BPC-DP: Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Groups Through the Computational Core Initiative

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。截至2020年，堪萨斯州只有27%的高中开设了计算机科学课程。为了解决这一问题，由堪萨斯州立大学计算机科学系（KSUCS）领导的网络管道计划（Cyber Pipeline Initiative）在全州范围内提供计算机科学课程和教师专业发展、认证和支持。目前，网络管道已覆盖7所学校。通过这个示范项目，KSUCS旨在扩大网络管道倡议在全州的覆盖范围。由于该州286个学区中有207个位于农村地区，该项目将考虑农村学生及其学校面临的独特挑战。此外，该项目将努力修改网络管道课程，使其与具有交叉身份的学生相关，包括妇女、非洲裔美国人/黑人和农村地区的西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生。该项目还将增加对农村学生如何参与计算机科学以及哪些策略可能吸引更多学生进入该学科的理解。这项工作将利用网络管道倡议的计算核心倡议（CCI）课程和教学方法，通过识别和解决农村学生面临的直接障碍，增加寻求并成功学习计算机科学的学生人数。在为期两年的资助期内，堪萨斯州至少有20所学校将获得至少一门CCI课程，并获得相关讲师的支持，以证明在农村高中环境中使用CCI课程可以让更多的女性、拉丁裔和黑人/非裔美国学生进入CS和嵌入式计算学位的学习途径。本文将分析学生对学习计算机科学态度的变化、分享本地计算机科学职业路径信息的影响、在高中开设一门或多门计算机科学课程的影响，以及学生的社会身份在多大程度上影响了他们对计算机科学职业的兴趣。为了更广泛地了解整个社区对计算机科学的看法，这些信息将来自学生、教师和家长。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).As of 2020, only 27% of Kansas high schools offered a computer science course. To address this dearth of access, The Cyber Pipeline Initiative led by the Kansas State University Department of Computer Science (KSUCS) provides computer science curriculum and teacher professional development, certification, and support across the state. Currently, the Cyber Pipeline reaches 7 schools. With this demonstration project, KSUCS aims to expand the Cyber Pipeline Initiative’s coverage statewide. With 207 of the state’s 286 school districts located in rural areas, the project will consider the unique challenges faced by rural students and their schools. In addition, the project will work to modify the Cyber Pipeline curriculum to be relevant to students with intersecting identities, including women, African American/ Black, and Hispanic/Latinx students in rural areas. The project will also increase understanding around how rural students engage with computer science and what strategies may attract more to the discipline. The work will leverage the Cyber Pipeline Initiative’s Computing Core Initiative (CCI) curriculum and instructional approaches to increase the number of students seeking and succeeding in CS by identifying and addressing immediate barriers faced by rural students. Over the two-year grant duration, at least 20 schools in Kansas will receive at least one Computing Core Initiative (CCI) course with associated instructor support to demonstrate that the use of CCI courses in rural high school settings leads to more women, Latinx, and Black/African American students entering pathways toward CS and computing-embedded degrees. Changes in students' attitudes toward learning CS, the effects of sharing information about local CS career pathways, the impact of offering one or more CS courses in high schools, and the degree to which students' social identities influence their interest in CS careers will be analyzed. To get a broader picture of the perceptions of computer science throughout the community this information will come from students, teachers, and parents.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.