Collaborative Research: Characterizing and empowering student success when traversing the academic help landscape

这项IUSE计算机科学二级参与式学生学习项目旨在通过研究学生在计算机课程中可用的复杂帮助资源情况以及学生如何穿越这种情况来服务于国家利益。计算机课程的注册人数越来越多，导致教师与学生的比例很低，特别是在计算机入门课程中，这些课程通常包括需要学习基本计算技能的非计算机专业的学生。在大型课程中，学生更有可能与助教互动，而不是与导师互动。现代计算机课程认知负荷高，需要学生使用各种复杂的工具。要想在计算机课程中取得成功，学生必须是独立的、高度自律的学习者，能够浏览多种帮助资源。这项计划将促进学生对电脑课程中求助环境的了解，以及不同背景的学生如何在电脑课程中寻求帮助。计划的目标是：1)描述电脑课程中可用的帮助资源模式；2)了解学生的行为和使用帮助资源的情况；3)评估一项旨在提高学生对帮助资源的理解和使用的干预措施，以赋予他们宝贵的自我调节学习技能，以增加他们的学习。该项目将使用量化的方法来描述当前计算机课程中的帮助资源情况。与学生的访谈将阐明他们的求助模式和他们所感知的学习效率。该项目将创建帮助资源和公平计算课程设计的最佳实践，包括干预措施，以1)明确地向学生传授帮助资源图景，2)引导他们识别他们需要的帮助，3)使他们能够有意识地利用这些图景，并使他们的自我识别的帮助需要在他们的求助中更有效。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过参与的学生学习路径，该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。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。

This IUSE Computer Science Level 2 Engaged Student Learning project aims to serve the national interest by studying the complex help resource landscape available to students in computing courses and how students traverse this landscape. Increasing enrollments in computing courses have resulted in a low instructor-to-student ratio, especially for introductory computing courses, which often include non-computing majors who need to learn fundamental computing skills. In large courses, students are more likely to interact with teaching assistants rather than the instructor. Modern computing courses have a high cognitive load and require the students to use various complex tools. To succeed in computing courses, students must be independent, highly self-regulated learners who can navigate multiple help resources. This project will advance the understanding of the help-seeking landscape and how students from different backgrounds seek help in computing courses.The project goals are to 1) characterize the help resource landscape available in computing courses; 2) understand students’ behaviors and usage of help resources; and 3) evaluate an intervention to improve students’ understanding and usage of help resources to empower them with valuable self-regulated learning skills to increase their learning. The project will use a quantitative approach to describe the current help resource landscape in computing courses. Interviews with students will clarify their help-seeking patterns and their perceived learning effectiveness. The project will create best practices for help resources and equitable computing course design, including an intervention to 1) explicitly teach students about the help resource landscape, 2) guide them to identify what help they need, and 3) empower them to consciously utilize the landscape and their self-identified help needs to be more effective in their help-seeking. The NSF IUSE:EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.