Collaborative Research:CyberTraining:Implementation:Medium: Modern Course Exemplars infused with Parallel and Distributed Computing for the Introductory Computing Course Sequence

美国的计算入门课程基于计算的概念模型，早于计算在互联网上的分布和并行处理的广泛使用。雇主利益攸关方报告说，应届毕业生没有为使用现代系统做好准备，因此他们可能需要长达两年的额外培训才能成为有生产力的员工。学术界利益攸关方指出，现代化的一个关键障碍是缺乏可供采用的入门课程序列范例。该项目将开始通过开创一套新的计算机入门课程来纠正这种情况，该课程建立在包括并行和分布式处理的现代计算概念模型基础上，并对其有效性和它们在不同学院和大学中的适用性进行严格评估。此外，该项目将通过加强他们对现代计算系统和计算问题解决方法的基础了解，更好地准备和激励未来的研究人员利用先进的网络基础设施。面向支持大数据、人工智能、大规模模拟、云计算等的现代系统是当前研究范式的基础。该项目通过培训准备充分的多样化劳动力，使其能够更好地在全球范围内竞争、开拓和应对无处不在的现代网络技术环境的所有这些方面带来的挑战，从而服务于国家利益。该项目的直接目标是克服阻碍教育工作者更新计算机科学入门课程以解决当前系统问题的一个主要障碍：缺乏现代化课程的范例。由于并行和分布式计算是现代计算基础设施的核心组成部分，该项目将导致未来研究队伍的全面现代化，并使更多的研究人员能够比现在更有效地利用先进的网络基础设施资源。该项目将设计现代一年级计算机科学入门课程序列，其基础是一个概念模型，该模型包括当前系统中发现的并行和分布式计算的基本要素。该序列将在两所大学使用两种不同的编程语言实现，以演示该模型的一般性。该项目将开发一套基于教育科学的前处理和后处理仪器，以评估该方法的有效性。首先对未修改的课程进行评估，作为实验控制组。然后将对修改后的疗程进行评估，以收集记录干预结果的数据。根据多样性(规模、时间表、学生人数、与社区学院等其他机构的联系等)选择的另外六个机构将被招募，以随后采用和评估新的课程序列，从而发现扩大其广泛使用潜力的改进措施，并提供有效性证据。其他机构的教员将参加暑期强化培训讲习班，学习如何使用评估工具和如何采用新的课程设计。除了通过积极的外展努力公开传播新的课程序列及其支持材料外，包括NSF赞助的Access计划，该项目还将产生描述课程和评估结果的书籍章节和出版物。这项由高级网络基础设施办公室颁发的奖项由计算机和信息科学与工程总局内的计算和通信基础部门联合支持。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。

Introductory computing courses in the U.S. are based on a conceptual model of computation predating the distribution of computing across the Internet and widespread use of parallel processing. Employer stakeholders reported that new graduates are ill-prepared for working with modern systems so that it can take up to two years of additional training before they become productive employees. A key impediment to modernization that academic stakeholders identified was the lack of example introductory course sequences to adopt. This project will begin to remedy that situation by pioneering a new set of introductory computing courses, built around a modern conceptual model of computation that includes parallel and distributed processing, with rigorous evaluation of their effectiveness and their adoptability across a diverse group of colleges and universities. In addition, the project will better prepare and motivate the future research workforce to leverage advanced cyberinfrastructure by strengthening their foundational understanding of modern computing systems and computational problem solving methods. Modern systems that are geared toward supporting big data, artificial intelligence, large scale simulations, cloud computing, etc., are the foundation of current research paradigms. The project serves the national interest by training a well-prepared and diverse workforce that is better able to compete globally, exploit, and meet the challenges presented by all of these aspects of the pervasive, modern, cyber-technology environment. The immediate goal of this project is to overcome a key impediment that has prevented educators from updating introductory computer science curricula to address current systems: a lack of examples of modernized courses. Since parallel and distributed computing is a core component of modern computing infrastructure, the project will result in an overall modernization of the future research workforce, and enable more effective use of advanced cyberinfrastructure resources by a larger set of researchers than is now possible. The project will design a modern first year introductory computer science course sequence, based on a conceptual model that includes the fundamental elements of parallel and distributed computation as found in current systems. The sequence will be implemented at two colleges, using two different programming languages, to demonstrate the generality of the model. The project will develop a set of pre-treatment and post-treatment instruments, based on education science, to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. Evaluation will first be done for unmodified courses, as an experimental control group. Then the modified courses will be evaluated to gather data documenting the outcome of the intervention. Six additional institutions, selected for diversity (size, schedule, student population, connections to other institutions such as community colleges, etc.), will be recruited to subsequently adopt and evaluate the new course sequence, and thus discover enhancements that expand its potential for widespread use, as well as providing evidence of effectiveness. Instructors at the additional institutions will go through intensive summer training workshops to learn how to use the evaluation instruments and how to adopt the new course designs. In addition to public dissemination of the new course sequences with their supporting materials through an active outreach effort, including the NSF-sponsored ACCESS program, the project will result in book chapters and publications describing the courses and the evaluation results.This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.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.