无忧视频

NSF Grant Helps Middle-School Students Gain Computer Science Skills

无忧视频 computer science Professors Mike Erlinger and Zach Dodds have received a $596,501 grant to foster the computational skills of middle-school students.

The three-year National Science Foundation grant will fund the 鈥淢yCS: Middle Years Computer Science鈥� program, which focuses on students from groups underrepresented in the computer science field.

鈥淢yCS strives to bring our nation鈥檚 computer science education practices in line with the field鈥檚 importance to the economy, our innovation culture and our adaptability to future challenges,鈥� said Erlinger. 鈥淚t鈥檚 designed to pique the interest of early adolescent students and build a foundation of computer science vocabulary, algorithmic thinking and skillsets that allow them to sample the beauty and joy of computational creation.鈥�

At the program鈥檚 core is the development of a computational identity, described as a student鈥檚 self-definition regarding his or her computational thinking skills. The program captures three facets of this identity: self-efficacy (the ability to use computation to solve new problems), integration (viewing computation as a tool 鈥渨e鈥� use) and personal choices, such as future computer science study or the use of computational creativity beyond the MyCS class.

鈥淲e believe middle school is a wonderful opportunity for exposure to computer science because students are starting to decide who they are,鈥� said Dodds. 鈥淥ur goal is to excite students about computation before they have been convinced that it is not something people like them do.鈥�

The program includes professional development workshops for teachers鈥攖o provide the foundation for teaching MyCS鈥攁nd academic-year support for MyCS students and teachers, provided by HMC students and faculty. It also includes assessments to record changes in students鈥� and teachers鈥� computational self-efficacy and the influence of MyCS on their future computational choices.

Gabriela Gamiz-Gomez, HMC鈥檚 Homework Hotline administrator, will serve as the MyCS program liaison with school district partners and the community. She will also coordinate HMC student tutors to support MyCS students throughout the academic year.

Program partners include Claremont Unified School District, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School in Lihue, Hawaii, and Pomona Unified School District, which has approved MyCS as a middle-school elective in its district-wide curriculum. The Claremont Graduate University School of Education will provide continuing education credits for teachers involved in the MyCS program.