CAREER: Investigating the Use of Empathy-Building Interventions in Experiential Computing Education

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。该项目旨在通过了解如何教学生创建包容和公正的软件来服务于国家利益。该项目侧重于发展移情建设干预措施，并研究其对学生的影响。假设移情创造干预将通过增加学生对计算主题的理解和动机来推进体验式计算教育，并将导致更公平和包容的软件的开发。该项目将产生关于在软件工程中创建移情干预的影响的知识，创建移情的最有效方法，以及在体验式计算教育中包含创建移情干预的适当方法。提出的工作将是第一个已知的实质性努力，以开发和评估在体验式计算教育中创造移情干预。该项目解决的具体目标包括：1)了解在体验式计算教育中创建共情干预的好处和影响，2)识别在体验式计算教育中包含创建共情干预的适当方法，以及3)了解体验式共情干预是否有助于减少偏见。这项工作将举例说明两种形式的干预在建立同理心方面的有效性：基于经验和基于表达的干预。基于经验的干预允许感知者通过实践或理论活动从目标的角度遇到一个场景。基于表情的干预教参与者认识到参与者的内部状态，并作出适当的反应。为了解决既定的研究目标和收集数据进行分析，学生将在包括基础和更高级的计算机课程在内的各种课程中使用创建的干预措施。这些干预措施也将包括在非传统的课堂环境中，例如为高中生提供的在线课程和外展活动。该项目的成果将有助于从理论和实践的角度对体验式教育的基础理解，有利于计算教育的各种主题，包括通用计算、可访问性、人工智能、机器学习、自主性和人机交互。该职业奖由美国国家科学基金会的IUSE:EHR计划支持，该计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project aims to serve the national interest by understanding how to teach students to create inclusive and unbiased software. The project focuses on the development of empathy-building interventions and the study of their impact on students. It is hypothesized that empathy-creating interventions will advance experiential computing education by increasing student understanding and motivation of computing topics and will result in the development of more equitable and inclusive software. This project will generate knowledge regarding the impact of empathy-creating interventions in software engineering, the most effective methods for creating empathy, and appropriate methodologies for including empathy-creating interventions in experiential computing education. The proposed work will be the first known substantial effort to develop and evaluate empathy-creating interventions in experiential computing education.The specific objectives addressed by the project include: 1) understanding the benefits and impacts of empathy-creating interventions in experiential computing education, 2) recognizing appropriate methodologies to include empathy-creating interventions in experiential computing education, and 3) understand if experiential empathy-creating interventions can help to reduce bias. This work will example the effectiveness of two forms of interventions in building empathy: experience- and expression-based interventions. Experience-based interventions allow the perceiver to encounter a scenario through the target’s perspective using either a hands-on or theoretical activity. Expression-based interventions teach participants to recognize the internal states of the participant and respond appropriately. To address the defined research objectives and collect data for analysis, students will use the created interventions in a diverse range of classes including both foundational and more advanced computing courses. The interventions will also be included in non-traditional classroom environments, such online course offerings and outreach events for high school students. Outcomes for this project will contribute to the foundational understanding of experiential education from a theoretical and practical perspective, benefiting a variety of topics in computing education, including general computing, accessibility, artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy, and human-computer interaction. This CAREER award is supported by NSF's IUSE:EHR Program which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.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.