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

实现扩大计算机科学（CS）劳动力参与的目标将需要儿童有机会尽早接触CS。然而，现实情况是，小学中大多数代表性不足的儿童根本没有机会获得CS。为了弥补这种缺乏访问，这个项目旨在创建一个深深吸引人的基于音乐的CS教育计划和课程，M-Flow，可以很容易地被小学采用。计算机音乐提供了一个很好的机会，以扩大参与CS，因为音乐是本质上与学生的身份，它与计算共享这么多的结构和历史的连接。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所取代，该流程图使用框和箭头来表示过程和连接。这个项目将探讨一个猜想，即基于流的编程平台可能非常适合新手程序员快速开发应用程序和非专业教师在课堂上实施。该项目的产出将包括一个10小时的课程，教师专业发展，职业意识的视频，和一个基于浏览器的编程平台，任何人都可以访问互联网。该项目将聘请一个团队的教师领导和课程专家共同设计学习模块，采用迭代设计为基础的研究，以调查该计划是如何在计算和音乐学习中吸引代表性不足的小学学习者。 该团队还将开发职业意识视频和视频教程，招募年轻的代表性不足的专业人士，从西班牙裔专业工程师协会圣地亚哥分会的功能。随着更多的教师和学生，该项目将研究如何修改流为基础的音乐编程平台被学生和教师的感知和使用，以及在哪里需要脚手架;流为基础的音乐编程如何影响教师对CS的处置和在课堂上采用CS活动的兴趣;以及流为基础的音乐编程如何影响学生学习CS和对CS职业的兴趣。数据包括课堂使用的视频记录和观察，前后访谈和思考，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，这种方法可以让年轻的新手学习计算机科学。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，这将使教师能够随时采用课程，可能使成千上万的年轻学习者参与计算机科学活动。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划资助，该计划支持建立对实践，计划元素，背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于增加学生对科学，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。该项目也通过CS for All：Research and RPPs计划获得资助。该奖项反映了NSF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.