Type 1: Casting a Wide Net: Applied Computational Thinking

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Northwestern University proposes to develop computational thinking (CT) activities that can be embedded throughout existing high school STEM curricula. The approach casts a wide net, introducing a diverse range of students (including those from traditionally underrepresented groups) to CT skills through STEM courses that they are already taking. The intent is that students understand that computing is more than programming, it is a vital skill set that pervades modern STEM fields. In addition to the embedded CT activities, the project will develop a full-year course that explores the use of computational methods across a range of disciplines including math, physics, chemistry, biology, and earth/environmental science. This project builds on existing partnerships with local schools and teachers and on an NSF GK12 program, Reach for the Stars, that pairs graduate students in CS/STEM disciplines with local middle and high school teachers to develop CT activities based on the graduate students' research. The current proposal will use this rich set of initial CT activities as a starting point for developing 60 refined CT activities that can be embedded in traditional STEM courses. Two summer professional development workshops and ongoing Saturday sessions will be used to train a team of 30 pilot teachers to test the CT activities in their STEM classrooms. These professional development resources will then be revised for larger-scale replication of our CT curriculum. Evaluation studies will document the CT learning and attitudinal gains for both teachers and students and provide initial evidence on the success of our embedded CT approach.