EAGER: Computational Thinking in Action in America's STEM Workplaces

基于ATE？S IT跨职业(ITAC)项目的成功以及制定全国性和地区性自愿行业技能标准的丰富经验，EDC和来自华盛顿大学、麻省理工学院、威廉姆斯学院、圣达菲研究所和雷神公司的计算机科学家和计算思维(CT)领域的思想领袖组成的技术委员会将开发和验证美国科学家、技术人员/技术人员、工程师和数学家使用的CT技能集的通用核心？S STEM(科学、技术、工程、数学)工作场所。该项目采用了欧洲社会伙伴关系中使用的技能标准发展方法来确定学习职业？并对该职业进行职业分析？创建新的语言和框架来描述获得CT授权的美国STEM专业和技术人员的工作职责、任务、技能、知识和属性。该项目将对由此产生的CT职责、责任以及相关的技能、知识和属性进行全国在线验证。项目团队将与专业STEM工作人员一起开发书面和可视示例，展示STEM工作人员如何在日常工作中使用CT技能来解决STEM工作场所常见的问题。传统和创新的传播策略将被用于与CT利益相关者的国家社区分享研究结果，以告知和推动正在进行的定义CT的努力，并将CT整合到旨在培养下一代STEM创新者的K？20教育项目中。智力优势：该项目建立在定义CT的现有努力的基础上。它解决了许多新兴的计算思维定义在经过验证的技能、知识和经验中扎根的迫切需要，这些技能、知识和经验是工作的科学家、技术人员和每天使用CT的技术人员的基础。从实验室和工业界聘请专业计算思想家，修改DACUM(开发A课程)过程来描述CT，并使用？学习职业？作为一种浮出水面并促进跨学科和工作部门对话的机制，每一个都与计算机科学家目前用来描述和澄清CT的方法截然不同。学习型职业的概念是为新兴行业和经历了工人责任实质性变化的职业定义新职业的一种行之有效的方式。职业分析DACUM方法已在国际上得到广泛验证和使用，以确定一线工人所需的技能。拟议的活动满足了CT社区内的一个重要需求，并建立在以前的NSF和国家技能标准制定工作的基础上。将该项目与国家计算机科学和CT网络联系起来的技术委员会是在各自领域具有影响力的专家，也是不断发展的CT定义的重要贡献者。这个项目的PI是一位经验丰富的NSF PI，他领导过NSF项目和一个大型NSF中心，成功地满足了NSF项目的需求，为STEM职业生涯开辟了道路。更广泛的影响：职业分析方法提供了一种新的语言和结构，可能会改变思想领袖之间的对话，塑造计算思维的新兴定义。技术委员会将确保这项工作在关于CT的全国讨论中找到突出的位置。揭开疑难CT概念的神秘面纱将有助于公众理解CT作为STEM工作者的基础技能集，并吸引新的学生进入STEM。这些清晰的技能组合和范例将为寻求成为未来STEM创新者的学生提供学习指南。此外，他们还将帮助教育工作者设计和开发相关的学习计划、职业道路和引导学生进入STEM职业生涯的课程。CT技能的例子？在行动中？辅导员和教育工作者将利用工作场所的学习经验，帮助扩大对STEM学习和职业的参与，并导致建立让代表不足的群体参与并成长其才华的学习经历。在该项目内建立的程序将促进对如何阐明STEM中新的和新兴的职业以及提出重要的新问题的理解。

Building on the successes of ATE?s IT Across Careers (ITAC) Project and extensive experience developing national and regional voluntary industry skill standards, EDC and a technical committee of computer scientists and thought leaders in computational thinking (CT) from the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Williams College, Santa Fe Institute, and Raytheon Corporation will develop and validate a common core of CT skill sets used by scientists, technicians/technologists, engineers, and mathematicians in America?s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) workplaces. The project employs a skill standards development methodology used in European social partnerships to identify a ?learning occupation? and conduct an occupational analysis of that occupation?creating new language and a framework to describe work duties, tasks, skills, knowledge, and attributes of U.S. STEM professional and technical workers empowered with CT. The project will conduct a national online validation of the resulting CT duties, responsibilities, and associated skills, knowledge, and attributes. With expert STEM workers, the project team will develop written and visual examples of how STEM workers use CT skills in routine work to solve problems commonly found in STEM workplaces. Traditional and innovative dissemination strategies will be used to share findings with the national community of CT stakeholders to inform and advance ongoing efforts to define CT, and to integrate CT into K?20 education programs aimed at building the next generation of STEM innovators. Intellectual Merit: The project builds on existing efforts to define CT. It addresses the urgent need to ground the many emerging definitions of Computational Thinking in validated skills, knowledge, and experiences of working scientists, technicians, and technologists who use CT on a daily basis. Engaging expert computational thinkers from laboratories and industry, modifying the DACUM (Developing A CUrriculuM) process to describe CT, and using the ?learning occupation? as a mechanism to surface and promote dialogue across disciplines and work sectors are each radically different from current approaches used by computer scientists to describe and clarify CT. The concept of a learning occupation is a proven way of defining new occupations for emerging industries and occupations that have undergone substantive changes in worker responsibilities. The occupational analysis DACUM methodology has been widely validated and used internationally to identify the skills needed by front-line workers. The proposed activities meet an important need within the CT community and build on prior NSF and National Skill Standards development work. The technical committee connecting the project to national computer science and CT networks are experts who are influential in their fields and highly regarded contributors to evolving definitions of CT. The PI for this project is a seasoned NSF PI who has led NSF projects and a large NSF center successfully serving the needs of NSF projects that develop pathways to STEM careers. Broader Impacts: The occupational analysis methodology provides a new language and structure that can potentially transform dialogue among thought leaders shaping the emerging definitions of computational thinking. The technical committee will ensure that the work finds a prominent place in the national discussion on CT. Demystifying difficult CT concepts will contribute to the public understanding of CT as a foundational skill set for STEM workers and attract new students into STEM. The articulated skill sets and examples will provide learning guideposts for students seeking to become the STEM innovators of the future. Moreover, they will help educators design and develop relevant programs of study, career pathways, and curricula leading students to STEM careers. Examples of CT skills ?in action? in the workplace will be used by counselors and educators to help broaden participation in STEM learning and careers, and lead to the construction of learning experiences that engage underrepresented groups and grow their talent. The processes established within this project will advance understanding of what it takes to articulate new and emerging occupations in STEM and surface important new questions to pursue.