Computational Creativity to Improve Computer Science Education for CS and non-CS Undergraduates

计算创造力改善计算机科学和非计算机科学本科生的计算机科学教育

• 批准号: 1431874
• 负责人: Leen-Kiat Soh
• 金额: $ 87.33万
• 依托单位: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1431874&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Computational; Creativity; Improve; Computer; Science

Both computational and creative thinking are frequently cited as critical workforce attributes. This project, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will build on work previously funded under the TUES program (DUE-1122956 "Integrating Computational and Creative Thinking"). The project team will produce a final suite of validated, high quality Computational Creativity Exercises (CCEs) and an associated computational creativity course. They will also carry out rigorous research to understand the efficacy of the CCEs, how that is affected by collaborative interactions and student learning processes, and the impact CCEs have on enrollment and retention in computer science (CS) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. CCEs provide an opportunity to creatively solve problems that require a CS principle without writing program code. The exercises encourage development of creative competencies and have already been implemented across a set of introductory CS courses that have common core content but are tailored for different student populations based on their declared majors. In this new project the research team will expand the dissemination and implementation of the CCEs and gain increased understanding of the factors that influence efficacy of the exercises. In addition to dissemination of the exercises and project outcomes, and a workshop for interested faculty, the project impact will be further broadened because the resulting Computational Creativity Course can be delivered via distance education. In addition, the project team will update and enhance K-12 versions of the exercises that have been deployed on Google's Exploring Computational Thinking site. The foundation of this project is that both computational thinking and creative thinking are viewed as cognitive tools. The CCEs are anchored in instructional design principles such as problem-based learning, written analysis, and reflection. The CCEs correspond to the learning principles of the Unified Learning Model, a learning theory derived from research in cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology. The main contribution of this project will be to study what implementation conditions impact exercise effectiveness, how student characteristics impact exercise effectiveness, and why exercises produce an effect on learning. There is an extensive evaluation plan that utilizes many types of data including assessments embedded within the exercises, surveys and focus groups, course and exercise grades, and metadata that will provide measures of engagement with specific elements of course material. In addition to project results and artifacts, the substantial database of data and metadata collected will also be made available to other researchers.

计算性思维和创造性思维经常被认为是劳动力的关键属性。内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校的这个项目将建立在先前由治疗用人单位计划(DUE-1122956“整合计算和创造性思维”)资助的工作的基础上。项目团队将制作一套经过验证的、高质量的计算创造力练习(CCES)和相关的计算创造力课程。他们还将进行严格的研究，以了解CCES的有效性，协作互动和学生学习过程对CCES的影响，以及CCES对计算机科学(CS)和科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)课程的注册和保留的影响。CCE提供了创造性地解决需要CS原理的问题的机会，而无需编写程序代码。这些练习鼓励创新能力的发展，并已在一系列CS入门课程中实施，这些课程具有共同的核心内容，但根据不同的学生群体根据他们申报的专业量身定做。在这一新项目中，研究小组将扩大CCES的传播和实施，并加深对影响演习效果的因素的了解。除了分发练习和项目成果，以及为感兴趣的教师举办研讨会外，项目的影响将进一步扩大，因为由此产生的计算创造力课程可以通过远程教育提供。此外，项目团队将更新和增强已部署在谷歌探索计算思维网站上的K-12版本的练习。这个项目的基础是，计算思维和创造性思维都被视为认知工具。CCES以基于问题的学习、书面分析和反思等教学设计原则为基础。CCES符合统一学习模型的学习原则，统一学习模型是一种源于认知神经科学、认知科学和心理学研究的学习理论。这个项目的主要贡献将是研究什么实施条件影响锻炼有效性，学生特征如何影响锻炼有效性，以及为什么锻炼对学习产生影响。有一个广泛的评价计划，它利用了许多类型的数据，包括练习、调查和重点小组中嵌入的评估、课程和练习评分，以及将提供与课程材料具体内容接触的衡量标准的元数据。除了项目结果和人工制品外，收集的大量数据和元数据数据库也将提供给其他研究人员。