Preparing High School Students with Autism for the Future of Remote Software Development Work

吸引不同的年轻人投身计算机科学专业，对我们的国家利益和提供经济机会都很重要。该项目将邀请患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的高中生参加远程视频游戏设计和软件开发夏令营。通过团队合作活动，参与活动的青年将发展和练习沟通和协作技能，同时增长他们的专业知识和技能，为他们在计算机科学领域的潜在职业生涯做好准备。为了支持团队合作和社交技能的发展，项目团队将开发一个名为Collaboration Station的软件程序，为学习者提供一个用于协作编程的在线虚拟环境。将学生学习嵌入到虚拟夏令营环境中，为参加夏令营的高中生提供了为远程工作开发知识和技能的机会，这在计算机科学职业生涯中越来越常见。这个项目的一个显著特点是，它关注患有自闭症的学习者为支持他们对计算机科学的准备和兴趣而带来的特质。由于所有项目活动都将在线/远程进行，该团队将使用研究方法，注意适当和有效地使用多媒体录音和参与者参与虚拟环境的数据库证据。该小组将主要采用定性分析，分析夏令营活动的录音，并通过使用开放式和轴向编码对数据进行迭代、解释性传递，使用音频记录进行主题分析。该项目的设计和开发过程将由一个特殊的顾问委员会指导，该委员会由来自社区的自闭症自我倡导者组成。这些项目合作者将提供必要的专业知识和经验，为项目的方向、设计和实施提供信息。该项目的成果包括一个夏令营体验的概念和操作模式，支持患有自闭症的学生发展他们的计算机科学知识和团队合作技能。夏令营模式及其成果将通过学术研究和教育技术会议、公共播客系列和公共博客向学术、教育和ASD倡导社区传播。匿名的项目数据将通过基于网络的附录共享，供其他研究人员使用。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验计划(ITEST)共同资助，该计划支持建立对实践、计划要素、背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)以及信息和通信技术(ICT)职业的知识和兴趣。这个项目也是由CS for All：Research and RPPS计划共同资助的。这个奖项反映了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。

Attracting diverse youth to computer science professions is important to our national interests and to provide economic opportunity. This project will engage high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a remote video game design and software development summer camp. Through teamwork activities, participating youth will develop and practice communication and collaboration skills while growing their professional knowledge and skills to prepare them for potential careers in computer science. To support teaming and social skills development, the project team will develop a software program, Collaboration Station, that provides learners with an online, virtual environment for collaborative programming. Embedding student learning in a virtual summer camp environment provides participating high schoolers with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills for remote work, which is increasingly common in computer science careers. A distinct feature of this project is its focus on the attributes that learners with ASD bring to support their preparation for and interest in computer science.As all project activities will take place online/remotely, the team will use research methods that attend to the appropriate and effective use of multimedia recordings and database evidence of participant engagement in the virtual environment. Employing primarily qualitative analysis, the team will analyze recordings of camp activities and use audio transcripts for thematic analysis through iterative, interpretive passes on the data using open and axial coding. The project’s design and development process will be guided by a special kind of advisory board, composed of autistic self-advocates from the community. These project collaborators will provide essential expertise and experience to inform the project’s direction, design, and implementation. Outcomes of this project include a conceptual and operational model for a summer camp experience that supports students with ASD in the development of their computer science knowledge and teaming skills. The summer camp model and its outcomes will be disseminated to academic, educational, and ASD advocacy communities through academic research and educational technology conferences, a public podcast series, and a public blog. Anonymized project data will be shared through a web-based appendix for other researchers’ use. This project is co-funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. This project is also co-funded by the CS for All: Research and RPPs program.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.