Improving Undergraduate Computer Science Education via Reading Group Networks

通过阅读小组网络改善本科计算机科学教育

• 批准号: 1807388
• 负责人: David Lee
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-10-01 至 2022-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1807388&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improving; Undergraduate; Computer; Science; Education

Digital technologies have spread to virtually every sector of the economy, increasing the demand for a workforce able to creatively apply their computational skills to diverse societal problems. Undergraduate research experiences encourage curiosity and creativity, but are difficult to scale due to inherent time constraints on faculty mentors. This project will study the benefits of exploratory reading groups as a scalable strategy for undergraduate computer science (CS) education and workforce development. In exploratory reading groups, teams of students explore areas that interest them by selecting, reading, and discussing research papers. Reading groups in other fields have been shown to foster supportive peer networks and intellectual curiosity, both of which are critical to student retention, especially for diverse student populations. It is anticipated that participating in exploratory reading groups will help CS students develop a big-picture view of how computer science is done, as well as provide peer support and promote their curiosity. This project also seeks to contribute to computer-based approaches for forming student groups and to generate new knowledge about factors that influence group stability and effectiveness. This project has the potential to impact students' abilities to form and use groups as support networks in the future computing workplace. This project's long-term educational goal is to expand opportunities for curiosity-driven learning. It aims to adapt the traditional use of reading groups, typically focused on developing critical thinking skills, to the goal of fostering curiosity and creativity in computer science through exploration of topics of students' choosing. The project has four objectives: (1) Adapt the materials, structure, and supporting platforms used in non-computer science reading groups through a student-centered process, and evaluate their impact on educational outcomes through a two-year longitudinal study. (2) Study the use of everyday productivity tools as a generalizable means for: a) collecting student-generated content in face-to-face activities; b) enhancing papers with related courses and articles; and c) providing personalized recommendations. (3) Develop and evaluate heuristic algorithms for group formation that maximize participation, given student preferences. (4) Evaluate the collective knowledge system of the reading groups to understand capacity for participants to tap into their past reading group communities to find needed information. The validated processes, materials, and code for platforms and algorithms developed over the course of the project will be open sourced. A digital platform for educators will also be created, primarily for exploratory purposes. Instructions will be provided for educators to set up their own open-source platforms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

数字技术几乎已经蔓延到经济的各个领域，增加了对能够创造性地将其计算技能应用于各种社会问题的劳动力的需求。本科生的研究经验鼓励好奇心和创造力，但由于教师导师固有的时间限制，很难扩大规模。这个项目将研究探索性阅读小组作为本科计算机科学（CS）教育和劳动力发展的可扩展战略的好处。 在探索性阅读小组中，学生们通过选择、阅读和讨论研究论文来探索他们感兴趣的领域。 其他领域的阅读小组已被证明可以培养支持性的同伴网络和求知欲，这两者对学生的保留至关重要，特别是对于不同的学生群体。预计参加探索性阅读小组将帮助CS学生发展计算机科学是如何完成的大局观，以及提供同伴支持和促进他们的好奇心。 该项目还力求促进以计算机为基础的方法，以形成学生团体，并产生关于影响团体稳定性和有效性的因素的新知识。这个项目有可能影响学生的能力，形成和使用团体作为支持网络在未来的计算工作场所。该项目的长期教育目标是扩大好奇心驱动的学习机会。它的目的是适应传统的阅读组，通常侧重于发展批判性思维技能，以培养好奇心和创造力的目标，通过探索学生选择的主题在计算机科学。本计画有四个目标：（1）以学生为中心，调整非电脑科学阅读团体所使用的教材、结构与支援平台，并以二年的追踪研究，评估其对教育成果的影响。(2)研究日常生产力工具的使用，作为一种可推广的手段：a）在面对面的活动中收集学生生成的内容; B）用相关的课程和文章增强论文; c）提供个性化的建议。(3)开发和评估启发式算法的群体形成，最大限度地参与，给学生的喜好。(4)评估阅读小组的集体知识体系，以了解参与者利用他们过去的阅读小组社区来寻找所需信息的能力。在项目过程中开发的平台和算法的验证过程、材料和代码将是开源的。还将为教育工作者创建一个数字平台，主要用于探索目的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

“It’s usually not worth the effort unless you get really lucky”: Barriers to Undergraduate Research Experiences from the Perspective of Computing Faculty

“除非你真的很幸运，否则通常不值得付出努力”：从计算学院的角度来看本科生研究经验的障碍

• DOI: 10.1145/3501385.3543976
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research
• 作者: Sharma, Rhea;Nair, Atira;Guo, Ana;Palea, Dustin;Lee, David T.
• 通讯作者: Lee, David T.

Exploratory Reading Groups: A Scalable Approach to Creative, Relational, and Student-Driven Exploration in CS Education

探索性阅读小组：计算机科学教育中创造性、关系性和学生驱动探索的可扩展方法

• DOI: 10.1145/3408877.3432394
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
• 作者: Palea, Dustin;Lee, David T.
• 通讯作者: Lee, David T.

Lightweight, Scalable, and Relational Learning Experiences as an Approach to Overcoming System-Level Challenges in Education

轻量级、可扩展和关系型学习体验是克服教育系统级挑战的方法

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
• 作者: Lee, David T.;Palea, Dustin
• 通讯作者: Palea, Dustin