2016

Publications and Contributions

  • Conference Paper
    A Decade of Demographics in Computing Education Research: A Critical Review of Trends in Collection, Reporting, and Use (2022)
    ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER) 2022 Authors: Alannah Oleson, Benjamin Xie, Jean Salac, Jayne Everson, Megumi Kivuva, Amy J. Ko
  • Conference Paper
    Investigating the Role of Cognitive Abilities in Computational Thinking for Young Learners (2021)
    Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research Authors: Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Chloe Butler, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Supporting Diverse Learners in K-8 Computational Thinking with TIPP&SEE. (2021)
    Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Chloe Butler, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Understanding the Link between Computer Science Instruction and Reading & Math Performance (2021)
    27th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Chloe Butler, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Comprehending Code : Understanding the Relationship between Reading and Math Proficiency, and 4th-Grade CS Learning Outcomes (2020)
    Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Bryan Twarek, William Marsland, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Eliciting Student Scratch Script Understandings via Scratch Charades (2020)
    Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Diana Franklin, Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Zené Sekou, Sue Krause
  • Conference Paper
    Exploring Student Behavior Using the TIPP&SEE Learning Strategy (2020)
    Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research Authors: Diana Franklin, Jean Salac, Zachary Crenshaw, Saranya Turimella, Zipporah Klain, Marco Anaya, Cathy Thomas
  • Conference Paper
    If They Build It, Will They Understand It ?: Exploring the Relationship between Student Code and Performance (2020)
    25th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Patterns in Elementary-Age Student Responses to Personalized & Generic Code Comprehension Questions (2020)
    Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Zipporah Klain, Saranya Turimella, Max White, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    TIPP&SEE : A Learning Strategy to Guide Students through Use–>Modify Scratch Activities (2020)
    Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Chloe Butler, Ashley Sanchez, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    An Analysis through an Equity Lens of the Im- plementation of Computer Science in K-8 Classrooms in a Large, Urban School District (2019)
    Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Authors: Jean Salac, Max White, Ashley Wang, Diana Franklin
  • Conference Paper
    Evaluating CoBlox : A comparative study of robotics programming environments for adult novices (2018)
    Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Authors: David Weintrop, Afsoon Afzal, Jean Salac, Patrick Francis, Boyang Li, David C. Shepherd, Diana Franklin
  • Workshop Paper
    Fourth workshop on sustainable software for science : practice and experiences (WSSSPE4) (2018)
    Journal of Open Research Software, 6(no. 1) Authors: Daniel S. Katz, Kyle E. Niemeyer, Sandra Gesing, Lorraine Hwang, Wolfgang Bangerth, Simon Hettrick, Ray Idaszak, Jean Salac, Neil Chue Hong, Santiago Nunez-Corrales, Alice Allen, R. Stuart Geiger, Jonah Miller, Emily Chen, Anshu Dubey, Patricia Lago
  • Conference Paper
    A Decade of Demographics in Computing Education Research: A Critical Review of Trends in Collection, Reporting, and Use
    Authors: Alannah Oleson, Benjamin Xie, Jean Salac, Jayne Everson, Megumi Kivuva, Amy Ko

Presentations

  • ”Scratch Strategies to Engage Diverse Learners” (2021)
    Virtual
  • ”Scratch Strategies to Engage Diverse Learners” (2021)
    Notre Dame University
  • Accessible Computer Science Education Workshop (2021)
    Virtual