Educational Approaches and Curriculum to Engage and Educate a More Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce
Abstract
Cybersecurity is a critical STEM field for both the military and civilian operations. According to the 2018 Naval Research and Development Framework, cyber threats are evolving and proliferating at unprecedented rates; and with an increasingly interconnected force, full-spectrum cyber approaches must be developed to protect our networks, data, and information systems. A top-notch Naval workforce in this area is required to achieve this, and fostering a broadly diverse workforce allows for different knowledge, experience, and perspectives to improve the overall performance of this Science and Technology workforce. In the US, the cybersecurity workforce lacks diversity, with only 14% female and 9% African American representation. We hypothesize that this disparity is partially due to the current educational approaches utilized across both military and civilian cybersecurity educational programs. Our proposed effort will utilize a multi-disciplinary approach and team to develop, implement and evaluate an exploratory pilot project: an introductory cybersecurity training course for upper-level high school and college students with impactful STEM educational experiences. The course will integrate instructional strategies shown efficacious for cybersecurity education and effective in targeting underrepresented minorities. The proposed effort has three key innovations. First, we propose infusing cybersecurity education with cutting-edge empirical findings from the field of learning science, including research regarding how individual characteristics of the learner (e.g., self efficacy, interest) interact with instructional strategies. Second, we propose a stark shift in the underlying domain of study utilized to train introductory cybersecurity principles. By grounding the curriculum in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, technology that almost all individuals are familiar, we can facilitate meaningful learning. This key process makes learning new and difficult concepts more accessible. Third, we propose to conduct academically rigorous, controlled experimentation, in a realistic and applied setting, to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional approaches and pilot curriculum. The outcome of this effort will be educational approaches and a pilot-program curriculum for an introductory-level cybersecurity course, empirically validated to increase learning outcomes, learner engagement, self-efficacy, and interest and intent to pursue a career in cybersecurity, for underrepresented minorities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 05, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112732
Entities
People
- Meredith Carroll
Organizations
- Florida Institute of Technology
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy