Collaborative Research: Infrastructure and Development of a Computer Science Concept Inventory for CS2

这个合作项目涉及四个机构(加州大学圣地亚哥分校、奥伯林学院、加州大学伯克利分校和斯沃斯莫尔学院)，将为计算机科学第二门入门编程课程(CS2)开发一份概念清单(CI)。CI是对课程内容知识的有效评估，可用于比较教学方法、识别学生的误解和量化学习成果。在物理学中，原力概念清单导致了物理学生学习方式的广泛转变。针对CS2的CI的开发将对全国计算机科学的教学方式产生类似的影响。该项目将遵循亚当斯和威曼建立的CI开发过程，该过程已被用于开发许多其他科学的CI。这一过程包括：咨询不同的专家小组，以确定共同的CS2内容和确定核心课程概念；采访学生，以确定常见的误解；咨询专家，以创建问题；向学生管理草稿，开放式问题；从统计上核实评估；以及向社区发布CI。该项目还将设计一个创建和部署CI的软件系统，并将该软件公之于众。项目团队将举办关于(1)使用CI改进CS教育，以及(2)使用该软件进行进一步CI研究的培训课程。对工作的评估将由一名外部评估员监督，他将通过学生和教职员工的面谈来验证CI。

This collaborative project involving four institutions (University of California-San Diego, Oberlin College, University of California-Berkeley, and Swarthmore College) will develop a Concept Inventory (CI) for the second introductory programming course (CS2) in computer science. CIs are validated assessments of course content knowledge, and can be used to compare teaching approaches, identify student misconceptions, and quantify learning gains. In physics, the Force Concept Inventory was responsible for a widespread shift in the ways that physics students are taught. The development of a CI for CS2 will have a similar impact on the way computer science will be taught across the country.This project will follow the CI development process established by Adams and Wieman, which has been used to develop CIs for many other sciences. The process includes: consulting with a diverse expert panel to establish common CS2 content and identify core course concepts; interviewing students to identify common misconceptions; consulting with experts to create questions; administering draft, open-ended questions to students; statistically verifying the assessment; and releasing the CI to the community. The project will also design a software system for creating and deploying CIs, and will make this software publicly available. The project team will hold training sessions on (1) using the CI to improve CS education, and (2) using the software to engage in further CI research. Evaluation of the work will be overseen by an external evaluator who will validate the CI via student and faculty interviews.