Understanding the Development of Interest in Computer Science: An Experience Sampling Approach

这个项目探索了STEM对计算机科学本科水平的兴趣培养。这是一项具有国家重要性的研究，将重点放在谁在计算机科学领域追求兴趣、专业或职业方面的重大差异。这项试点研究将着眼于是什么导致了这些差异，在这个水平上，寻求支持和维持更具代表性的计算机科学专家群体的政策制定者和教育工作者可以最有效地采取行动。为了解决这个问题，该项目将进行一项试点研究，阐明一个适用于ECR计划的基础研究项目，该项目使用经验抽样方法(ESM)。为了达到ECR的研究门槛，调查员将招募具有使用此方法的专业知识的导师和咨询委员会成员，以帮助确定调查员在两年项目期间需要发展的经验、专业知识和能力。根据这些专家的建议，研究人员将在研究设计、研究方法和数据分析方面获得帮助。对这些大类的深入了解将有助于调查人员使用各种方法和措施来检查学生的个体特征，构建调查问卷，研究学生经验的差异，并构建ESM研究的时间表。通过专业发展计划，调查员将通过参加与STEM兴趣培养有关的研究方法和计算机科学方面的专题会议、研讨会、短期课程、研究小组和指导活动来满足这些需求。初步研究将在200名学生的计算机科学入门本科课程的背景下进行。它将在兴趣发展理论的框架内，以更好地理解学生在特定情况下是如何激发即时兴趣，然后积累成更持续和持续的个人兴趣的。具体地说，ESM将允许研究人员监控短期干预，以探索情景兴趣如何随着时间的推移转变为成熟的个人兴趣。这项初步研究将试图确定这种方法是否更适合于理解情景兴趣，如果是，在什么条件下。数据将通过事后调查、经验抽样调查和简短的书面报告来收集。数据将使用多变量、混合效应模型进行分析，该模型将考虑情景和个人兴趣之间的关系。这个项目的结果将是双重的：相对于ESM，研究人员的方法论知识有所进步；以及更深入地了解学生对计算机科学的兴趣可能会如何发展，以及哪些障碍可能会干扰这种发展。该项目通过STEM教育研究竞赛中的EHR核心研究能力建设得到支持，该竞赛旨在建设个人在STEM学习和学习环境中开展高质量基础STEM教育研究的能力，扩大对STEM领域的参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project explores STEM interest development at the undergraduate level in computer science. It is a study of national importance that will focus on substantial differences in who pursues an interest, a major, or an occupation in computer science. The pilot study will look at what drives these differences at a level where policymakers and educators seeking to support and sustain a more representative population of computer science experts can most effectively act. To address this problem, the project will conduct a pilot study that articulates a fundamental research project appropriate for the ECR program using the experience sampling method (ESM). In order to meet the ECR threshold for research, the investigator will enlist mentors and advisory board members with expertise using this methodology to help identify experiences, expertise, and competencies the investigator will need to develop during the two-year project period. Building on advice of these experts, the investigator will receive assistance in study design, research methods, and data analysis. A deeper understanding in these broad categories will help the investigator use a variety of approaches and measures to examine students' individual characteristics, construct surveys, study variation in students' experiences, and structure timelines for the ESM study. Through the professional development plan, the investigator will address these needs by participating in subject-specific conferences, workshops, short courses, research groups, and mentoring activities in both research methodology and computer science relative to STEM interest development.The pilot study will be carried out in the context of an introductory undergraduate computer science course using a pool of 200 students. It will be framed in terms of the interest development theory to better understand how students' in-the-moment interest is sparked in specific situations and then accumulates into more ongoing and sustained individual interest. Specifically, ESM will allow the investigator to monitor a short-term intervention to explore how situational interest may change over time into well-developed individual interest. The pilot study will seek to determine if this method is more suitable for understanding situational interest and if so, under what conditions. Data will be collected through pre-post surveys, an experience sampling survey, and short written reports. Data will be analyzed using multivariate, mixed effects models that will consider the relationship between situational and individual interest. Outcomes from this project will be two-fold: an advancement in the investigator's methodological knowledge relative to ESM; and a deeper understanding about how student's interest may develop in computer science as well as what barriers might interfere with such development. The project is supported through the EHR Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research competition that is designed to build individuals' capacity to carry out high quality fundamental STEM education research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.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.