Evaluating Creative Choice in K-12 Computer Science Curriculum

Computer Science is an increasingly important topic in K-12 education. Ever since the computing crisis of the early 2000s, where enrollment in CS dropped by over half in a five year span, increasing research has gone into improving and broadening enrollment in CS courses. Research shows the importance of introducing CS at a young age and the need for more exposure for younger children and young adults alike in order to work towards equity in the field. While there are many reasons for disinterest in CS courses, studies found one reason young adults do not want to study CS is a perception of it being tedious and lacking opportunities for creativity. Making more creative assignments is one way to try and engage more students who may not feel like stereotypical computer scientists. This thesis focuses in on the effects of creative choice in CS curriculum on students\u27 self-efficacy, engagement/preferences, and performance. It aims to capture the effects of creative choice on a range of K-12 students of varying demographics in order to make CS more accessible for everyone. The first half of the thesis experimentally validates the effects of creative choice in existing 5th grade CS classes. We created two variants of worksheets for the students - creative worksheets and rigid worksheets. After distributing these worksheets, surveys, and quizzes, we found students still feel a sense of ownership with limited versions of creative choice and benefit from a blend of creative and rigid instructions. In addition, student performance was not affected by our different treatments. The second half of the thesis adapted and launched the fifth grade curriculum to a new demographic, teaching the course to Juvenile Hall students. Student surveys and reports from their teacher showed this class had a positive impact and was well received by students and staff. We found students would prefer a longer class next iteration, as this one only extended five weeks. Future work will be needed to experimentally evaluate the specific impact of creative choice in this new demographic

The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. school system has disregarded differences within STEM fields. Indeed, the most important STEM field for a modern economy is not only one that is not represented by its own initial in "STEM" but also the field with the fewest number of high school students taking its classes and by far has the most room for improvement—computer science

Development and Evaluation of the Nebraska Assessment of Computing Knowledge

One way to increase the quality of computing education research is to increase the quality of the measurement tools that are available to researchers, especially measures of students’ knowledge and skills. This paper represents a step toward increasing the number of available thoroughly-evaluated tests that can be used in computing education research by evaluating the psychometric properties of a multiple-choice test designed to differentiate undergraduate students in terms of their mastery of foundational computing concepts. Classical test theory and item response theory analyses are reported and indicate that the test is a reliable, psychometrically-sound instrument suitable for research with undergraduate students. Limitations and the importance of using standardized measures of learning in education research are discussed

Lessons Learned from Development of a Software Tool to Support Academic Advising

We detail some lessons learned while designing and testing a decision-theoretic advising support tool for undergraduates at a large state university. Between 2009 and 2011 we conducted two surveys of over 500 students in multiple majors and colleges. These surveys asked students detailed questions about their preferences concerning course selection, advising, and career paths. We present data from this study which may be helpful for faculty and staff who advise undergraduate students. We find that advising support software tools can augment the student-advisor relationship, particularly in terms of course planning, but cannot and should not replace in-person advising.Comment: 5 Figures, revised version including more figures and cross-referencin

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

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