Developing Computational Thinking by Creating Multi-player Physically Active Math Games

我们国家的经济正在迅速转变。教育工作者和商界领袖都认识到，计算思维是经济机会和社会流动性所必需的“新的基础”知识。所有学生都应该有机会在学校学习计算思维，并准备好应用于几乎所有学科的计算技能。计算思维技能包括解决问题、系统思维、计算建模和数据实践。这个项目利用手机技术对公立学校的中学生进行计算思维和数学训练。学生将学习创建具有数学挑战的增强现实游戏。这种使用移动设备、动作和身体活动的新型技术将允许中学学习者创建他们自己的增强现实数学游戏，并玩彼此的数学游戏。这项研究旨在通过调查如何通过游戏设计和基于游戏的学习来教授数学和计算，从而推进人们如何学习的科学知识。K-12的学生将学习将移动设备编程为有限状态机，这通常是为计算机科学专业的本科生保留的主题。在这个过程中，学生将他们的视角从技术的消费者转变为生产者，理解他们可以立即看到和感知到的表面之下和表面之外的东西，并在更高的抽象层次上思考，这是一项重要的计算技能。该项目继续开发可穿戴学习云平台（WLCP），这是一项学习技术创新，始于早期的NSF EAGER奖。该平台的游戏编辑器支持学生作为数学游戏的创造者，同时获得计算思维技能。研究将评估干预的有效性，专业发展结构，以及游戏创造过程作为培养学生和教师计算思维和数学思维的工具。研究将围绕学生和教师的计算思维、参与、兴趣、自我概念的发展以及教师的教学实践进行三个研究问题：(1)中学生创造具身多人数学游戏，在此过程中锻炼他们的计算思维和深度数学思维的可行性如何？中学生面临的挑战是什么？应该如何支持中学生？(2)在创造具身数学游戏的过程中，学生如何提高计算思维，加深对数学的理解？(3)教师能否有效实施数学游戏创作课程，帮助学生提高CT？研究人员将开发一种工具来衡量学生在计算思维技能方面的进步。研究方法还包括观察、教师反思、课堂实施的人工制品和半结构化访谈。这些措施将产生有关学生和教师在创建游戏和编程可穿戴设备时的学习过程的宝贵数据。该项目的成果将增进我们对青少年如何通过使用移动技术的体力活动游戏学习数学和获得计算技能的认识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Our nation's economy is rapidly shifting. Both educators and business leaders recognize that computational thinking (CT) is a "new basic" knowledge necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility. All students should have the opportunity to learn computational thinking in school and be prepared with computational skills that they can apply in almost every discipline. Computational thinking skills include problem solving, systems thinking, computational modeling and data practices. This project uses cell phone technology to train middle school students in public schools in computational thinking and mathematics. Students will learn to create augmented reality games with math challenges. This new genre of embodied technologies that use mobile devices, motion and physical activity will allow middle-school learners to create their own augmented reality math games and play each other's math games. The research intends to advance scientific knowledge on how people learn by investigating how to teach mathematics and computing through game design and game-based learning. K-12 students will learn to program mobile devices as finite-state-machines, a topic that is typically reserved for undergraduates in computer science. In this process, students shift their perspective from consumers of technology to producers, understand what is beneath and beyond the surface of what they can immediately see and perceive, and think at higher levels of abstraction, an important computational skill. The project continues the development of The Wearable Learning Cloud Platform (WLCP), a learning technology innovation started with an earlier NSF EAGER award. The Game Editor of this platform supports students as creators of math games while gaining computational thinking skills. Research studies will evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, the professional development structure, and the game creation process as a vehicle to develop computational thinking and mathematical thinking for both students and their teachers. Research will address three research questions focused on students' and teachers' development of computational thinking, engagement, interest, self-concept, and on teachers' instructional practices: (1) How feasible is it for middle school students to create embodied multiplayer math games, exercising their computational thinking and deep mathematical thinking in the process? What are challenges faced and how should middle school students be supported? (2) In what ways do students improve computational thinking and deepen their math understanding as they create embodied math games? (3) Can teachers effectively implement the math game creation curriculum and help students improve CT? Researchers will develop an instrument to measure students' progression in computational thinking skills. Research methods also include observations, teacher reflections, artifacts from classroom implementation, and semi-structured interviews. These measures will generate valuable data about students' and teachers' learning processes while creating their games and programming wearables. The outcome of the project will advance our knowledge in how youth learn math and gain computational skills through physically active games using mobile technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.