Designing and Studying Collaborative Coding Experiences for Middle School Computer Science Education

通过西北大学和埃文斯顿-斯科基区65之间的战略合作伙伴关系，这个设计和开发项目将探讨新的方法，学生合作和解决问题的计算机科学（CS）教室。注重为青少年创造协作编码体验非常重要，因为协作课堂互动促进了参与式思维和学习。然而，理解如何支持有效的合作结构在CS教室是有限的两个因素。首先，现有的CS课程往往强调个人作业和参与结构，而往往积极劝阻合作和学习的同龄人。第二，iPad和Chromebook等课堂技术本质上是单用户设备，这使得生产性协作在实践中具有挑战性。该项目汇集了K-12教育工作者、计算机科学家、学习科学家和本科生团队，共同开发技术和课程。该项目将扩展一个名为TunePad Playbooks的新型学习平台，该团队一直在通过NSF的支持进行开发。TunePad是一个免费的在线平台，支持使用Python编程进行创意音乐表达。地区教师和大学研究人员将在夏季讲习班上合作设计课程。项目团队还将在学年期间提供持续的专业发展支持。该技术和课程将部署在整个65区的5至8年级教室，每年包括11所学校和1,000多名学生。此外，项目团队每年将招募约45名本科志愿者，他们将与20名CS教师一起在教室里工作。通过这项工作编制的课程和技术将公开提供，供广泛采用。为了了解学生的协作和学习，该团队将使用以下数据和措施进行混合方法研究：评估学生的计算信心，兴趣，实用性和支持的前和后调查;课堂观察;与学生和教师的访谈;学生工作的例子;展示表演的视频;以及学生对核心CS概念和实践的理解的评估。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，信息和通信技术（ICT）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。

Through a strategic partnership between Northwestern University and Evanston-Skokie District 65, this design and development project will investigate new approaches to student collaboration and problem-solving in computer science (CS) classrooms. A focus on creating collaborative coding experiences for youth is important because collaborative classroom interactions promote engaged thinking and learning. However, understanding of how to support effective collaboration structures in CS classrooms is limited by two factors. First, existing CS curricula tend to emphasize individual assignments and participation structures, while often actively discouraging collaboration and learning from peers. Second, classroom technologies such as iPads and Chromebooks are inherently single-user devices, making productive collaboration challenging in practice.The project brings together teams of K-12 educators, computer scientists, learning scientists, and undergraduate students to develop technology and curriculum. The project will expand a novel learning platform called TunePad Playbooks that the team has been developing through prior support from the NSF. TunePad is a free, online platform that supports creative musical expression with Python programming. District teachers and university researchers will collaborate on curriculum design in summer workshops. The project team will also provide ongoing professional development support during the school year. The technology and the curriculum will be deployed in 5th through 8th grade classrooms across District 65 to include 11 schools and over 1,000 students a year. Additionally, the project team will recruit around 45 undergraduate volunteers each year who will work in classrooms with 20 CS teachers. Curriculum and technology produced through this work will be made publicly available for broad-scale adoption. To understand student collaboration and learning, the team will conduct mixed methods research with the following data and measures: pre- and post-surveys assessing students’ computing confidence, interest, utility and support; classroom observations; interviews with students and teachers; examples of student work; video of showcase performances; and assessments of student understanding of core CS concepts and practices. 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 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.