Collaborative Research: Supporting Project-Based Learning in Undergraduate Software Engineering Courses

该项目旨在通过在本科计算机科学课程中增加循证教学实践的使用来服务于国家利益。其中一种做法是基于项目的学习，它让学生有机会在解决真实的现实问题时学习。基于项目的学习，以及其他主动学习实践，已经被证明可以提高学生的积极性和参与度，提高考试成绩，降低不及格率。在课堂上实施基于项目的学习的一个主要障碍是，当学生完成项目任务时，教师必须为他们提供成功学习者所需的支持。如果没有这种支持，学生就会陷入不必要的任务中，而不是学习目标概念和技能。这个项目的目的是在软件工程课程中增加基于项目的学习。要做到这一点，项目将设计、开发和评估一个参考软件工程课程，其中包含12个准备使用的项目和相关的主动学习活动的存储库。这些资源将使教师能够轻松地分配项目任务，让学生在家完成。预计这些资源将提高教师在其课程中有效利用基于项目的学习的能力。此外，基于项目的学习可以通过提供类似于软件工程师所做的工作的学习经验来帮助学生为行业职业做好准备。这个项目的首要目标是通过鼓励和促进真实的计算机科学学习经验来增加学生的学习。对已开发的基于项目的学习资源进行形成性评估的数据将通过咨询委员会审查、本科测试和内部课堂试验收集。在多个志愿站点进行的实地测试将评估在学院或大学环境中实施基于项目的学习资源的可行性。最后，将进行一项试点研究，以评估开发的材料对改善学生学习成果的承诺。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。这个项目是在参与学生学习轨道上，通过IUSE计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。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 project aims to serve the national interest by increasing the use of evidence-based teaching practices in undergraduate computer science curricula. One such practice is project-based learning, which gives students opportunities to learn as they work on authentic real-world problems. Project-based learning, and other active learning practices, have been shown to increase student motivation and engagement, raise exam performance, and reduce failure rates. A major barrier to implementing project-based learning in the classroom is that instructors must provide students with the support they need to be successful learners as they complete project tasks. Without that support, students can get bogged down performing unessential tasks instead of learning the targeted concepts and skills. This project aims to increase the use of project-based learning in software engineering courses. To do so, the project will design, develop, and evaluate a reference software engineering course with a repository of twelve ready-to-use projects and associated active learning activities. These resources will enable instructors to easily assign project tasks for students to complete at home. It is anticipated that these resources will increase the capacity of instructors to effectively use project-based learning in their courses. In addition, project-based learning can help students prepare for industry careers by providing learning experiences that are like the work that software engineers do.The overarching goal of this project is to increase student learning by encouraging and facilitating authentic computer science learning experiences. Data for formative evaluation of the developed project-based learning resources will be gathered through advisory board reviews, undergraduate beta testing, and in-house classroom trials. Field tests at multiple volunteer sites will assess the feasibility of implementing the project-based learning resources in college or university settings. Finally, a pilot study will be performed to assess the promise of the developed materials to improve student learning outcomes. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This project is in the Engaged Student Learning track, through which the IUSE 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.