Research on the Development of Computational and Systems Thinking in Middle School Students through Explorations of Complex Earth Systems

计算一直是科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）许多领域现代理解发展的核心工具。建模、数据可视化和计算思维等技能对于建立一支多元化的科学劳动力队伍是必要的，这将确保美国的强大未来。因此，NSF的STEM+Computing Partnership（STEM+C）计划旨在将计算方法的使用整合到K-12 STEM教学和学习中。 TERC，Inc.，与东北大学和剑桥、牛顿和洛厄尔、马萨诸塞州公立学区合作，将开发和研究一项教育计划，通过将计算技能开发融入科学游戏设计和科学内容学习，将计算融入中学地球系统科学。 该项目旨在培养不同青年群体在对国家利益和安全至关重要的两个关键领域的技能。 更重要的是，该项目将把这两个领域结合起来，创造一个学习环境，让年轻人从系统的角度学习思考，这对解决复杂的科学问题至关重要。该项目将有助于发展科学内容学习和计算机技能的实用模式，建立对科学的积极态度，并扩大中学生在不同环境中对科学的参与。从头开始的建筑系统项目将开发，实施和研究一种创新的干预措施，将计算整合到为期8周的地球系统课程和支持资源中。 该方案将包括：a）一个以系统思维实践为重点的符合标准的课程，B）一个52小时的混合在线/面对面教师专业发展研讨会，并提供支持材料，c）一个可持续实施该计划的教师领导指南，以及d）一个支持计划材料、活动和沟通的网站。具体来说，当学生构建自己的科学内容游戏时，他们将参与计算实践，如建模，抽象，复杂性管理和创意设计，以及迭代测试和调试。该项目旨在了解年轻人在技术丰富的环境中进行跨学科学习时如何学习以及学习什么。它进一步试图了解课程结构支持如何影响学生的学习和自我效能。 该项目将满足中学生和教师在下一代科学标准和计算机科学标准中规定的相关学科内容，科学实践和计算方面的具体需求。该项目将在三年内与马萨诸塞州三个学区的15名八年级教师合作，覆盖约1，840名八年级学生，其中一半以上来自STEM和计算机科学领域代表性不足的群体。

Computing has been a central tool in the development of modern understanding in many fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Skills such as modeling, data visualization, and computational thinking are all necessary for building a diverse scientific workforce that will secure a strong future for the United States. As a result, NSF's STEM+Computing Partnership (STEM+C) program seeks to integrate the use of computational approaches in K-12 STEM teaching and learning. TERC, Inc., in collaboration with Northeastern University and the cambridge, Newton, and Lowell, Massachusetts Public School Districts, will develop and study an education program that integrates computing into middle school Earth systems science by interweaving computational skills development into science game design and science content learning. The project aims to develop skills among diverse groups of young people in two crucial fields central to national interest and safety. More importantly, the project will bring these two fields together to create a learning environment in which young people learn thinking from a systems perspective, essential to solving complex scientific problems. The project will contribute to practical models for developing science content learning and computer skills, creating positive attitudes toward science, and broadening participation in the sciences among middle school students in diverse settings. The Building Systems from Scratch project will develop, implement, and study an innovative intervention that integrates computing into an 8-week Earth systems curriculum and supporting resources. The program will include: a) a standards-aligned curriculum focused on systems thinking practices, b) a 52-hour hybrid online/face-to-face teacher professional development workshop with supporting materials, c) a teacher leader guide for sustainable implementation of the program, and d) a website to support program materials, activities, and communication. Specifically, as students build their own science content games, they will engage in computational practices such as modeling, abstraction, management of complexity, and creative design, as well as iterative testing and debugging. The project seeks to understand how and what young people learn when they engage in interdisciplinary learning in technology-rich environments. It further seeks to understand how curricular structural supports influence student learning and self-efficacy. The project will address specific needs of middle school students and teachers with regard to relevant disciplinary content, science practices, and computation as specified in Next Generation Science Standards and Computer Science Standards. The project will be working with fifteen 8th grade teachers in three Massachusetts school districts across three years, reaching approximately 1,840 8th grade students, over half of whom are from groups underrepresented in STEM and computer science fields.