As computing has become integral to the practice of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the STEM+Computing program seeks to address emerging challenges in computational STEM areas through the applied integration of computational thinking and computing activities within STEM teaching and learning in early childhood education through high school (preK-12). This project is supported by the STEM+C program and will advance its mission by building on the work of a previous project that developed a system modeling tool, SageModeler, for use by middle and high school students. This project will: (1) Extend the capabilities of the modeling tool to scaffold construction of system dynamics models; (2) Develop curricular materials that support students in creating, testing, revising, and sharing dynamic models of natural systems; (3) Research the progression of student modeling practices and computational thinking across curricular contexts; and (4) Study instructional challenges teacher encounter when adopting a model-based approach to teaching topics in physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science, and environmental science at the high school level. The goal of this project is to advance understanding of how student modeling practices and computational thinking develop over time and across investigations of phenomena of increasing complexity. The project will also develop a set of curricular materials that support students in creating, testing, revising, and sharing system dynamic models in order to make sense of complex natural phenomena. The modeling tool and all materials will be made freely available to schools and teachers, and the software has been translated into several languages, including Spanish. With translation options and a tool that is designed to facilitate computational modeling without traditional coding or the writing of mathematical equations, this project has the potential to broaden the participation of a greater diversity of students in STEM and computational thinking.
Systems thinking and computational modeling are essential practices for addressing some of the most challenging scientific and societal problems, but systems thinking and causal reasoning are difficult for students. The outcomes of complex system models can be counterintuitive, and it is often difficult to know which components of a system will have significant impacts on outcomes. To facilitate student engagement in modeling complex natural systems, the free, web-based SageModeler tool was developed and tested with middle and high school students. The existing tool is limited, however, in its ability to support the development of reliable models of complex dynamic systems. This project is guided by the hypothesis that student computational practices and modeling of complex natural systems can be improved through use of improved modeling software, development of appropriate curricular scaffolds, and providing teachers with professional learning opportunities to gain relevant pedagogical content knowledge related to system modeling, computational thinking, and the natural phenomena to be explored. To test this hypothesis, this research and development project will pursue answers to three research questions: (1) How do scientific explanations of phenomena evolve as students engage in computational thinking in the context of system modeling? (2) In what ways can curricular materials and technological tools best scaffold the development of students' computational thinking and system modeling practice? And (3) What pedagogical strategies are effective for scaffolding students in computational thinking through modeling complex systems? A variety of data sources and data analytic approaches will be employed throughout the course of the project to guide development of materials and track outcomes among participating students and teachers in two geographic locations having diverse student populations. The overall goal of the project is to research and disseminate technological, curricular, and pedagogical scaffolds needed to support students and teachers in developing computational thinking in the context of system modeling and utilizing a system modeling approach for exploring phenomena across multiple STEM disciplines. In pursuing this goal, the project will: (1) Expand the modeling capabilities of SageModeler and the ability to share models within an online activity delivery and reporting system; (2) Refine and adapt existing curricular units and create new units as needed for five major secondary school STEM disciplines; (3) Conduct research on how students learn while engaging in systems thinking and modeling; (4) Develop educative teacher materials and a professional learning program that includes a professional learning community focusing on system modeling and computational thinking; and (5) Disseminate project products and research findings broadly.
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.
