Collaborative Research: Alice += Java

这个项目是由圣约瑟夫大学、伊萨卡学院和卡内基梅隆大学合作完成的。它正在整合Alice，这是一个高影响，高兴趣的程序可视化环境，到第一个计算机科学课程。先前的工作已经提供了证据，表明这种方法可以显著提高高危cs专业学生第一年的学习成绩和保留率。项目团队正在开发教学材料，包括教科书、实验练习和讲座/演示幻灯片，以使用这种综合方法教授第一个计算机科学课程。主要的重点是在面向对象的交互式环境中使用可视化来教授基本编程概念和解决问题技术的强大核心。这一努力解决了计算机科学专业学生在第一年的高流失率问题，研究人员正在收集数据，以确定在第一门计算机科学课程中使用Alice是否能降低第一年的流失率。评估工作包括同行评议、学生态度和焦点小组、态度调查以及形成性和总结性评估的留存率统计。研究人员将所有的资料放到网上，并通过期刊文章和在SIGCSE、ITiCSE、FIE、CHI、HCC和CIT上的演讲来传播他们的方法和结果，并在信息技术和创新会议上为社区学院的教师，最后在几个普伦蒂斯霍尔信息技术（PHIT）会议上发表。他们还计划制作一本教科书，并创建一个在线社区。更广泛的影响集中在广泛传播其教学材料。

Computer Science (31)The project is a collaboration involving St Joseph's University, Ithaca College, and Carnegie-Mellon University. It is integrating Alice, which is a high-impact, high-interest program visualization environment, into the first computer science course. Previous work has provided evidence that this approach can significantly improve achievement and retention of high-risk CS-majors during their first year. The project team is developing instructional materials, including a textbook, laboratory exercises, and lecture/demonstration slides, for teaching the first computer science course using this integrated approach. The major emphasis is using visualization to teach a strong core of fundamental programming concepts and problem-solving techniques in an object-oriented, interactive environment. The effort addresses the high attrition rate of CS-majors during their first year of study, and the investigators are collecting data to determine whether using Alice in the first computer science course reduces the first-year attrition rate. Evaluation efforts include peer reviews, student attitudes and focus groups, attitude surveys, and retention statistics for formative and summative evaluation. The investigators are making all materials available online and disseminating their approach and results through journal articles and presentation at SIGCSE, ITiCSE, FIE, CHI, HCC, and CIT and, for community college faculty, at the Conference for Information Technology and Innovations Conferences, and finally at several Prentice Hall Information Technology (PHIT) Conferences. They also are planning to produce a textbook and create an online community. Broader impacts focus on the wide dissemination of their instructional materials.