EAGER:X+CS: CS Pathways for Non CS majors

随着计算机影响到各个领域，并成为大多数学科的基本研究模式，对计算机科学（CS）的大学课程有很大的需求。这反映在计算机科学专业的增长上。根据计算机研究协会汇编的数据，自2006年以来的十年里，计算机科学专业的人数自2006年以来增加了两倍，自2011年以来增加了一倍。这一趋势持续了两年，马里兰大学巴尔的摩分校也不例外。根据美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation）的几次公开演讲，随着计算机科学专业人数的增长达到顶峰，出现了一股被视为“CS+X”学生的浪潮——这些学生学习计算机科学以外的学科，但需要大量的课程。我们的经验表明，通过让这些学生接触计算机，我们将使计算机科学课程的参与多样化和扩大。我们建议为这些非计算机专业的学生创造进入计算机领域的途径。这个项目将涉及设计一系列新课程，包括，但也超出了，入门编程序列。这些课程将向不打算主修计算机科学的学生介绍关键概念。初步研究表明，这群学生比通常上计算机科学课程的学生更加多样化。这个项目将专注于创建一系列课程，这些课程更多地关注各个领域的重要概念，以及与扩展相关的概念（例如，可扩展的数据结构）。它还将尝试通过个性化学习计划定制“X+CS”专业。研究人员将在开发课程序列时咨询工业界的同事。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。

With computing impacting every field, and becoming a fundamental mode of inquiry in most disciplines,there is great demand for university coursework in computer science (CS). This has been reflected in a growthin CS majors. According to the numbers compiled by the Computer Research Association, in the decade since 2006, the number of computer science majors had tripled since 2006 and doubled since 2011. The trend has continued in the two years since, and University of Maryland - Baltimore County has not been an exception. According to several National Science Foundation public presentations that as the growth in computer science majors crests, there is a building wave of what is being viewed as "CS+X" students -- students studying in a discipline other than computer science, but needing a significant body of coursework. Our experience shows that by exposing such students to computing, we will diversify and broaden the participation in CS classes. We propose to create pathways into computing for such non computer science majors.This project will involve designing a sequence of new classes including, but also beyond, theintroductory programming sequence. These classes will introduce key concepts to students who do not intend to major in CS. Preliminary work has shown that this pool of students is much more diverse than that typically take CS courses. This project will focus on creating a sequence of courses that focus more on concepts important for various domains, as well as concepts related to scaling up (e.g., scalable data structures). It will also experiment with customized "X+CS" majors through the Individualized Study program. The researchers will consult colleagues from industry as they develop the course sequence.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.