Investigating the Effectiveness of Boot Camps in Developing a Diverse Software Development Workforce

ETR协会和查尔斯顿学院将开展一项合作研究项目，旨在通过探索靴子训练营是否能培养学生的适应性专业知识，以及实际准备工作如何与计算人员对知识和能力的期望相一致，来增加计算机科学的多样性。该研究将在加州的硅谷和南卡罗来纳州的硅港进行，并将产生（1）从大学、编码靴子校园和软件开发公司的角度来看有效软件开发人员的属性的模型;（2）软件开发劳动力需求如何与培训准备相一致的概念框架，以及在准备适应性专门知识方面的差异如何为扩大参与的努力提供信息;（3）对来自两种培训环境的代表性不足群体的学生进行纵向案例研究。研究结果将告知研究人员，教育工作者和雇主的知识和必要的课程，以发展适应性软件开发人员谁是计算机科学的劳动力做好准备。研究人员将使用一个三阶段的混合方法的方法来调查以下研究问题：（1）什么样的软件开发学习机会是由本科课程提供？编码靴子训练营提供哪些类型的课程？(2)不同的培训设置与区域软件开发行业需求的一致性如何？（3）不同的学习机会吸引了哪些类型的学习者？ 他们将对多个数据源的调查结果进行三角分析，遵循经过测试的过程来制定概念框架，并使用一套严格的程序进行分析。数据将包括调查、访谈和焦点小组。 该项目由NSF的EHR核心研究（ECR）计划支持。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，在三个主题领域产生基础知识：STEM学习和学习环境，扩大参与和STEM劳动力发展。

ETR Associates and the College of Charleston will conduct a collaborative research project that is designed to increase diversity in computer science by exploring whether boot camps build students' adaptive expertise and how the actual preparation aligns with computing workforce expectations for knowledge and competencies. The study will be conducted in Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Harbor in South Carolina and will yield (1) models of the attributes of effective software developers from the perspective of universities, coding boot campus, and software development companies; (2) a conceptual framework of how software development workforce needs align with training preparation, and how variations in the preparation of adaptive expertise can inform efforts to broaden participation; and (3) longitudinal case studies of students from underrepresented groups from the two types of training settings. The results will inform researchers, educators, and employers about the knowledge and coursework necessary to develop adaptive software developers who are prepared for the computer science workforce.The researchers will use a three-phase mixed-methods approach to investigate the following research questions: (1) What kinds of software development learning opportunities are offered by undergraduate programs? What kinds are offered at coding boot camps? (2) How well do the different training settings align with regional software development industry needs? and (3) What kinds of learners are attracted to the different learning opportunities and why? They will triangulate the findings across multiple data sources, follow a tested process for developing a conceptual framework, and use a rigorous set of procedures for analysis. Data will include surveys, interviews, and focus groups. This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in three thematic areas: STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation, and STEM workforce development.