Collaborative Research: Computing in the Arts - A Community-Building Initiative

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This project addresses a recognized need of the 21st century technological society - broadening participation in computing education. The project is transforming STEM education by building a nationwide community of educators, who are teaching students to synthesize the creativity and design of art with the mathematical rigor and formality of computer science, technology, and engineering.The Computing in the Arts (CITA) model curriculum consists of 50 hours of computing courses, arts courses, and synthesis courses. Graduates of CITA are educated to create, design, and code new creativity tools. From contemporary music, art and theater production, to new forms of animation and digital media, to the visual and audio systems of tomorrow's computers, to revolutionary web applications, CITA prepares students for productive and integrated careers in the information and arts economies. The CITA model maximizes reuse of existing courses and faculty expertise, and thus facilitates adaptation. In this collaborative project the CITA model has already been successfully implemented at the lead institution, where there are currently 46 majors (a 22% increase), mainly from an underserved population - students interested in the arts.This project focuses on dissemination - successes and synthesis with other complementary approaches with partner institutions to build a strong, diversified community of educators interested in adopting and further developing innovative CITA instructional materials. This community is being forged through three faculty workshops, special sessions at the annual conference for Computer Science Education, and a website of pedagogical materials. The evaluation plan involves an independent evaluator, and various quantitative and qualitative outcomes that assess (a) the formation of a thriving CITA community, (b) dissemination efforts, and (c) the impact on transforming STEM education.