Michael E. Caspersen

Danish computer scientist Michael Edelgaard Caspersen (born in 1960 in Svenborg, Denmark) has spent his academic life furthering computer science education, at all levels. His research interests are computing education, programming didactics, programming methodology, and object-oriented programming. He is best known for his work on computing education research and development, particularly his work to promote informatics as a fundamental discipline for all.

At Aarhus University, Michael was exposed to world-class computing education; new ideas of programming methodology developed by Dijkstra found their way into the first-year course, as did relational algebra, coloured Petri nets, and the semantics of programs. This educational experience had a profound impact on Michael's perspective on computing and devotion to computer science education, leading to his PhD thesis.

Personal life Michael E. Caspersen is married to Susanne Caspersen; they have two children, Christina and Christopher, and four grandchildren, Filippa, Lucca, Asta, and Petra.

Leadership roles: Education in Computer Science / Informatics Michael has been a major force for improving education in computing at all levels on a national and international scale. Founding member and first chair of the Danish CS Educators' Association (1995-2000). Founding member of the Scandinavian Pedagogy of Programming Network established in 2004, leading to publication of a book, a novel and innovative collection of contributions that address all aspects of teaching programming. Chair or co-chair five Danish Ministerial groups on various aspects of computing. Co-chair of the Committee on European Computing Education (CECE), which was created to foster further development of informatics education at all levels in Europe. Second Chair (the first chair was Dame Wendy Hall) of the coalition Informatics for All, which was formed in 2018; its members are the ACM Europe Council, the CEPIS Education Committee, Informatics Europe, and IFIP. Member of the Digital Council of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), (2022-2023)

Selected technical contributions

The programming process 2007. PhD thesis: Educating Novices in the Skills of Programming 2018. Principles of programming education

Indicators of success 2005. An Investigation of potential success factors for an introductory model-driven programming course 2006. Abstraction ability as an indicator of success for learning object-oriented programmings 2007. Mental models and programming aptitude 2008. Optimists have more fun, but do they learn better? On the influence of emotional and social factors on learning introductory computer science 2008. Abstraction ability as an indicator of success for learning computing science?

Exemplary Examples (Example Program Quality) 2007. Beauty and the Beast – Toward a Measurement Framework for Example Program Quality 2015. Beauty and the Beast: on the readability of object-oriented example programs 2008. Evaluating OO example programs for CS1

Informatics for all 2013. Computational Thinking and Practice — A Generic Approach to Computing in Danish High Schools 2014. Model-based thinking and practice: a top-down approach to computational thinking

Failure rates in intro programming 2007. Failure rates in introductory programming 2019. Failure rates in introductory programming: 12 years late

Cognitive load theory in computing education 2007. PhD thesis: Educating Novices in the Skills of Programming