Collaborative Research: Research in Improving Computational Thinking in the Formation of Engineers, a Multi-Institutional Initiative.

合作研究：提高工程师培养中的计算思维的研究，一项多机构倡议。

基本信息

批准号：
1949880
负责人：
Noemi Mendoza-Diaz
金额：
$ 34.93万
依托单位：
Texas A&M University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-07-12 至 2025-03-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1949880&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Improving Computational Thinking

项目摘要

Title:Understanding the Role of Computational Thinking in Engineering EducationAbstract:The need for undergraduate engineering students to learn computing has dramatically increased as computing has become more important in engineering practice. Many engineering colleges have responded to this change by requiring their engineering students to take computing classes. Some of these classes are now central to the first year of college engineering education. Computing classes are considered to be extremely difficult by many students, especially those who have not been exposed to computing in high school. Inequities in the K-12 education system mean that some students often have less opportunity to be exposed to computing before college than others. As a result, integrating computing into engineering education may exacerbate existing inequities in engineering education and reduce diversity and inclusion in engineering. This research examines the integration of computing in engineering at three institutions that incorporate computing into engineering education in different ways. A computational thinking diagnostic, which measures the degree to which students are learning critical computing concepts in engineering classes, will be used to determine how much computing the engineering students are learning. A survey will examine how students with different backgrounds are responding to the challenges of doing computing in their engineering education program. Students will also be surveyed as the term progresses to identify students who are feeling increasing, steady or decreasing stress as the complexity of the material increases. Students will be interviewed about how computing is affecting their desire to become an engineer and their confidence in their ability to excel in engineering. Taken together this information will provide new knowledge of how the integration of computing in beginning engineering classes is changing engineering education and impacting who becomes an engineer.Previous research has demonstrated that while engineering and computational skills have substantial overlap, many engineering students have little or no prior experience with computational thinking. The goal of this project is to improve the way that computational thinking is taught in colleges of engineering by understanding multiple factors that affect computational thinking development. A mixed-methods research design involving a computational thinking diagnostic paired with qualitative analysis of interviews will explore answers to three research questions: (1) How does the integration of computing into the foundational engineering courses affect the formation of engineers? (2) In what ways do social identities (e.g. gender, ethnicity, first-generation college attending), choices (e.g. major, transfer status), and other factors impact the engineering student experience with computational thinking? (3) In what ways do computational thinking skills develop over time in engineering students? The PI team has direct access to the target population at three institutions (a large, public, land grant institution (Texas A&M), a medium sized, public, state flagship institution (University of Oklahoma), and a small, private, undergraduate university focused on engineering degrees (Milwaukee School of Engineering). Each institution has unique ways of integrating computational thinking into engineering programs. Having these three institutions collaborate provides varied curricular models for integrating computation into engineering, making comparative analysis powerful. The novelty and creativity of this project lies in the capacity of the research team to answer critical questions about why students succeed or fail to become engineers based on unique computational thinking opportunities that three diverse institutions and environments provide.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.

标题：了解计算思维在工程教育中的作用：随着计算在工程实践中变得越来越重要，本科工程专业学生学习计算的需求已大大增加。许多工程学院通过要求其工程专业的学生参加计算课程来回应这一变化。这些课程中的一些现在是大学工程教育第一年的核心。许多学生认为计算课程非常困难，尤其是那些没有在高中访问计算的学生。 K-12教育系统中的不平等意味着，有些学生通常比其他学生更有机会接触到大学之前的计算。结果，将计算机整合到工程教育中可能会加剧工程教育中现有的不平等现象，并减少工程中的多样性和包容性。这项研究研究了三个机构在工程中的计算集成，这些机构以不同的方式将计算纳入工程教育。一种计算思维诊断，该诊断量衡量学生在工程课程中学习关键计算概念的程度，将用于确定工程专业学生正在学习的计算程度。一项调查将研究背景不同的学生如何应对在其工程教育计划中进行计算的挑战。随着术语的进展，还将对学生进行调查，以确定随着材料的复杂性的增加而感到增加，稳定或减轻压力的学生。关于计算如何影响他们成为工程师的愿望以及他们对工程学表现能力的信心，学生将接受采访。综上所述，这些信息将提供新的知识，了解如何在开始工程课程中进行计算的整合正在改变工程教育并影响谁成为工程师。预知研究表明，尽管工程和计算技能具有很大的重叠，但许多工程专业的学生在计算思维方面几乎没有或没有以前的经验。该项目的目的是通过了解影响计算思维发展的多种因素来改善工程学院中计算思维的方式。混合方法的研究设计涉及计算思维诊断与访谈的定性分析配对的计算思维诊断，将探讨三个研究问题的答案：（1）将计算集成到基础工程课程中的整合如何影响工程师的形成？（2）社会身份（例如性别，种族，第一代大学参加），选择（例如主要，转移状态）以及其他因素以什么方式影响工程学生对计算思维的经验？（3）在工程专业的学生中，计算思维技能随着时间的推移如何发展？ PI团队可以直接访问三个机构（一个大型的公共土地赠款机构（德克萨斯州A＆M），一个中等大小的公共，公共，州旗舰机构（俄克拉荷马大学），小型，私立的本科大学专注于工程学学士学位（密尔沃基大学工程学的唯一策略）。将计算整合到工程中，使比较分析的新颖性和创造力在于研究团队的能力，可以回答有关学生为何成功或无法成为工程师的关键问题，而这三个不同的机构和环境都提供了这一奖项。