Collaborative Research: Special Projects (CNS): BPC-A: Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance

佐治亚理工学院和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校与州和组织合作伙伴及伙伴联手，在一个新的全国联盟的专家局的支持下，促进州一级的计算机教育改革。扩展计算教育途径(ECEP)联盟建立在英联邦IT教育联盟(CAITE)和佐治亚州计算公司五年工作的基础上！以及计算机教育的最佳实践，特别是在扩大计算参与(BPC)联盟的社区中开发的那些。凯特和乔治亚会计算！已经成功地促进了州一级的系统性变革，提高了计算机教育的质量，扩大了对计算机的参与，并增加了获得计算机和计算密集型学位的学生人数。该伙伴关系将确定其他州/地区计算机教育系统的独特需求，并开发满足这些需求的方法。加利福尼亚州和南卡罗来纳州被选为ECEP的初始伙伴州，因为它们有足够的人口、机构、劳动力需求和个人或组织准备好进行改革。项目工作人员将组成一个从阿拉巴马州、印第安纳州和波多黎各开始的准州和地区队列，并计划通过利用CSTA？S领导队列和分会和明星合作伙伴来实现增长。ECEP将利用马萨诸塞州、佐治亚州和一些伙伴/联系州和区域来测试和改进做法，并将与国家培训中心、联合国志愿人员培训中心、国家技术咨询机构和我们的专家队伍合作，通过培训员讲习班、关于如何举办可持续和有效活动(如夏令营)的讲习班以及加强和调整途径和课程的战略等机制，传播经验教训和最佳做法。ECEP将培训STAR领导者进行有效的外联，与NCWIT合作，为我们的合作伙伴和伙伴国家传播最佳实践并开发新资源，并提供数据，向国家和地方组织通报ECEP合作伙伴国家和地区的计算机教育问题。独立评价为项目决策提供信息，并开发可供新合作伙伴使用的流程和工具。ECEP的目标是在各州改善和扩大计算机教育的参与度方面产生重大影响。增加计算机和计算机密集型学位毕业生的数量，以及这些毕业生的多样性，需要对教育途径进行系统性的改变。学生们早在十几岁之前就决定不把计算机作为职业，但高质量的高中计算机科学经历可以改变这一决定。代表不足的少数族裔学生可能无法获得高质量的计算机教育，除非在高中广泛提供这种教育。社区学院的多样性和覆盖面使它们成为吸引学生的途径，如果我们能够促进转学并确保成功的话。为了让计算在初中、高中、社区和四年制大学得到认真对待，我们需要定义高中计算课程，增加训练有素的认证高中计算教师的数量，改善大专学位课程、课程协调、建议和保留，并全面推动K-20计算教育改革。ECEP州合作伙伴和地区应该通过公共政策、推广或教育系统的改变，看到其计算机教育的显著改善。通过传递凯特和佐治亚计算的成功！在其他州，ECEP将开发、实施和评估在州一级复制变化的模型。

Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst join together with state and organizational partners and associates, supported with a bureau of experts in a new national alliance to facilitate state-level computing education reforms. The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance builds on five years of work by the Commonwealth Alliance for IT Education (CAITE) and Georgia Computes! and on best practices in computing education, particularly those developed in the community of Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Alliances. CAITE and Georgia Computes! have been successful in facilitating state-level systemic change that has improved the quality of computing education, broadened participation in computing, and increased the number of students in the pathway to computing and computing-intensive degrees. The partnership will determine the unique needs in other state/regional computing education systems and develop approaches that address those needs. California and South Carolina were chosen as initial ECEP partner states because they have the population, institutions, workforce demand and individuals or organizations ready to work to institute reform. The project staff will form a cohort of associate states and regions starting with Alabama, Indiana, and Puerto Rico, with plans to grow by leveraging CSTA?s Leadership Cohort and Chapters and STARS partners. Using Massachusetts, Georgia and some of the partner/associate states and regions to test and refine practices, ECEP will work with NCWIT, STARS, CSTA and our cadre of experts to disseminate lessons learned and best practices through mechanisms such as Train-the-Trainer workshops, workshops on how to run sustainable and effective events (such as summer camps), and strategies for strengthening and aligning pathways and curricula. ECEP will train STARS Leaders to do effective outreach, partner with NCWIT to disseminate best practices and develop new resources for our partner and associate states, and provide data to inform national and local organizations on computing education issues in ECEP partner states and regions. Independent evaluation informs project decision making and develops processes and tools that are available to new partners. The goal of ECEP is to have a significant impact on improving and broadening participation in computing education state by state. Increasing the number of computing and computing-intensive degree graduates, and the diversity of those graduates, requires systemic change to educational pathways. Students decide as early as pre-teens against computing as a career, but a quality high school computer science experience can change that decision. Underrepresented minority students may not gain access to quality computing education unless it is made available broadly in high schools. The diversity and reach of community colleges makes them attractive pathways for students if we can facilitate transfer and ensure success. For computing to be taken seriously in middle, high school and community and 4-year colleges requires that we define high school computing curricula, increase the number of well-trained, certified high school computing teachers, improve post-secondary degree programs, curricular alignment, advising, and retention, and generally promote K-20 computing education reform. ECEP state partners and regions should see significant improvements in their computing education, through public policy, outreach, or changes in the education system. By transferring the success of CAITE and Georgia Computes! into other states, ECEP will develop, implement, and evaluate models for replicating change at the state level.