The University of Texas Austin proposes Project Engage! to address the shortage of high school computer science (CS) students and teachers. The main components of this initiative are (1) a novel dual enrollment (DE) CS Principles course for which high school students receive college credit, (2) a revamped college course that aligns with this DE course, and (3) a summer institute that trains in-service teachers to teach this DE course. The DE CS Principles course is innovative in three ways: First, it uses blended instruction in which classes are led by a high school teacher who is supported by online resources; second, it uses a problem-based curriculum that makes students active participants in the learning process; and third, it builds online learning communities for both students and teachers. The online learning environment is central to this project because it provides teachers with instant access to pedagogical and curricular support, it provides teachers with an online community, allowing them to communicate with other teachers and discuss common concerns and successes, and it enables students to collaborate across traditional geographic and institutional boundaries.
This project promises significant impact in three dimensions. First, it will expand the CS community's supply of both students and teachers. The DE course can reach the 65% of Texas high schools that currently offer no AP CS courses. The summer institutes will train current math, CS, and science teachers to teach the DE course, and these teachers will receive on-going support from the online learning environment in the areas of course content and pedagogy. Second, it will significantly broaden participation among girls and under-represented minorities. DE courses disproportionately benefit students of lower socio-economic levels; anecdotal evidence suggests that the CS Principles course will attract a broader segment of the population, including girls; and the student-centered approach will engage students across all demographics, making computing relevant to their lives, their personal interests, and their future. Third, it will set a new standard for online CS education, answering many scientific questions about the impact and effectiveness of using blended instruction, problem-based learning, and online communities in a DE course.
This project will implement pilot DE courses at 6 Texas high schools, with the goals of eventually scaling this effort to several hundreds of Texas high schools and replicating the effort in other states through the UTeach Institute.
