CPATH- 2: Teaching Computational Thinking through Integration of Dynamic Systems Modeling

自然科学和社会科学的研究发生了范式转变，但这种转变还没有系统地进入课堂。计算建模已经改变了科学的完成方式，现在在大多数学科中是实验和理论的完全合作伙伴。尽管建模很重要，但理科学生不知道建模的基础知识，在应用中犯下根本性错误，而且没有准备好将建模作为工具来解决复杂的、跨学科的问题。奥伯林学院提议改变这一点，并处于有利地位。通过在11个科学学科的入门课程中引入动态系统建模，该学院将在头两年让大多数最终主修科学的学生至少两次接触到这些强大的技术。再加上中高级水平的后续努力，学院将改变大多数理科学生看待复杂问题解决的方式。在这一努力中，奥伯林将得到密歇根大学复杂系统研究中心的教职员工和研究生的帮助，建立在两个机构之间充满活力的关系上。与两位国家公认的建模专家建立的联系将有助于巩固这一努力，并使其具有外部视角。近年来，十多名奥伯林学院的教职员工一直活跃在这一领域，他们将成为实现这一系统性变革的首批人员之一。从事计算建模的教员群体将通过广泛的赠款活动而扩大。通过使用动态系统建模，学院将实现该项目的五个目标：将计算思维融入科学课程；培养一批在教学和使用建模技术方面有经验的教师；开发新的计算建模教学工具；为研究生和博士后研究人员提供跨学科教学和课程开发机会；评估、修订和传播最成功的部分。作为在继续获得博士学位的学生中引领全国的本科院校，奥伯林？S的建模教育学项目将在其毕业生进入学术界和其他高影响力的职业生涯时产生强大的乘数效应。这群年轻的科学家将产生重要的影响，因为计算思维是解决公共卫生、经济、气候变化和生物技术等不同领域复杂问题的关键。在整个科学教育过程中与模型合作的学生将完全有能力处理社会和尖端科学问题。该项目还将制作一个关键的公开可用的软件，用于模拟教学和研究。其他产品将包括参与这项工作的11个学科的教学建模单位，这些单位将通过标准渠道传播

A paradigm shift has occurred in research in the natural and social sciences, but this change has not reached the classroom in a systematic way. Computational modeling has transformed the way science is done and is now a full partner to experimentation and theory in most disciplines. Despite its importance, students in the sciences do not know the basics of modeling, make fundamental errors in application, and are ill-prepared to solve complex, cross-disciplinary problems using modeling as a tool. Oberlin College proposes to change this and is well positioned to do so. By introducing dynamic systems modeling into introductory courses in 11 science disciplines, the College will expose the majority of its eventual science majors to these powerful techniques at least twice in their first two years of study. When coupled with follow-up efforts at the intermediate and advanced level, the College will transform the way that most science students view complex problem solving. Oberlin will be aided in this effort by faculty and graduate students from the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan, building on a vibrant relationship between the institutions. Established connections with two nationally recognized modeling experts will help to anchor the effort and give it external perspective. More than a dozen Oberlin faculty have been active in this area in recent years, and they will be among the initial cohort through which this systemic change will be accomplished. The group of faculty engaged in computational modeling will expand through the wide range of grant activities. By using dynamic systems modeling, the College will achieve its five goals for this project: integrating computational thinking into the science curriculum; developing a cohort of faculty experienced in teaching and using modeling techniques; developing a new tool for teaching computational modeling; providing cross-disciplinary teaching and curriculum development opportunities for graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher; and assessing, revising, and disseminating the most successful components.As the undergraduate institution that leads the nation in students who go on to get Ph.Ds, Oberlin?s project in modeling pedagogy will have a powerful multiplier effect as its graduates enter academia and other high-impact careers, carrying the new modeling paradigm with them. This cohort of young scientists will have an important effect since computational thinking is the key to complex problem solving in such diverse fields as public health, economics, climate change, and biotechnology. Students who have worked with models throughout their science education will be well equipped to tackle both societal and cutting edge scientific problems. This project will also produce a key piece of publicly available software for use in modeling pedagogy and research. Other products will include pedagogical modeling units across the 11 disciplines involved in this effort, and these will be disseminated through standard channel