Universal Design for Computer Science Learning: Partnership for Inclusive Elementary Computer Science Education

这一合作伙伴关系项目致力于扩大参与，重点是在美国四个不同地区的四个学区增加残疾小学生的参与。为广大的学习者增加计算机科学（CS）教育的机会提出了一个公平问题。众所周知，残疾人在计算机教育中的代表性明显不足（例如，NSF, 2019; Taylor & Ladner, 2011）。除了公平之外，在包括计算机科学在内的STEM学科中增加多样性，对每个人都有好处，因为来自不同利益相关者的一系列想法支持批判性思维和发展，从而造福整个社会（Ferrini-Mundy, 2013）。佛罗里达大学与来自纽约市公立学校、旧金山联合学区、布劳沃德县公立学校、P. K. Yonge发展研究学院将开发并提供一系列专业发展资源，使教师能够挑战他们对残疾学生的看法，并开发有效教学方法的技能和知识，为包括残疾学生在内的所有学习者提供无障碍和引人入胜的教学。该项目采用早期阶段基于设计的实施研究（DBIR）来解决与有意义地将残疾学生纳入小学计算机科学教育相关的共同实践问题。该项目的一个重要组成部分是为共享知识、测试新想法、授权研究实践伙伴关系伙伴以及在计算机科学教育领域传播知识所做的工作。确保残疾学生公平获得计算机科学教育的必要步骤包括：(1)了解这些学习者在初级计算机科学教学中的融入程度，以及在整个学区中融入计算机科学教学的催化剂和障碍；(2)调查教学实践，以支持教师使计算机科学对这些在计算机领域代表性不足的学习者开放和参与。(3)开始开发可用于普通教育和特殊教育教师全纳CS教育专业发展的灵活资源。因此，该项目将产生关于残疾学生参与基础计算机科学教育的程度，不同地区如何实现计算机科学教育的包容性，以及这一努力所涉及的催化剂和障碍的新的可转移知识。此外，调查人员将对每个实践伙伴的独特背景进行案例研究。最后，本项目将在不同的教学环境中实施包容性计算机科学，并提供示例，说明如何使用通用学习设计框架和在开放式计算机科学教育中使用明确教学的平衡方法来促进包容性初级计算机科学学习。该项目由CS for All: Research and RPPs项目资助。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。

This collaborative partnership project works to broaden participation by focusing on increasing inclusion of elementary students with disabilities in four school districts in four different regions of the US. Increasing access to computer science (CS) education for this broad range of learners presents an equity issue. It is widely known that people with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in computing education (e.g., NSF, 2019; Taylor & Ladner, 2011). Beyond equity, increasing diversity within the STEM disciplines, including CS, produces benefits to everyone as the range of ideas that come from diverse stakeholders supports critical thinking and development that benefits all of society (Ferrini-Mundy, 2013). The partnership between the University of Florida and CS education leaders from New York City Public Schools, San Francisco Unified School District, Broward County Public Schools, and P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School will develop and make available a range of professional development resources that will allow teachers to challenge their beliefs about students with disabilities and develop skills and knowledge about effective instructional approaches for accessible and engaging instruction for all their learners, including those with disabilities. The project uses early-phase design-based implementation research (DBIR) to address a shared problem of practice related to the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in elementary CS education. An important part of this project is the work done to create an infrastructure for sharing knowledge, testing new ideas, empowering the Research Practice Partnership partners, and disseminating knowledge with the CS education field. Necessary steps to ensuring equitable access to CS education for students with disabilities include: (1) understanding the level of inclusion of these learners in elementary CS instruction as well as catalysts and barriers to inclusion in CS instruction across the school districts, (2) investigating instructional practices to support teachers in making CS accessible and engaging for these learners typically underrepresented in the computing fields, and (3) beginning to develop flexible resources that can be used in professional development for general and special education teachers on inclusive CS education. This project will, therefore, generate new and transferable knowledge about the degree to which students with disabilities participate in elementary CS education, how different districts approach inclusion in CS education, and the catalysts and barriers involved in this effort. In addition, the investigators will conduct case studies of each practice partners’ unique contexts. Lastly, this project will operationalize inclusive CS in different instructional settings and provide examples of how the Universal Design for Learning framework and a balanced approach to using explicit instruction within open inquiry CS education can be used to foster inclusive elementary CS learning. This project is funded by the CS for All: Research and RPPs program.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.