We collaborated on a project to create concept inventories for fundamental computer science subjects. Lisa patiently taught qualitative research methods to the project team members–everything I know about grounded theory I learned from her. Lisa also connected us with the computer science education research community. She served as an informal mentor for a doctoral student on the team: although he was a student at Illinois and she was at UCSD, she helped him understand the different journals and conferences in computer science education research, and she helped him network with others in this community. She participated fully in writing and revising the co-authored papers that report on our project. Her promptness and attention to detail in these papers were exemplary. Because I value Lisa’s conscientiousness and wisdom, I would definitely work with her again on another project
We have engaged the services of Dr. Kaczmarczyk to assist us in the design, development, and widespread implementation of evaluation plans for our federally funded, multi-year computer science education project. Over the course of the past five years, Dr. Kaczmarczyk has demonstrated valuable expertise in the coordination of data collection, analysis and redesign of evaluation plans. She provided us with timely reports containing objective formative as well as summative cross-institutional assessment of our project activities that assisted our team (and our funding agency) in demonstrating the overall impact of our project. We recommend her highly and continue to engage her expertise for all our future projects.
Lisa‘s unique experience and skill set positions her well for delivering outstanding evaluation services to both the academic and industrial communities. Dr. Kaczmarczyk works closely with her clients to create a balanced evaluation plan that applies assessment metrics yielding insightful data. She easily operates across entire stakeholder teams (including end users) to determine and communicate progress towards project goals and objectives. Dr. Kaczmarczyk’s extensive experience with formative, developmental and summative evaluation techniques, combined with her outstanding organizational skills, ensure that project leaders always know in a timely fashion the impact of their project.
Lisa’s department head at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology recommended her as a motivational speaker for a conference that I organized in Indiana. The conference brought together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members and industry leaders in computing. Research indicates that intentional role modeling enhances recruitment and retention (R&R) for women in computing – a discipline where women are woefully under-represented. The over-riding goal of the conference also emphasized R&R. Her keynote dominated the conference. Conference assessment validated Lisa’s choice as speaker and demonstrated statistically how powerfully she delivered her message. Student after student wrote in the open-ended section of the on-line survey how meaningful and encouraging she found Lisa’s keynote. Of course, I heard the keynote too. Despite being consumed by conference details and responsibilities, Lisa’s storytelling style and hit-the-target message grabbed my attention – so much so that I remember every detail nearly four years later. How many times does that happen? Two examples: Trust your own instincts and do not pass up new opportunities when they present themselves. You know what? I subsequently resigned my job as department chair, after hearing Lisa’s message. I realized that paperwork and other chairship busywork blocked efforts where my passion lies: In R&R of women in computing. I’ll be forever grateful to Lisa and her inspiring words, because four years later I can see that I made the right decision.
As members of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education Council, I have known and worked closely with Dr. Kaczmarczyk since 2007 on various computer science education and policy endeavors of national scope. In particular, she served as the researcher and writer for the ground-breaking ACM Education Policy report, “Rebooting the Pathway to Success: Preparing Students for Computing Workforce Needs in the United States.” This report contains empirical data from all 50 states, and served as key evidence to effect a pivotal change in U.S. national policy about computer science education. With her strong interdisciplinary background in computer science, and science education, along with her many years of research and evaluation experience, Dr. Kaczmarzyk is distinctively qualified. I highly recommend Dr. Kaczmarczyk, and welcome the opportunity to work with her expert consulting firm again!
