The number of students studying computer science and computational thinking has been declining at an alarming rate. New approaches to attract students are needed. This project is developing an introductory course that presents computational thinking in a broad context. Realistic problems from disciplines such as biology and economics are used to show relevance. The approach emphasizes multi-agent simulation using the NetLogo programming language. Multi-agent computer simulation is based on the interactions of numerous intelligent agents with each other and with an environment. For example, individual consumers are represented as interacting agents to model a complex economic system.
Although the course is designed as an introduction to computational thinking for science and economics majors, the project is investigating how the course can be used as an alternative CS1 course for computer science majors. Assessment plans include measuring student learning as well as monitoring recruitment of new students to computing. Expected outcomes include course materials and faculty training materials. Results will be disseminated at regional and national computer science education conferences.
The paradigm of multi-agent simulation, and the agent-based modeling language NetLogo, proved an effective approach to teaching introductory level computer science both for introducing and recruiting prospective students to the major and for teaching computational thinking to undergraduate students in other STEM disciplines. This has resulted not only in the significant reshaping of the computer science major at Middlebury College, the PIs home institution, but also has contributed to a growing trend at numerous other institutions to incorporate agent-based modeling into the computer science curriculum espeically at the introductory level. Recent nationwide trend of dramatic growths in computer science enrollments make it difficult to offer a clear assessment of the general recruitment effectiveness of the approach funded by this grant. In particular, while there has been a signficant increase in recruitment and retention of computer science majors coinciding with the incorporation of this approach, those results almost certainly owe to a number of factors. Retention data from the final years of the grant is not yet available. However there is data suggesting the effectiveness of the approach (over other more traditional approaches) at recruiting female students to comptuer science courses. The grant has also enabled the effective dissemination of the approach and its results. During the tenure of the grant (and in the year immediately following the grant), the PI has presented (and will be presenting) the developed approach and assessment through numerous workshops, tutorials and talks at general science and computer science education conferences and as an invited speaker at various universities and colleges. This has resulted in the adoption of the material at other institutions.
