SIGCSE

Welcome to Memphis and SIGCSE 2016! As you settle in to the relaxed atmosphere of a city famous for good music, civil rights history, and, of course, delicious barbeque, we encourage you to take full advantage of all that this year's symposium has to offer. The many sessions being offered (papers, panels, special sessions, BoFs, posters, workshops, demos and lightning talks) will Engage, Energize, and Empower you on your journey as a computer science educator.

Our opening plenary address will be delivered by John Sweller, Professor Emeritus (University of Adelaide, Australia) and expert in cognitive load theory. John will challenge us to consider how our understanding of human cognition should impact our instructional procedures to provide the best learning environments for our students. Karen Ashcraft, Professor of Communication (University of Colorado, Boulder, CO) will present at the Saturday luncheon. Her work in the area of social identity will provide valuable insight to issues of gender and diversity in the computing industry. This year's recipient of the SIGCSE Award for Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community, Barbara Boucher Owens (Emeritus Faculty, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX) will speak at the First Timers' Lunch on Friday and Jan Cuny, recipient of the SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education will give the Friday morning plenary address. We look forward to hearing from both of these valued members of the SIGCSE community.

In addition to these refereed session, this year's program includes the usual wide selection of events, including the Thursday evening reception (with a special Memphis treat!), the ACM SIGCSE Student Research Competition, and another challenging SIGCSE puzzle. Our exhibit hall features a number of exhibitors showcasing the latest in hardware, software tools, textbooks and educational programs and research.

As of our publication deadline in mid-January, his year's Pre-symposium Event roster includes the following: Universal Design of Teaching in K-12 Computing (Access10K), Computational Thinking: A Chinese Perspective (Ming Zhang), Workshop on Computing for the Social Good: Educational Practices (SIGCAS), Integrating Computing Ethics and Professionalism into the Technical Curriculum (ACM Committee on Professional Ethics), Facilitating POGIL Activities to Support All Students (Helen Hu, et al), Creating Engaging and Relevant Classroom Activities and Assignments (Helen Hu and Beth Quinn), Fulbright for Computer Science Education (CIES), New Educators Workshop (SIGCSE), POSSE Roundup (Gregory Hislop), and Web Development with the MEAN Stack (Adrian German). We encourage you to participate in one of these exciting events.