Susan Sentance is a British computer scientist, educator and director of the

Raspberry Pi Foundation The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a British charity and company founded in 2009 to promote the study of basic computer science in schools, and is responsible for developing the Raspberry Pi single-board computers. Foundation The Raspberry Pi Found ...

Computing Education Research Centre at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Her research investigates a wide range of issues

computer science education Computer science education or computing education is the art of teaching and learning the discipline of computer science, and computational thinking. As a subdiscipline of pedagogy it also addresses the wider impact of computer science in socie ...

teacher education Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their ...

and the

professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...

of those teaching computing. In 2020 Sentance was awarded a

Suffrage Science award The Suffrage Science award is a prize for women in science, engineering and computing founded in 2011, on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS). There are three categories of awar ...

for her work on computing education.

Early life and education

Sentance studied

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

(AI) and

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

(IT) at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where she was awarded a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in 1989 followed by a PhD in 1993 investigating intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) supervised by Helen Pain and Elisabet Engdahl.

Career and research

In 2014 Sentance joined

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

as a lecturer in computing education. Sentance served on the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

computing education advisory group in 2016, with whom she investigated

computer science education in the United Kingdom Computer science education in the United Kingdom is carried out in the UK mostly from the age from 11, with most computer scientists needing a university degree also; from 11 and beyond, it is a predominantly male subject. In their teenage years, ...

. Sentance was involved with the evaluation of

.NET Gadgeteer Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer is an open-source rapid-prototyping standard for building small electronic devices using the Microsoft .NET Micro Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio/Visual C# Express. The Gadgeteer platform The Gadgeteer platform cen ...

and the

Micro Bit The Micro Bit (also referred to as BBC Micro Bit, stylized as micro:bit) is an open source hardware ARM-based embedded system designed by the BBC for use in computer education in the United Kingdom. It was first announced on the launch of BBC's ...

. Sentance joined the

in 2018 as

Chief Learning Officer A chief learning officer (CLO) is the highest-ranking corporate officer in charge of learning management. CLOs may be experts in corporate or personal training, with degrees in education, instructional design, business or similar fields. Qualifi ...

where she oversees a

gender disparity in computing Gender disparity in computing concerns the disparity between the number of men in the field of computing in relation to the lack of women in the field. Originally, computing was seen as a female occupation. As the field evolved, so too did the dem ...

program that seeks to improve the representation of girls in computer science classes. She has served on the board of

Computing at School Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

(CAS). Her research has been funded by the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...

(EPSRC) and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

. She collaborates with the

National Centre for Computing Education The National Centre for Computing Education is a government-funded initiative, offering teacher training and resources for computer science. The National Centre is delivered by a consortium of STEM Learning, Raspberry Pi Foundation and British ...

(NCCE) and joined the

Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge The Department of Computer Science and Technology, formerly the Computer Laboratory, is the computer science department of the University of Cambridge. it employed 35 academic staff, 25 support staff, 35 affiliated research staff, and about 15 ...

in 2021. With Erik Barendsen and Carsten Schulte, she edited the book ''Computer Science Education: Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in School''.

Awards and honours

* 2017:

British Educational Research Association The British Educational Research Association (BERA) is a member-led charity to encourage educational research and its application for the improvement of practice and public benefit. It is an association promoting a researching culture within the ...

(BERA) public engagement and impact award * 2020:

for her work on computing education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentance, Sue British computer scientists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Academics of King's College London Members of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory