BPC-DP: A Spatial Approach to Reduce Inequities in Early Access to CS Education

缺乏对计算机科学的接触是教师们认为计算机领域女性和有色人种学生代表性不足的主要原因之一。这表明，教育工作者观察到所有学生类型的兴趣，扩大曝光和访问可能有助于推动更多的参与计算从代表性不足的人口。通过这个扩大参与计算示范项目，研究人员在格鲁吉亚州立大学的目的是检查多种因素，如资源分配不公平，可能导致学校和地区的机会不平等，让学生在计算。多学科项目小组将开发一种方法，以确定在格鲁吉亚学区，在一个较高的风险，缺乏接触CS教育的领域。然后，政府实体、非营利组织和行业可以利用这个平台，将有限的资源投入到最需要的地方，并产生最大的影响。该项目开发1）一个Co-SEA（计算机科学教育访问）风险指数，以量化对计算机教育的需求; 2）一种新的方法来确定空间区域，称为RICS（种族不平等的计算机科学）贫困，由于缺乏获得计算机科学教育的机会而面临风险;以及3）可定制的计算框架，用于决策者在给定的约束条件下确定资源和干预措施的放置。这种新颖的跨学科方法考虑了结构性因素，通过整合感兴趣区域的多源数据，共同限制了CS教育的获得。在格鲁吉亚州立大学的项目小组采取了一个整体的方法，考虑人口，社会经济，公民权利，交通和学校入学数据，以发展的概念RICS Desperation和规划者提供一种手段，以确定在哪里放置他们的干预措施。该方法将纳入敏感性分析，以评估空间不确定性带来的潜在偏差。开发的计算框架将可扩展应用于任何感兴趣的领域，无论是在社区，县，州，地区或国家一级。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Lack of exposure to computer science is one of the major reasons cited by teachers behind the underrepresentation of women and students of color in computing fields. This suggests that educators observe interest among all student types and that broadening exposure and access might help drive greater involvement in computing from underrepresented populations. Through this broadening participation in computing demonstration project, researchers at Georgia State University aim to examine a multitude of factors, such as inequitable allocation of resources, that can lead to schools and districts with unequal opportunities to engage students in computing. The multidisciplinary project team will develop a method to identify areas in Georgia school districts that are at a higher risk for lack of exposure to CS education. Government entities, non-profits, and industry can then leverage this platform to place limited resources where they are most needed and can have the greatest impact. This project develops 1) a Co-SEA (Computer Science Education Access) Risk Index to quantify the need for exposure to computing education; 2) a new methodology to identify spatial regions, called RICS (Racially Inequitable Computer Science) Deserts, that are at risk for lack of access to CS education; and 3) a customizable computational framework for decision-makers to determine placement of resources and interventions within given constraints. This novel interdisciplinary approach considers structural factors that collectively limit access to CS education by integrating multi-source data for the region of interest. The project team at Georgia State University take a holistic approach by considering demographic, socio-economic, civil rights, transportation, and school enrollment data to develop the concept of RICS Deserts and provide a means for planners to determine where to place their interventions. The methodology will incorporate sensitivity analysis to evaluate potential biases introduced by spatial uncertainty. The computational framework developed will be scalable for application to any area of interest, whether that be at the community, county, state, regional or national level.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.