Improving Undergraduate Computer Science Education via Reading Group Networks

数字技术已经扩散到经济的几乎每一个部门，增加了对能够创造性地应用他们的计算技能来解决各种社会问题的劳动力的需求。本科生的研究经历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。本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策略的好处。在探索性阅读小组中，学生小组通过选择、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经被证明可以培养支持性的同伴网络和求知欲，这两者对于学生的记忆力都是至关重要的，尤其是对于不同的学生群体。预计参加探索性阅读小组将帮助计算机科学学生对计算机科学如何完成有一个大的看法，并提供同伴支持和促进他们的好奇心。该项目还寻求促进以计算机为基础的方法来组成学生团体，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在未来计算机工作场所组织和使用小组作为支持网络的能力。这个项目的长期教育目标是扩大好奇心驱动学习的机会。它的目的是调整传统的阅读小组的使用方式，通常侧重于培养批判性思维技能，通过探索学生选择的主题来培养他们对计算机科学的好奇心和创造力。该项目有四个目标：(1)通过以学生为中心的过程，调整非计算机科学阅读小组使用的材料、结构和支持平台，并通过为期两年的纵向研究评估它们对教育成果的影响。(2)研究日常生产力工具的使用，将其作为一种可推广的手段：a)在面对面活动中收集学生生成的内容；B)在论文中加入相关的课程和文章；c)提供个性化的推荐。(3)在给定学生偏好的情况下，开发和评估启发式算法，使小组形成最大化参与。(4)评估阅读小组的集体知识体系，以了解参与者利用其过去的阅读小组社区找到所需信息的能力。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。为教育工作者建立自己的开源平台提供指导。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.