A Holistic Approach to Improve Learning and Motivation in Introductory Programming with Automated Grading, Web-based Team Support, and Game Development

在改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）的支持下，这个Track 1项目旨在提高学生在入门编程课程中的成功，这是所有计算机科学/信息技术项目中的关键课程。提高这门课程的成功率，特别是那些来自STEM中历史上代表性不足的群体的学生的成功率，将消除留住学生在信息技术职业道路上的障碍。改进课程的各种基于研究的方法经常遇到限制其采用或实施的本地挑战。该项目将潜在地证明技术和自动化工具可以有效地管理或减轻这些挑战。本项目试点的方法综合了几个高影响力的实践，为学生提供了多种学习途径和机会。这种多方面的方法有可能协同提高学生的整体学习成果。该项目的具体目标是在入门编程课程中加强STEM中历史上代表性不足的群体的学生的学习，技能和培训。该项目将通过以下方式实现这一目标：(1)采用多方面的方法，整合了由自动化工具促进的几种高影响力的研究支持教学法，适应不同的学习风格；(2)雇用和指导不同的同伴导师群体，特别关注这一干部中代表性不足的群体的学生，并制作一个迷你视频库，以促进在图形编程环境中的学习和实践。这将提供一个额外的学习途径，并通过视频维持同伴建模的努力，(3)通过一个学期的游戏开发项目创建一个基于项目的学习体验，该项目包含文化响应主题，(4)制作有形的课程材料，旨在被其他教师或机构轻松采用或改编。因此，研究成果和开发的工具可能适用于广泛的机构，包括西班牙裔服务机构，少数民族服务机构，以及那些容纳学生平衡教育与工作和家庭承诺的机构。由于预期的影响，项目团队将开发一个面向公众的网站，以容纳已开发的文物和课程材料，他们将通过举办传播研讨会和通过同行评审的期刊传播研究结果，并在地区和国家会议上发表演讲，向计算机科学/信息技术教育界进行推广。本项目由科学与技术研究所资助，旨在加强科学与技术研究所的本科教育，扩大科学与技术研究所的参与，并加强科学与技术研究所的能力建设。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to improve student success in an introductory programming course which is a pivotal course within all computer science/information technology programs. Increasing the success rates in this course, particularly for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM, will remove obstacles for retaining students in an information technology career pathway. Various research-based approaches for improving the course often encounter local challenges that limit their adoption or implementation. This project will potentially demonstrate that technology and automated tools can effectively manage or mitigate these challenges. The approach to be piloted in this project integrates several high-impact practices holistically, offering students multiple pathways and opportunities to learn. This multifaceted approach could have the potential to synergically enhance overall student learning outcomes. The specific aim of the project is to enhance the learning, skills, and training of students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM in introductory programming courses. The project will accomplish this aim by (1) utilizing a multifaceted approach that integrates several high-impact research-supported pedagogies facilitated by automated tools, accommodating diverse learning styles, (2) hiring and mentoring a diverse group of peer tutors, with a specific focus on students from groups underrepresented in this cadre, and producing a mini-video library to facilitate learning and practice in a graphical programming environment, which will offer an additional learning pathway and sustain the peer modeling effort through videos, (3) creating a project-based learning experience through a semester-long game development project that incorporate culturally responsive themes, (4) producing tangible curriculum materials designed to be easily adopted or adapted by other faculty or institutions. As a result, the research outcomes and developed tools potentially will be applicable and impactful for a wide range of institutions, including Hispanic serving institutions, minority serving institutions, and those accommodating students balancing education with work and family commitments. With the anticipated impact, the project team will develop a public-facing website to host developed artifacts and curriculum materials, and they will outreach to CS/IT education community by hosting dissemination workshops and disseminating findings through peer-reviewed journals and presentations at regional and national conferences. This project is funded by the HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.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.