Formative Assessments for Computer Science in NYC

Teachers College, Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The project is funded by the STEM+Computing program, which seeks to address emerging challenges in computational science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas through the applied integration of computational thinking and computing activities within disciplinary STEM teaching and learning in early childhood education through high school (preK-12). Integrating computer science into the United States schools is one of the most significant changes for K-12 public education in decades. The New York City (NYC) CS4All initiative is a leader in this educational reform and serves as a model for other cities and states. One aspect of the NYC efforts is to integrate computer science concepts across disciplines. A challenge with this approach is helping non-computer science teachers, and their students, in assessing if they have met computer science learning goals. This project seeks to create a method to measure this learning through an interactive technology-enhanced assessment system that will provide formative feedback to students and teachers. This project will address core research questions about how to provide ongoing assessment of student computer science (CS) learning that: (a) provides useful feedback to teachers and students; (b) is appealing for students to engage with; and (c) can be used with a wide diversity of curricula that integrate CS and STEM domains. The tool will be open-sourced and made available to approximately 600 students during the project, with an eye to serve over 100,000 diverse and low-income NYC middle school students, and eventually to other districts across the U.S. In addition, the project will provide insight on research and design in areas as diverse as assessment, CS education curricula, and educational game design. This project addresses the nationwide need for a validated instrument that provides formative feedback on student progress with diverse computer science curricula. The is a three-year project to design, develop, and conduct research with a validated system of formative assessment for middle school computational thinking that would meet NYC's needs and create opportunities for broader impacts nationwide. Building on research-based approaches, including stealth assessment and evidence-centered design (ECD) of assessments, this project incorporates a range of performance tasks on the topic of Data and Analysis as outlined in the K-12 CS framework. Students will engage in a construction environment and formative feedback on student knowledge and performance will be generated from their interactions. Using participatory design methods, the project will engage stakeholders with designing tasks and reports that best meet teachers' and students' needs. The project will be piloted and then implemented in schools using varied CS curricula throughout NYC. The research will provide empirical data on how integration of formative assessment with adoption of varied CS curriculum can enable districts to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Furthermore, adopting an iterative design process steeped in participatory methods will allow for the generation of theory-driven design principles around how students and teachers from diverse schools and neighborhoods encounter core CS constructs from a variety of CS curricula.