Over the course of the project period for Hire Harford First, Harford Community College aimed to (1) develop an accelerated Information Assurance and Cybersecurity Associate of Applied Sciences (IAC AAS) degree program that can be completed in 18 months and produce at least 40 cybersecurity AAS graduates over two cohorts by Year 3; (2) modify two of the IAC AAS program's core cybersecurity courses to an adaptive-learning, competency-based format; and (3) determine whether a competency-based learning approach is more effective than the traditional outcomes-based approach in developing cybersecurity skills.

First, we developed an accelerated Information Assurance and Cybersecurity AAS degree program that can be completed in 17 calendar months, as opposed to 18. We graduated 30 students from the program, a feat met under significant challenges during the pandemic during a period of unprecedented enrollment declines at community colleges generally and especially at Harford. Second, we modified Fundamentals of Network Security (CIS 210) into CBML and piloted it in Spring 2020 and modified Introduction to Networks (CIS 135) into competency-based mastery learning (CBML) and piloted it in Spring 2021. Third, to determine whether a competency-based learning approach is more effective in developing cybersecurity skills, we pursued multiple steps. VivoWorks facilitated instructional practice workshops to introduce cybersecurity faculty to competency-based education (CBE).  Fifteen multidisciplinary faculty participated in "Building Applied Work-Based Learning Curriculum" workshop taught by Norman Bier, Executive Director of the Simon Initiative and Director of the Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. Harford offered a five-day student workshop during year one that addressed curricular gaps in CIS 210.  This workshop culminated in providing students the opportunity to participate in advanced training through the Baltimore Cyber Range which is supported by a State of Maryland Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) grant. This training involves real-world threat vectors that students must defend against. A comprehensive guide of CBML was then developed that informs various audience types about what CBML is, how it works and how it differs from traditional Outcomes Based Education (OBE) expectations and responsibilities of faculty and students in terms of what their respective roles look like in this new teaching and learning environment. Longitudinal data from the pilot courses and the trainings demonstrates that CBML curriculum produces increased depth of knowledge, produced higher proficiency rates, and can achieve Benjamin Bloom's vision that all students who desire to learn can achieve mastery when education is designed to increase the number of the capable, rather than select only those who qualify. Evaluation of this project suggests that CMBL design has advantages over the traditional education model. Using this evidence as a backdrop, the project developed a "gold standard" module for the CIS 210 course. The project team decided that the best course forward was to have a gold standard module developed that would become the master for remaining modules in the CIS 210 course and subsequently CIS 135 as well as other courses in the cyber program.

Finally, using supplemental funding under this grant, Harford Cyber faculty participated in a forty-hour Capture the Flag training program delivered by Jesse Varsalone. This training was to provide professional development about problem-based learning through cybersecurity competitions to prepare faculty to integrate cyber competitions into the curriculum, both through a new capstone course and within existing courses.

Last Modified: 12/07/2022
Modified by: David Law