Experiential accessible learning labs for promoting inclusive software development

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) will provide $1,762,686 to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) from July 2024 to June 2029 to collaboratively develop and disseminate a platform of hosted, experiential computing education labs focused on inclusivity and accessibility. The project aims to expand the body of knowledge on experiential and inclusive approaches to computing education, while providing students across various institutions with real-world software development experience. Key products will include the hosted labs platform, curricular materials, and research findings on effective implementation and benefits of inclusive, experiential computing interventions. The project involves partnerships with seven diversely categorized institutions, enabling the incorporation of varied perspectives into the lab development.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by providing easily adoptable experiential foundational computing educational modules, while expanding the body of knowledge regarding experiential computing education. This engaged student learning level 3 project will collaboratively develop and disseminate hosted labs using the existing accessible learning labs (all) platform. The intellectual merit of this project includes building upon the all platform and utilizing its experiential learning process that has demonstrated benefits for informing and motivating students regarding foundational computing topics. This work also fills the established void in the body of knowledge regarding the understanding of the proper implementation, application, and benefits of experiential, inclusivity-focused interventions in broad computing education. The broader impacts of the project include: i) the resulting platform and labs will generate knowledge having a far-reaching impact on experiential, inclusivity-focused computing education, II) the lab material developed by this project will educate and motivate tomorrows' developers in the topics centered in inclusively, resulting in the production of software more inclusive of the general population, and III) students will be provided with real-world, distributed software development experience. The proposed work will expand upon previous accessible learning labs (all) work in several ways including: i) direct collaboration between seven categorically-distinct institutions (2-year programs, research-focused universities, technical schools, historically black colleges and universities, the national technical institue for the deaf) to ensure their perspectives are present in new labs, II) a significant increase in opportunities for students to interface with differing viewpoints, curricular opportunities, and technical diversity, III) the creation of a collaborative technical and organizational model, including a platform-focused application and a cross-organizational mentorship focus, supporting lab development by external institutions and the open-source community, and IV) expansion of the pedagogical body of knowledge through the investigation of research questions and dissemination of findings. The evaluation of the labs and their interventions will use summative and formative analyses using data collected from participating institutions. The NSF iuse: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of stem education for all students. Through the engaged student learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. 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.- subawards are planned for this award.