Middle School Pathways in Computer Science

人们越来越认识到，需要让青年参与有意义的计算机体验。这个ITEST战略项目将创建一个合作伙伴关系的马萨诸塞州洛厄尔大学（UML），三城技术教育合作公司。（TRITEC）以及马萨诸塞州梅德福和埃弗雷特的城市学区，为地区中学生带来基于项目的、与社会相关的计算体验。 该项目将立即对梅德福和埃弗雷特地区的学生和教师产生影响。 该项目将产生一个可持续的方案，为各地区带来持续的利益。 该项目将有助于越来越多的文献计算思维和适当的方法来评估中学生的学习。该项目将产生一个15至20小时的计算机课程，与现有的地区技术和工程课程相结合。到项目的第二年，课程将在所有七所地区中学开设，每年将向450名学生提供。 此外，该团队将举办30小时的密集夏令营，每个项目年有140名学生参加。在该项目的3年期间，1,100名学生将在学校期间参加，360名学生还将获得暑期密集体验。项目课程将包括创造性的项目工作和职业意识活动。使用麻省理工学院的App Inventor，一个基于块的设计环境，用于构建移动的应用程序，学生将开发自己的应用程序，支持他们社区中的社会相关活动。大学计算机科学专业的学生和行业专业人士将参观项目教室，并与中学生一起工作。 该团队将调查（1）学生学习成果：该项目的学校日和夏季密集型项目工作和职业意识活动如何影响学生对计算的态度和参与计算实践的能力;（2）教师成果：该项目的协作专业发展模式如何导致教师内容学习和课程采用;以及（3）扩大参与成果：学校日干预如何导致学生选择继续参与计算，包括夏令营和中学以后的未来机会。

There is a growing recognition of the need to engage youth in meaningful experiences with computing. This ITEST Strategies project will create a partnership of the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), the Tri-City Technology Education Collaborative Inc. (TRITEC), and the urban school districts of Medford and Everett, MA to bring project-based, socially-relevant computing experiences to district middle school students. The project will have immediate impact on the Medford and Everett districts' students and teachers. The project will result in a sustainable program with ongoing benefits for the districts. The project will contribute to the growing literature on computational thinking and appropriate ways to assess that learning in middle school students. The project will result in a 15- to 20-hour computing curriculum that is integrated with existing district technology and engineering courses. By the second project year, the curriculum will be in all seven district middle schools, and will be delivered to 450 students per year. In addition, the team will conduct intensive 30-hour summer camps attended by 140 students per project year. Over the project's 3-year period, 1,100 students will participate during the school day, with 360 students also receiving a summer-intensive experience. Project curriculum will include creative project work and career awareness activities. Using MIT App Inventor, a blocks-based design environment for building mobile apps, students will develop their own apps that support socially relevant activities in their communities. University computer science students and industry professionals will visit project classrooms and work with middle school students. The team will investigate (1) student learning outcomes: how the project's school-day and summer-intensive project work and career awareness activities influence students' attitudes toward computing and ability to engage in computing practices; (2) teacher outcomes: how the project's collaborative professional development model leads to teacher content learning and curricular adoptions; and (3) broadening participation outcomes: how the school-day intervention leads to students' choice of continued involvement in computing, including the summer camps and future opportunities beyond middle school.