Authentic STEAM-based Computer Science Education for Non-Majors

计算机科学已经成为一项重要的智力技能，是广泛的学术学科和职业的基础。学院和大学一直在努力吸引不同群体的学生学习计算机科学。现在越来越多的大学要求开设计算机入门课程，但这些课程在很大程度上未能吸引非专业学生，也未能吸引他们在该领域进一步学习。为了解决这个问题，佐治亚理工学院和佐治亚格温内特学院的研究人员将开发一门新的计算机入门课程，该课程使用STEAM （STEM + Arts）方法来吸引不同的非计算机专业人群。该课程将使用EarSketch，这是一个在音乐混音和音乐制作背景下教授计算机科学的学习环境。EarSketch已被证明能够吸引高中阶段代表性不足的群体。这个项目的目标是证明EarSketch在本科阶段是有效的。研究团队将调整EarSketch课程以适应大学水平的学习，并开发新的EarSketch功能，以支持大学课程中的协作学习实践。通过学生参与调查、内容知识评估、焦点小组以及与其他课程的比较分析，该团队将评估EarSketch对不同大学生参与、学习成果和未来对计算机兴趣的影响潜力。该项目的研究结果将有助于更好地理解本科STEM入门课程中的STEAM学习环境，以及它们对不同学生群体的内容知识和参与度的影响。

Computer science has become an essential intellectual skill that is fundamental to a broad range of academic disciplines and careers. Colleges and universities have consistently struggled to engage a diverse population of students in computer science. Introductory computing courses, now required at a growing number of colleges, have largely failed to engage non-majors and to entice them to further study in the field. To rectify this problem, researchers from Georgia Tech and Georgia Gwinnett College will develop a new introductory computing course that uses a STEAM (STEM + Arts) approach to engage a diverse population of non-majors in computing. The course will use EarSketch, a learning environment that teaches computer science in the context of music remixing and music production. EarSketch has been proven to engage underrepresented groups at the high school level. The goal of this project will be to demonstrate that EarSketch will be effective at the undergraduate level. The research team will adapt the EarSketch curriculum for college-level study and develop new EarSketch features to support collaborative learning practices in college courses. Through student engagement surveys, a content knowledge assessment, focus groups, and a comparative analysis with other courses, the team will assess the potential of EarSketch to impact engagement, learning outcomes, and future interest in computing with a diverse population of college students. Findings from this project will contribute to a better understanding of STEAM learning environments in introductory undergraduate STEM courses and their effects on content knowledge and engagement across diverse student populations.