Computer Science in Secondary Schools (CS3): Studying Context, Enactment, and Impact

计算思维是21世纪的一套重要的知识和技能，对我们生活的这个科技含量很高的世界有影响。多个行业表明，受过有效培训的计算机科学人才供不应求。此外，越来越多的人要求扩大妇女和少数群体成员在计算机科学工作中的参与。SRI国际将研究影响探索计算机科学(ECS)实施的因素之间的关系，ECS是一种预修预修修课程，为学生在计算机科学方面的进一步学习做准备。SRI将与参与ECS规模扩展的ECS课程开发人员、教师和非营利性Code.org合作。这项研究阐明了课程实施的差异如何影响学生的学习，不仅决定了什么是有效的，而且还决定了对谁和在什么情况下有效。SRI将进行一项试点研究，在他们招募学区进行实施研究时，他们将制定、试验和完善措施。随后的实施研究将是为期两年的课程制定、教师实践和学生学习证据的审查。由于目前尚无可比较的课程，研究将探讨以改善学生计算思维结果的方式实施ECS课程所需的条件，而不是确定ECS课程是否比其他CS相关课程更有效。本研究将进行两类分析：1)分析ECS对学生学习收益的影响，2)分析课堂实施与学生学习收益之间的关系。由于数据的聚集性(学生嵌套在学校内嵌套的教室中)，该项目将使用分层线性建模来检查课程的影响。

Computational thinking is an important set of 21st century knowledge and skills that has implications for the heavily technological world in which we live. Multiple industries indicate the under supply of those trained to be effective in the computer science workforce. In addition, there are increasing demands for broadening the participation in the computer science workforce by women and members of minority populations. SRI International will examine the relationships among the factors that influence the implementation of the Exploring Computer Science (ECS), a pre-Advanced Placement curriculum that prepares students for further study in computer science. SRI will work in partnership with the ECS curriculum developers, teachers, and the nonprofit Code.org who are involved in the scaling of ECS. This study elucidates how variation in curricular implementation influences student learning and determines not only what works, but also for whom and under what circumstances.SRI will conduct a pilot study in which they develop, pilot, and refine measures as they recruit school districts for the implementation study. The subsequent implementation study will be a 2 year examination of curriculum enactment, teacher practice, and evidence of student learning. Because no comparable curriculum currently exists, the study will examine the conditions needed to implement the ECS curriculum in ways that improve student computational thinking outcomes rather than determine whether the ECS curriculum is more effective than other CS-related curricula. The study will conduct two kinds of analyses: 1) an analysis of the influence of ECS on student learning gains, and 2) an analysis of the relationship between classroom-level implementation and student learning gains. Because of the clustered nature of the data (students nested within classrooms nested within schools), the project will use hierarchical linear modeling to examine the influence of the curriculum.