معرفی
Dr. Sue Sentance is Principal Research Associate and Director of the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre at the University of Cambridge's Department of Computer Science and Technology. She joined the Department in October 2021 and has extensive experience in computing education research, having previously served as Chief Learning Officer at the Raspberry Pi Foundation until April 2023. Her work focuses on making computing education accessible to learners and teachers globally, with particular emphasis on K-12 computing education.
Dr. Sentance's research interests center on computing education for school-aged children, teaching and learning of programming, physical computing, inclusive computing practices, AI education for young people, and teacher professional development. She developed the widely adopted PRIMM (Predict-Run-Investigate-Modify-Make) approach for structuring programming lessons, which has been implemented by teachers worldwide. Her recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on AI education in K-12 settings, gender equity in computing, teacher development, and innovative approaches to programming instruction. The research shows increasing attention to generative AI in education and the challenges of preparing teachers to teach emerging technologies.
Scientific Awards and Recognition:
- Developed the PRIMM approach to programming instruction, widely adopted in computing education
- Served as strategic lead (PI) for the £2m DfE-funded Gender Balance in Computing research programme (2019-2023)
- Co-edited the 2nd edition of 'Computer Science Education: Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in School' (2023)
- Played a leading role in the DfE-funded National Centre for Computing Education
Dr. Sentance supervises PhD students working on debugging in programming education, AI education in schools, and related topics. She has been instrumental in developing the Computing Curriculum, Ada Computer Science, and online teacher professional development courses. The Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre, which she directs, aims to increase understanding of teaching and learning computing with a focus on underrepresented groups and those experiencing educational disadvantage.
