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Sustainable and Adaptive Growth in Computing Education

Enes Ayalp

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of sustaining and adapting computing education to volatile industry dynamics, particularly in creative technology domains. It introduces the CLEAR CORE framework, a dual-cycle model pairing education (CLEAR) with professional practice (CORE) and an Outcome layer to foster lifelong, renewable growth. Through qualitative and scenario-based validation, it demonstrates that integrating education and profession can close gaps in adaptability and sustainability while maintaining core competencies such as skill, credibility, and passion. The work offers a proactive, practical pathway for resilient careers in fast-changing computing fields and calls for longitudinal, quantitative studies to further establish empirical impact.

Abstract

Computing Education faces significant challenges in equipping graduates with the resilience necessary to remain relevant amid rapid technological change. While existing curricula cultivate computing competencies, they often fail to integrate strategies for sustaining and adapting these skills, leading to reduced career resilience and recurrent industry layoffs. The lack of educational emphasis on sustainability and adaptability amid industry changes perpetuates a vicious cycle: As industries shift, skill fragmentation and decay lead to displacement, which in turn causes further skill degradation. The ongoing deficiency in adaptability and sustainability among learners is reflected in the frequent and intense shifts across the industry. This issue is particularly evident in domains marked by high technological volatility such as computer graphics and game development, where computing concepts, including computational thinking and performance optimization, are uniquely and continuously challenged. To foster sustainable and adaptive growth, this paper introduces, a new framework which addresses the question: How can computing education and professional development be connected to in these volatile sectors? It integrates two iterative, interconnected cycles, an educational and a professional, by linking education with profession to establish a lifelong, renewable practice. This approach allows computing professionals to excel and maintain relevance amid constant changes across their industry.

Sustainable and Adaptive Growth in Computing Education

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of sustaining and adapting computing education to volatile industry dynamics, particularly in creative technology domains. It introduces the CLEAR CORE framework, a dual-cycle model pairing education (CLEAR) with professional practice (CORE) and an Outcome layer to foster lifelong, renewable growth. Through qualitative and scenario-based validation, it demonstrates that integrating education and profession can close gaps in adaptability and sustainability while maintaining core competencies such as skill, credibility, and passion. The work offers a proactive, practical pathway for resilient careers in fast-changing computing fields and calls for longitudinal, quantitative studies to further establish empirical impact.

Abstract

Computing Education faces significant challenges in equipping graduates with the resilience necessary to remain relevant amid rapid technological change. While existing curricula cultivate computing competencies, they often fail to integrate strategies for sustaining and adapting these skills, leading to reduced career resilience and recurrent industry layoffs. The lack of educational emphasis on sustainability and adaptability amid industry changes perpetuates a vicious cycle: As industries shift, skill fragmentation and decay lead to displacement, which in turn causes further skill degradation. The ongoing deficiency in adaptability and sustainability among learners is reflected in the frequent and intense shifts across the industry. This issue is particularly evident in domains marked by high technological volatility such as computer graphics and game development, where computing concepts, including computational thinking and performance optimization, are uniquely and continuously challenged. To foster sustainable and adaptive growth, this paper introduces, a new framework which addresses the question: How can computing education and professional development be connected to in these volatile sectors? It integrates two iterative, interconnected cycles, an educational and a professional, by linking education with profession to establish a lifelong, renewable practice. This approach allows computing professionals to excel and maintain relevance amid constant changes across their industry.
Paper Structure (45 sections, 2 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 45 sections, 2 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Framework Requirements
  3. Mapping Known Methods
  4. Qualitative Evaluation of Existing Methods Against Defined Requirements
  5. Game Jams
  6. Indie Development
  7. Formal Education
  8. Employment
  9. Portfolio Projects
  10. Tutorials
  11. Quantitative Analysis of existing Methods
  12. Observations
  13. The Framework
  14. CLEAR
  15. CORE
  16. ...and 30 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Plot of Qualitative Scoring of established methods across key requirements (0 = not promoting, 10 = strongly promoting).
  • Figure 2: The Creative Technology Framework CLEAR CORE