Background
As the number of computer science (CS) jobs become increasingly available in this country and computing skills become essential tools for managing all aspects of our personal lives, CS is quickly becoming an essential element of K-12 education and recently, there has been increased attention to bringing computer science to the elementary grades. However, with a schedule that emphasizes literacy and mathematics, and other subjects competing for instructional time, creating opportunities for CS in the elementary school day is challenging. This study aimed to address this problem by investigating the use of problem-based transdisciplinary modules (i.e., “Time4CS” modules) that combined English language arts (ELA), science, and social studies lessons with the Code.org “Fundamentals” CS education program.

Results
Results indicated that teachers who taught Time4CS modules completed more CS lessons than teachers who did not teach the modules. Further, across all classrooms, completing a higher percentage of non-grade level assigned Code.org Fundamentals lessons (i.e., Code.org lessons above or below grade level that were available to teachers, but not required for their particular grade level) was positively associated with students’ achievement outcomes on state ELA and mathematics tests. Additionally, higher amounts of interdisciplinary teaching practices were associated with higher student achievement, specifically students’ state assessment ELA scores.

Conclusions
This study demonstrated that transdisciplinary problem-based modules that integrate the teaching of CS with other subject areas are a feasible way to bring more CS opportunities to younger learners. Moreover, it showed that implementing such modules is linked to more positive student academic achievement outcomes. With attentive revision, the modules featured in this study may be useful tools for elementary schools. These findings have implications for researchers, school district administrators, and those individuals who are in-charge of public policy initiatives seeking ways to bring CS to all elementary school students. Specifically, they highlight that it is possible to make time in the elementary school day for CS, and that there are no negative consequences for core subjects (e.g., ELA and mathematics).



中文翻译：

---

在小学阶段寻找计算机科学的时间：基于跨学科问题的学习方法的准实验研究

背景技术
随着该国越来越多的计算机科学（CS）工作可用，并且计算机技能已成为管理我们个人生活的各个方面的必不可少的工具，CS迅速成为K-12教育的重要组成部分，最近，越来越重视将计算机科学带入小学。但是，由于着重于读写能力和数学的时间表，以及其他科目争夺教学时间，因此在小学阶段为CS创造机会是具有挑战性的。这项研究旨在通过调查基于问题的跨学科模块（即“ Time4CS”模块）的使用来解决此问题，该模块将英语艺术（ELA），科学和社会研究课程与Code.org相结合“基础知识” CS教育计划。

结果
结果表明，教Time4CS模块的老师比没有教模块的老师完成了更多的CS课程。此外，在所有教室中，完成更高比例的非年级水平分配的Code.org基础课程（即老师可以使用的高于或低于年级的Code.org课程，但特定年级不需要）与学生在州级ELA和数学测验中的成绩相关。此外，更多的跨学科教学实践与更高的学生成绩相关，特别是学生的州评估ELA分数。

结论
这项研究表明，将基于CS的教学与其他学科领域相结合的基于跨学科问题的模块是一种向年轻学习者带来更多CS机会的可行方法。此外，它表明实施此类模块与更积极的学生学业成绩有关联。经过认真的修订，本研究中介绍的模块可能是小学实用的工具。这些发现对研究人员，学区行政人员以及负责公共政策计划的负责人寻求将CS带给所有小学生的人都有启示。具体来说，他们强调说，有可能在小学日内花点时间进行CS，并且对核心科目（例如ELA和数学）没有负面影响。