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1. Building Computational Skills Via Exergames

   Harriger, Alka; Harriger, Bradley; Flynn, Susan (February 2021, Technology and engineering teacher)

   null (Ed.)

   Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists (TECHFIT) was an NSF-funded science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) project (DRL-1312215) (Harriger B. , Harriger, Flynn, & Flynn, 2013) that included a professional development (PD) program for teachers and an afterschool program for students. Curriculum and Assessment Design to Study the Development of Motivation and Computational Thinking for Middle School Students across Three Learning Contexts is an NSF-funded research project (DRL-1640178) (Harriger A. , Harriger, Parker, & Li, 2016) that examines the impact of delivering the TECHFIT curriculum to middle school students in three different contexts: afterschool program, in-school class, core class module. Thus far, the new project has deployed TECHFIT using the first two contexts, both of which use the entire TECHFIT curriculum. The goal of the TECHFIT curriculum is to spark interest in STEM and computational thinking (CT) in middle school students. The curriculum employs two computer programming tools as well as physical computing to introduce participants to STEM and CT. It also includes use of brain blasts to engage participants in a wide variety of physical activity throughout the instruction as well as to enrich their imaginations with different ways to make movement fun. This paper focuses on the process of exergame development using TECHFIT tools as a way to support CT skills development. The process is illustrated using a complete example from inception to a picture of teachers testing the working, physical exergame. 

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2. Curriculum to Broaden Participation in Cybersecurity for Middle School Teachers and Students

   Buchanan, L.; Scarlatos, L.; Telendii, N. (March 2021, 11th IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference)

   To both broaden and increase participation in any STEM field such as cybersecurity, we need to attract more students. Research shows that to do this, students need to be engaged with cybersecurity during middle school. There is a lack of age-appropriate and classroom-ready cybersecurity curriculum, however, and many teachers feel unprepared to teach the subject. To address this gap, the CyberMiSTS project team created a summer professional development workshop for middle school teachers that integrated a recent research-based understanding of cybersecurity into a curriculum that is accessible to both middle school students and their teachers. The project sought to encourage participation of a broad and diverse set of students in the field of cybersecurity by showing them how human relations play an important role in cybersecurity. We discuss our prior related work using branching web comics to introduce middle school students to cybersecurity concepts and careers, and the state of evidence-based research into effective approaches and methods for cybersecurity education. We identify challenges to broadening the pipeline for a truly diverse cybersecurity workforce that can meet industry’s need for cybersecurity professionals with a wide range of experience and skills. The paper introduces our approach for the teacher professional development workshop, maps how we designed the project to meet our research goals, and documents initial findings regarding what is needed to increase teacher self-efficacy about cybersecurity concepts and careers in a middle school classroom. 

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3. Impact of Smartphone-Based Interactive Learning Modules on Cybersecurity Learning at the High-School Level

   https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON54358.2023.10125124  

   Sudha, Sai Sushmitha; Bandreddi, Jyothi Priyanka; Podila, Laxmi Mounika; Govindula, Ramesh; Richardson, Austin; Niyaz, Quamar; Yang, Xiaoli; Javaid, Ahmad Y (May 2023, IEEE)

   The increasing use of computer technologies to perform everyday activities simplifies living, but brings the underlying cybersecurity concern to the fore. Due to the accessibility of smartphones, many teenagers are “online” for significant hours in a day. Many middle and high school students have been victims of a cybercrime through online activities. Additionally, various incidents of Internet fraud have been reported where teenagers are persuaded to buy games, music, and videos without realizing they are falling for a scam or disclosing their credit card information. Studies have shown that implementing a successful security awareness camp is crucial in boosting cybersecurity and attracting talent to this domain. This paper discusses our efforts on creating smartphone apps in the context of cyber-security to encourage safe use of apps and raise awareness among teenagers. The strategy used is to develop apps with the intention of closing security gaps. By doing this, teenagers gain a wealth of information about cybersecurity. This work aims to develop students' problem-solving skills and create a cybersecurity mindset for dealing with real-world cybersecurity-related problems such as malware or phishing assaults and to promote interest in cybersecurity careers among high school students utilizing smartphone-based interactive learning modules. We also examine gender-specific patterns and evaluate whether students' cybersecurity problem-solving skills have improved due to this novel intervention. 

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4. Exploring Differences in Minority Students' Attitudes towards Computing after a One-Day Coding Workshop

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3304221.3319736  

   Lee, Michael J. (July 2019, Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education)

   As programming continues to be an essential 21st century skill, it is critical to focus on diversity and increasing participation of underrepresented groups in computing. To address this need, we must better understand minorities' views and attitudes towards programming, especially in their youth, as literature shows that children form ideas about their interests and careers in middle school or earlier. To explore this, we provided middle school students in the U.S. with a full day (7 hours) of programming activities to learn about their initial attitudes towards computing and how a short intervention might change these attitudes. We ran two separate one-day events, serving a total of 34 minority students (21 males and 13 females; grades 6 and 7) from a low-income, urban area. We found that students' initial attitudes towards computing were high, and that one day of learning programming increased their reported attitudes in computing even more. We also found differences in attitudes by gender and ethnicity. These findings highlight the positive attitudes minority students have towards computing, and the importance of providing resources and support to help maintain their interests in computing while recognizing demographic differences. 

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5. Building air quality sensors & inspiring citizen scientists

   Le, K.; Tingey, K.; Becnel, T.; Gailardon, P.E.; Butterfield, A.E.; Kelly, K.E. (June 2018, Chemical engineering education)

   Using low-cost electronic components and building blocks, we have developed an effective teaching module where students design and test light-scattering, air-quality sensors to introduce them to chemical and environmental engineering research. This module has been successful in engaging the public, developing citizen scientists, and bridging gaps in understanding. To date, we have visited over 30 middle school and high school classrooms and over 1,000 students. 

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