Collaborative Research: Using Flow-Based Music Programming to Engage Children in Computer Science

要实现扩大计算机科学（CS）劳动力参与的目标，就需要儿童有早期接触CS的机会。然而，现实情况是，大多数代表性不足的小学生根本没有接触过计算机科学。为了弥补这种缺乏机会的情况，这个项目试图创建一个深度参与的基于音乐的计算机科学教育项目和课程，M-Flow，可以很容易地被小学采用。计算机音乐为扩大计算机科学的参与提供了一个极好的机会，因为音乐与学生的身份有着内在的联系，它与计算机有着许多结构和历史上的联系。M-Flow是一个面向五年级儿童的基于流的编程平台。在基于流的编程平台中，代码行被图形流程图取代，图形流程图使用方框和箭头来表示过程和连接。这个项目将探索基于流的编程平台可能非常适合初学者快速开发应用程序和非专业教师在课堂上实现的猜想。该项目的产出将包括一个10小时的课程、教师专业发展、职业意识视频和一个基于浏览器的编程平台，任何人都可以访问互联网。该项目将邀请一个由教师领导和课程专家组成的团队共同设计学习模块，采用迭代的基于设计的研究来调查该项目如何吸引代表性不足的小学学习者参与计算机和音乐学习。该团队还将开发职业意识视频和视频教程，从西班牙裔专业工程师协会圣地亚哥分会招募年轻的专业人士。随着教师和学生人数的增加，该项目将研究学生和教师如何感知和使用修订后的基于流程的音乐节目平台，以及哪里需要脚手架；基于心流的音乐节目如何影响教师对计算机科学的倾向和在课堂上采用计算机科学活动的兴趣；以及基于心流的音乐编程如何影响学生对计算机科学的学习和对计算机科学职业的兴趣。数据包括视频记录和课堂使用的观察，访谈前后和大声思考，焦点小组，半结构化访谈，绩效评估，态度调查和点击流数据。这项研究的智力价值在于它探索了一种基于流的编程方法的实用性，以吸引年轻的计算机科学初学者。该项目有可能通过其基于网络的分发模式产生更广泛的影响，这将使教师能够很容易地采用课程，潜在地吸引成千上万的年轻学习者参与计算机科学活动。该项目由“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）项目资助，该项目支持有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）以及信息和通信技术（ICT）职业的知识和兴趣的实践、项目要素、背景和过程的理解。该项目也通过CS for All: Research and RPPs计划获得资助。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。

Achieving the goal of broadening participation in the computer science (CS) workforce will require that children have access to early opportunities to engage with CS. However, the reality is that most underrepresented children in elementary schools do not have access to CS at all. To remediate that lack of access, this project seeks to create a deeply engaging music-based CS education program and curriculum, M-Flow, that can be easily adopted by elementary schools. Computer music provides an excellent opportunity to broaden engagement in CS, as music is intrinsically connected with student identities, and it shares so many structural and historical connections with computing. M-Flow is a flow-based programming platform geared toward children in fifth grade. In flow-based programming platforms, lines of code are replaced by a graphic flowchart that uses boxes and arrows to represent process and connections. This project will explore the conjecture that a flow-based programming platform may be well-suited for novice coders to rapidly develop applications and for non-specialized teachers to implement in classrooms. Outputs of the project will include a 10 hour curriculum, teacher professional development, career awareness videos, and a browser-based programming platform accessible to anyone with internet access.The project will engage a team of teacher-leaders and curriculum experts to co-design learning modules, employing an iterative Design-Based Research to investigate how the program engages underrepresented elementary school learners in computing and music learning. The team will also develop career awareness videos and video tutorials, recruiting young underrepresented professionals to feature from San Diego Chapter of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. With a larger population of teachers and students the project will study how the revised flow based music programming platform is perceived and used by students and teachers, and where scaffolds are needed; how flow-based music programming influences teachers' dispositions towards CS and interest in adoption of CS activities in the classrooms; and how flow-based music programming influences students learning of CS and interest in CS careers. Data includes video recordings and observations of classroom use, pre and post interviews and think-alouds, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, performance assessments, attitude surveys, and clickstream data. The intellectual merit of the research lies in its exploration of the utility of a flow-based programming approach for engaging young novice learners with computer science. The project has the potential to make large broader impacts via its web-based distribution model, which would allow teachers to readily adopt the curriculum, potentially engaging thousands of young learners in Computer Science activities. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. This project is also funded through 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.