Increasing Diversity and Engagement in Undergraduate Computing with Enhanced Collaborative Learning

尽管做出了许多努力和投资，但妇女和少数族裔在计算机学科和职业中的代表性仍然不足。这一试点研究将审查妇女和代表性不足的少数群体在计算机领域面临的严重和长期的问题。这种不平衡引起了全国的关注，因为与现有的就业机会相比，它造成了计算机专业人员的短缺。随着重点提高学生的参与度和多样性在本科入门计算课程，该项目将整合协作学习活动和多样性为重点的教学策略，以最终提高计算的多样性。入门课程是至关重要的，因为它们是进入计算机专业，未成年人和浓度的门户。此外，计算机课程的可用性，以教育科学素养的民众在计算思维和解决问题的能力正在稳步增加，所以这个项目的影响是更广泛的不仅仅是一个入门计算课程。仅在弗吉尼亚大学，该项目就将覆盖2000多名学生。通过提高学生的参与度，研究结果和研究结果将在三个方面做出贡献：（1）改善未来计算专业人员的教学和学习，（2）促进女性和代表性不足的少数民族在计算课程中的参与和坚持，以及（3）为整个计算课程的协作学习策略的开发和实施奠定基础。 基于先前资助的两个NSF奖项的知识收益，该项目将适应以多样性为中心的教学策略，以提高学生对本科计算机入门课程的参与度。 本研究首先探讨学生对电脑课程的认知与需求。认识到学生的需求，预先设计的以多样性为重点的教学和协作学习活动将迭代定制，以支持多个学期的课堂教学和学习实践。为了了解以多样性为中心的协作学习活动和学生参与计算之间的关系，将使用混合方法研究设计方法来回答特定的研究问题。定量和定性的研究方法将用于加深对学习环境的理解。研究结果将产生新的知识，以改善本科计算课程的教学方法，并最终将导致新的理解如何扩展整个计算课程的做法。为了最大限度地扩大影响，将广泛传播注重多样性的强化协作教学战略，并利用开放的数字资源和社交网络，如普及计算机科学和国家妇女信息技术中心，促进采用其方法和内容。

Despite many efforts and investments, women and minorities continue to be underrepresented in computing disciplines and occupations. This pilot study will examine the serious and long-standing problems that face female and under-represented minorities in computing fields. The imbalance is of national concern as it contributes to the deficit of computing professionals in contrast to the number of available jobs. With a focus on increasing student engagement and diversity in undergraduate introductory computing courses, this project will integrate collaborative learning activities and diversity-focused instructional strategies to ultimately improve diversity in computing. Introductory courses are critical as they are the gateway into computing majors, minors, and concentrations. Further, the availability of computing courses to educate a scientifically literate populace in computational thinking and problem solving is steadily increasing, so the impacts of this project are broader than just one introductory computing course. At the University of Virginia alone, this project will be deployed to reach more than 2000 students. By improving student engagement, study results and findings will contribute in three ways: (1) improving the teaching and learning of future computing professionals, (2) promoting the participation and persistence of females and under-represented minorities in computing courses, and (3) establishing a basis for the development and implementation of collaborative learning strategies throughout a computing curriculum. Building on the knowledge gains from two previously funded NSF awards, this project will adapt diversity-focused instructional strategies to enhance students' engagement in undergraduate introductory computing courses. The study begins with an exploration of students' perceptions and needs in computing courses. Recognizing students' needs, the pre-designed diversity-focused instruction and collaborative learning activities will be iteratively tailored to support classroom teaching and learning practice over a duration of multiple semesters. To understand the relationship between diversity-focused collaborative learning activities and student engagement in computing, a mixed methods research design approach will be used to answer specific research questions. Quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used for deepening understanding of the learning environments. Research findings will generate new knowledge about ways to improve instruction for undergraduate computing courses and ultimately will lead to new understanding of how to extend the practices across the computing curriculum. To maximize impact, the diversity-focused enhanced collaborative instructional strategies will be widely disseminated, and the adoption of its methods and content will be promoted using open digital resources and social networks, such as Computer Science for All and the National Center for Women & Information Technology.