Assessing Student Learning in an Introductory Computer Science Course: Predictors of Success in Subsequent Computer Science Courses

评估学生在计算机科学入门课程中的学习：后续计算机科学课程成功的预测因素

基本信息

批准号：
1820794
负责人：
Leland Beck
金额：
$ 29.95万
依托单位：
San Diego State University Foundation
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2018-10-01 至 2024-09-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1820794&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Assessing Student Learning Introductory Computer

项目摘要

This project seeks to address a challenging issue in Computer Science (CS) education: determining the readiness of students who complete the introductory CS course to be successful in subsequent CS courses. Accurately assessing student learning in introductory programming courses is complex and challenging. Research studies suggest that many students who receive passing grades in their first programming class (CS1) are unprepared to succeed in subsequent classes in the CS curriculum. Several studies have reported failure rates of 30% or more in students' second programing course (CS2). This project seeks to improve methods for assessing student learning in CS1 and for identifying students who are likely to be able to succeed in CS2 and later courses. The results of the project could help advisors and instructors guide CS1 students in choosing an appropriate educational path. What is learned through this project's research agenda could apply not just to CS majors, but also to all students who need to learn about computer programming. Finding effective ways to assess student preparation may also help address the persistent underrepresentation of women and other groups of students in the CS major. Objective evidence that a student is likely to succeed in later courses might encourage that student to persist in the major, even if the student is not completely confident about being prepared.Some CS education researchers have recommended the use of laboratory exams in CS1 as a direct measure of students' programming ability. In this type of exam, students are asked to write a program in a closed-lab setting with a fixed time limit and access to a compiler. Other researchers assert that the primary objective of CS1 should not be to produce accomplished programmers, but rather to give students mastery of all the basic programming concepts. Still others suggest that CS1 should foster students' abstract reasoning abilities and should provide appropriate learning resources to promote development of more advanced skills. This project will investigate and provide evidence concerning these different points of view. Students in CS1 will complete a series of programming tasks in a controlled laboratory setting to assess their programming skills. They will also take written exams that assess their mastery of fundamental programming concepts and their level of abstract reasoning ability. The results from these assessments will be compared with students' subsequent performance in the following CS2 course. Evaluation of project outcomes will use standard quantitative statistical methods and qualitative data derived from interviews with selected students. In addition to performance in CS2, the evaluation criteria will include factors such as students' perceived levels of test anxiety and their overall pattern of performance on the various types of assessment. These evaluations will also consider subgroups of students according to gender, ethnicity, prior programming experience, and other factors. The results may provide important information about the applicability and equity of using different assessment methods as a primary means of measuring student learning of fundamental CS skills. Project research findings may benefit CS departments across the nation regarding successful introductory CS courses which foster the talent of a broad spectrum of students.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.

该项目旨在解决计算机科学 (CS) 教育中的一个具有挑战性的问题：确定完成入门 CS 课程的学生是否准备好在后续 CS 课程中取得成功。准确评估学生在入门编程课程中的学习情况是复杂且具有挑战性的。研究表明，许多在第一门编程课 (CS1) 中取得及格成绩的学生并没有准备好在后续的 CS 课程中取得成功。多项研究表明，学生第二门编程课程 (CS2) 的失败率高达 30% 或更高。该项目旨在改进评估学生 CS1 学习情况以及识别可能在 CS2 及后续课程中取得成功的学生的方法。该项目的结果可以帮助顾问和讲师指导 CS1 学生选择合适的教育路径。通过该项目的研究议程所学到的知识不仅适用于计算机科学专业的学生，也适用于所有需要学习计算机编程的学生。寻找有效的方法来评估学生的准备情况也可能有助于解决计算机专业中女性和其他学生群体的代表性持续不足的问题。学生可能在以后的课程中取得成功的客观证据可能会鼓励学生坚持学习该专业，即使学生对做好准备并不完全有信心。一些 CS 教育研究人员建议在 CS1 中使用实验室考试作为直接的方法衡量学生的编程能力。在这种类型的考试中，学生被要求在封闭的实验室环境中编写一个程序，有固定的时间限制并可以使用编译器。其他研究人员声称，CS1 的主要目标不应该是培养有成就的程序员，而是让学生掌握所有基本的编程概念。还有人建议CS1应该培养学生的抽象推理能力，并应该提供适当的学习资源来促进更高级技能的发展。该项目将调查这些不同观点并提供证据。 CS1 的学生将在受控实验室环境中完成一系列编程任务，以评估他们的编程技能。他们还将参加笔试，以评估他们对基本编程概念的掌握程度以及抽象推理能力的水平。这些评估的结果将与学生随后在后续 CS2 课程中的表现进行比较。项目成果的评估将使用标准的定量统计方法和来自对选定学生的访谈的定性数据。除了 CS2 的表现外，评估标准还包括学生感知的考试焦虑程度以及他们在各种类型评估中的总体表现模式等因素。这些评估还将根据性别、种族、先前的编程经验和其他因素考虑学生的子群体。结果可能提供有关使用不同评估方法作为衡量学生基本计算机科学技能学习的主要手段的适用性和公平性的重要信息。项目研究结果可能有利于全国各地的计算机科学部门成功开设计算机入门课程，培养广大学生的才能。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持标准。