oDREAMS: Promoting Computational Thinking through Game & Simulation Design

这是一个为期四年的学生和教师信息技术体验（ITEST）扩大项目，旨在发展计算思维（CT），有200名教师和15,000名中学生在9个州的不同学习环境中，如城市，偏远农村地区和美洲原住民社区。在现有的计算机教育和STEM课程中，该项目开发的课程——可扩展游戏设计（SGD）——通过游戏设计向学生介绍CT，并将他们推进到STEM模拟设计。该项目建立在先前nsf资助的ITEST工作的基础上，该工作表明，使用SGD的专业发展（PD）类型（面对面，在线和混合）的组合可以导致不同性别和种族的不同学生的高度参与，并具有高度的动机。本研究的主要目标是确定使用三种PD模型进行CT教学对课堂教学和学生学习、动机和表现的支持程度；因此，这是扩大CT教育的可复制模式。在将能力、范围和可持续性作为基本要求的放大工作理论框架内，关键的研究问题是：在各种学校环境中，面对面、在线和混合的专业PD教学模型如何支持课堂和学生的学习成果？为了解决这个问题，该项目（a)开发了一个高度可接受的中学CT课程（SGD的结构化扩展），解决了获取、容量、可复制性、保真度和成本等问题），并与现有的计算机教育和STEM课程相结合；(b)创建一套可扩展的游戏设计活动，让没有编程背景的学生也能制作完整而令人兴奋的游戏；(c)建立计算工具，分析学生制作的CT技能项目；(d)研究教学方法和学生动机水平的相互作用，以便教师扩大参与。为了评估跨性别和种族的动机，本研究采用了既定的有效和可靠的动机工具。为了衡量绩效，该项目使用了计算思维模式分析，这是一种测量计算思维模式的嵌入式评估工具，说明了导师和学生项目之间的差异，并计算了学生项目的学习轨迹。该项目的主要成果是一个基于研究和现场测试的可扩展原型，用于推广基于游戏和STEM模拟设计的初中和高中CT。

This is a four-year Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) scale-up project aimed at developing Computational Thinking (CT) with 200 teachers and 15,000 middle school students in nine states' diverse learning environments, such as urban, remote rural areas, and Native American communities. Embedded in existing computing education and STEM courses, the project-developed curriculum--Scalable Game Design (SGD)--introduces students to CT through game design and advances them to STEM simulation design. The project builds on a previous NSF-funded ITEST effort, which suggests that a combination of professional development (PD) types (face-to-face, online, and blended) using SGD can result in high participation of diverse students with high degrees of motivation across gender and ethnicity. The study's key goal is to determine the extent to which the use of three models of PD for teaching CT support classroom teaching and student learning, motivation, and performance; thus a replicable model for scaling-up CT education. Framed within a scale-up working theory that identifies capacity, reach, and sustainability as fundamental requirements, the key research question is: How do face-to-face, online, and blended professional PD models for teaching computing support classroom and student learning outcomes in various school contexts? To address this question, the project (a) develops a highly adoptable middle-school CT curriculum (a structured expansion of SGD) that addresses issues of access, capacity, replicability, fidelity, and cost), integrated into existing computer education and STEM courses; (b) creates a scalable set of game-design activities so that students with no programming background can produce complete and exciting games; (c) builds computational instruments that analyze student-produced projects for CT skills; and (d) investigates the interaction of pedagogical approaches and students' motivational levels, so that teachers can broaden participation. To assess motivation across gender and ethnicity, the study employs established valid and reliable motivation instruments. To measure performance, the project uses Computational Thinking Pattern Analysis, an embedded assessment instrument that measures computational thinking patterns, illustrates divergence between tutorial and student projects, and computes learning trajectories from students' projects.The project's key outcome is a research-informed and field-tested scalable prototype to promote middle and high school CT based on game and STEM simulation design.