The nation is seeking ways to engage more students, particularly girls, in computer science and computational thinking (CS/CT) in schools. Current models often focus primarily on students working with computers at earlier ages and teachers as the primary instructor. This project presents an alternative model that allows for schools and districts to implement CS/CT education for all students, particularly girls, by focusing on "unplugged" gameplay in school libraries as a foundation for CS/CT lessons with computers in classrooms. The objectives of this project are to iteratively codesign, develop, and pilot instructional materials and sequences that deeply integrate CS/CT using board games and coding into upper elementary school classrooms in ways that specifically broaden participation, especially from girls. A unique feature of the approach is that while the project will focus on 5th grade classrooms and practicing teachers, the team will also mobilize a critical but often under-appreciated resource within the district: the school library and its librarians. The partnership between Utah State University and Cache County School District will involve developing custom computer science board games. Students will play these games in the school library and have synthesis lessons when they return to class to build upon the computational ideas encountered. The tabletop games will be in the library for students to play before and after school as well as during recesses; they will also be available for checkout for students to take home. The project team will also build digital versions of the board games that students will then revise, remix, and share using block-based coding in Scratch. This will enable students to further collaboratively explore, build upon, and code CT ideas first foregrounded and experienced in the board game. This project will also yield design principles related to tabletop board games for computer science, classroom and school library collaborations, and how coding skills can be better developed through encounters with both unplugged and screen-based media. Results of the project will include a model of how a lower threshold form of computer science education can be successfully enacted at the elementary school level coupled with evidence on how it impacts student learning and interest. More generally, findings will contribute to a wide range of efforts intended to bring more girls into computer science. It raises awareness of the many design and collaboration activities that researchers can pursue with respect to a new model of unplugged computing with librarians who play key roles in their schools.
The project builds upon the field's growing understanding of how gameplay experiences that go beyond the screen can be utilized in service of computer science education. The two years of design and research partnership to build tabletop board games, curriculum materials, and digital instantiations will advance knowledge about the effective design of resources for computer science education. It also utilizes school libraries and organic tabletop gameplay activities that are popular among youth in those spaces, thus drawing upon existing youth interests and the expertise and skill of educational professionals who are often overlooked in discussions about new curricula. The games will emphasize computational concepts such as algorithmic thinking, sequences, loops, decomposition, and iteration foundational aspects of computational thinking. Research questions that have been jointly developed and will be addressed throughout this project include examining how transitioning from tabletops to screens 1) can be effectively implemented by school librarians and classroom teachers in ways that support classroom activities around computational thinking and coding, and 2) can increase interest in and learning of coding and computer science for elementary students, especially girls. The project will collect data including: (1) transcripts and audio or video recordings of clinical interviews, interviews, focus groups, and game sessions; (2) surveys characterizing participant interest; and (3) observation notes of the game play. The project team will analyze the qualitative data using open and axial coding techniques to establish design scenarios and cases. The project will use regression models to understand changes in students' interests, intrinsic and career, with gender as a potentially mediating covariate.
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.
