Using Bricklayer Coding and Visual Art to Engage Students in Learning Mathematics

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Among the challenges facing undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education today, the instruction of mathematics is of special concern. Mathematics is often at the foundation of learning other STEM disciplines, yet introductory undergraduate mathematics courses tend to have high failure rates and present a barrier to success for many students, particularly for those from economically disadvantaged groups. Lack of interest and loss of self-confidence in mathematics is common among students. This project seeks to address these challenges by exploiting the close relationship between mathematical thinking and computational thinking. Computational thinking skills, such as breaking down problems into manageable parts, recognizing patterns, and developing step-by-step solution processes that can be programmed for a computer, are increasingly viewed as fundamental skills in the technology-driven world of the twenty-first century. In this Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Exploration & Design (IUSE E&D) project, researchers will design, implement, and assess a new interdisciplinary general-education course at the University of Nebraska a Omaha (UNO) that uses the visual arts to motivate students to develop mathematical and computational thinking skills. The course will be based on Bricklayer, an open-source educational ecosystem in which students learn to write programs that create two- and three-dimensional LEGO, Minecraft, and 3D-printed artifacts. Many such artifacts are based on mathematical patterns that the students themselves discover. In this inquiry-based learning environment, mathematical thinking is a means to an end rather than an end unto itself. It is expected that a positive experience in this gateway course will lead to more positive perceptions not only of mathematics, but also of computing and other STEM disciplines.The project's key research objective is to investigate the educational impact of the new course in terms of students' interest and engagement in mathematics and other STEM disciplines while ensuring continued high standards of learning. Specifically, the research team will investigate the following research questions: (1) Do students express more interest in mathematics and STEM after participating in the new course? (2) Do students who take the new course plan to continue participating in STEM by taking further STEM courses? (3) Does participating in the new course increase students' confidence and self-efficacy with mathematics and STEM? and (4) Do students in the new class persevere in mastering the material at higher rates than in other introductory courses? Data sources will include interviews with instructors who teach the course, focus groups with student participants, assessments of students' mathematics content knowledge, as well as pre- and post-course student surveys that measure students' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and interest in STEM coursework and careers. A within-subject design will be used to measure how the new course changes students' attitudes, self-efficacy, and interest while a between-subject design will compare these attributes between students in the new course and those taking the existing general education mathematics course.