Collaborative Research: Developing a Systemic, Scalable Model to Broaden Participation in Middle School Computer Science

非洲裔美国人、拉丁裔和来自社会经济地位较低家庭的学生往往没有机会学习计算机科学和计算思维（CS/CT），而这些概念对参与21世纪的劳动力和公民至关重要。这些有限的机会通常是学校系统实践的结果，这些实践影响了学校的广泛相关部分，包括领导，学生和教师获得CS/CT资源的机会，学生和教师的CS/CT学习机会，以及参与CS/CT的先前经验和鼓励。该项目将建立在北卡罗来纳州立大学周五教育创新研究所和威克县公立学校系统一所中学之间长期的研究实践合作伙伴关系（RPP）的基础上，以深化RPP，进一步发展CS/CT的概念、理论和应用框架。此外，该项目将通过与北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校和夏洛特-梅克伦堡学校的发展伙伴关系，将RPP的工作扩展到另一个新形成的CS/CT聚焦磁铁上，以复制RPP的新“计算机科学和编码”磁铁项目。由于所有中学生都要上数学和科学课，因此该项目将使用这种学术背景作为项目工作的重点。该提案特别针对夏洛特和罗利的中学，这些中学的非洲裔和拉丁裔人口相对较多，并且免费和减少了午餐比例，以扩大现有的RPP。该项目的目标是为计算机领域代表性不足的学生提供公平的机会；为初中生准备高中计算机课程；开发和测试有效的CS/CT模块，整合到现有的数学和科学课程中；调查以CS/ ct为重点的系统性障碍和支持；并向其他学校和地区宣传RPP研究结果。STEM生态系统框架是一个新兴的模型，用于构建学生在STEM学习中的障碍和支持结构，包括CS/CT，它认识到有效的CS/CT学习是整个相互关联的学术企业的产物——包括学校领导、教师和学生CS/CT资源、可用的CS/CT学习机会，以及CS/CT方面的先前经验、鼓励和培训。该项目将采用STEM生态系统模型，作为一种可扩展、可推广的方法，在全校范围内系统地将CS/CT整合到必修的数学和科学课程中。在两所磁铁中学寻求将CS/CT整合到他们的课程的背景下，这项工作将由以下总体研究问题指导：1。通过整合中学科学和数学课程，为每个学生开发一个支持CS/CT的STEM生态系统，障碍是什么？2. 需要哪些因素或干预措施来支持以CS/CT为重点的STEM生态系统的发展，从而支持学校里的每个人？3. 学校中以CS/CT为重点的STEM生态系统的成功指标是什么？4. 生态系统如何让所有学生，特别是那些来自代表性不足的学生群体的学生，为高中的CS/CT工作做好准备和参与？为了解决前两个研究问题，数据将包括RPP领导团队的专题分析会议记录、对教师和学校领导的访谈、教师和学校领导的观察和自我报告调查数据。此外，专业发展研讨会的数据将被纳入访谈和调查的三角测量。为了解决第三个研究问题，数据将包括学生人口统计数据、参与STEM活动、课堂观察、学生参与（通过课程内外接触CS/CT的人口统计数据来衡量）、参与水平的活动观察、态度、学习和未来对CS/CT的兴趣的自我报告数据、教师对学习和参与的观察、学生、教师、观察员的活动/模块评级、班级工件（作品集或项目），以及期末科学和数学成绩。对于问题4，项目成员和RPP团队将根据咨询委员会的意见，根据新兴的K12 CS标准，对NC高中CS课程大纲进行年度审查。来自Reedy Creek和Northside的课程计划和学生作业的人工制品将被抽样并与当前高中对CS学术工作的期望进行比较。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。

African-American, Latinx and students from low socio-economic households too often do not have opportunities to learn computer science and computational thinking (CS/CT), concepts that are crucial for participation in the 21st century workforce and citizenry. These limited opportunities are often the result of systemic practices in schools that impact a wide range of connected parts of the school including leadership, access to CS/CT resources for students and teachers, CS/CT learning opportunities for students and teachers, and prior experiences and encouragement to participate in CS/CT. This project will build on a long-standing Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) between NC State University's Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and a middle school in Wake County Public School System to deepen the RPP to further develop conceptual, theoretical, and applied frameworks for CS/CT. Additionally, the project will scale this RPP work to another newly-forming CS/CT focused magnet through a developing partnership with UNC Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to replicate the RPP for a new "Computer science and coding" magnet program. Since mathematics and science classes are taken by all middle school students, the project will use this academic context as the focus of the project's work. This proposal specifically targets middle schools in both Charlotte and Raleigh with relatively high African-American and Latinx populations, and free and reduced lunch percentages, to scale the existing RPP. The project goals are to provide equitable access to underrepresented students in computing; to prepare middle school students for computing curriculum in high school; to develop and test effective CS/CT modules that integrate in existing math and science curriculum; to investigate CS/CT-focused systemic barriers and supports; and to propagate RPP findings to other schools and districts.The STEM ecosystems framework is an emerging model for framing the barriers and support structures students have in STEM learning, including CS/CT that recognizes that effective CS/CT learning is the product of the entire connected academic enterprise--with elements including school leadership, teacher and student CS/CT resources, and available CS/CT learning opportunities, along with prior experiences, encouragement, and training in CS/CT. The project will adapt the STEM ecosystem model as a scalable, generalizable approach for systematic, school-wide integration of CS/CT into required math and science courses. Within the context of two magnet middle schools seeking to integrate CS/CT across their curricula, this work will be guided by the following overarching research questions: 1. What are the barriers to developing a STEM ecosystem that supports CS/CT for every student through integration into middle school science and math courses? 2. What factors or interventions are needed to support the development of a CS/CT focused STEM ecosystem that supports everyone in a school? 3. What are the indicators of success for a CS/CT focused STEM ecosystem in a school? 4. How does the ecosystem prepare and engage all students, especially those from underrepresented student groups, for CS/CT work in high school? To address the first two research questions, data will include meeting notes for thematic analyses from RPP leadership teams, interviews with teachers and school leaders, observational and self-report survey data from teachers and school leadership. Additionally, professional development workshop data will be included to triangulate responses from interviews and surveys. To address the third research question, data will include student demographic data, participation in STEM activities, classroom observations, student engagement as measured by demographics exposed to CS/CT within and external to the curriculum, activity observations of engagement levels, self-report data of attitudes, learning and future interest in CS/CT, teacher observations of learning and engagement, activity/module ratings from students, teachers, observers, class artifacts (portfolios or projects), and End of Grades science and math performance. For Question 4, members of the project and RPP teams, with input from the Advisory Board will perform an annual review of NC high school CS course syllabi against emerging K12 CS standards. Lesson plans and artifacts of student work from Reedy Creek and Northside will be sampled and compared against current high school expectations for CS academic work.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.