FSU researchers conclude grant project to design integrated mathematics and computer coding curriculum for middle school students

A team of multidisciplinary researchers from Florida State University is concluding work on a grant project spanning nine years that involved about 600 students learning to code to enhance their math education.

In 2016, the National Science Foundation awarded a $1.1 million grant to a five-member team of researchers to develop coding modules for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade mathematics classes to be used across the United States. The project, called Computer Science Integrated with Mathematics in Middle Schools (CSIMMS), aimed to introduce students to coding basics at an early age to encourage long term interest in computer science.

“We wanted to expose more kids in middle schools to computer coding through general mathematics classes,” said Ellen Granger, director of the Office of STEM Teaching Activities at FSU. “Introducing coding at this age might encourage students to explore computer science in high school and beyond.”

“We wanted to expose more kids in middle schools to computer coding through general mathematics classes. Introducing coding at this age might encourage students to explore computer science in high school and beyond.”

– Ellen Granger, director of the Office of STEM Teaching Activities

The curriculum utilizes Scratch, a programming language for children with a visual interface that allows for storytelling, animation and customization. Classrooms using the CSIMMS modules follow Scratch tutorials and learn principles of computer science which bolster grade-level mathematics content.

Christine Andrews-Larson, associate professor of mathematics and mathematics education, explains that middle school grades are a critical time for a student’s personal development.

“Questions like ‘am I a math person?’ or ‘am I a science person?’ arise for students,” said Andrews-Larson. “With this curriculum we bring in an on-ramp to STEM fields so that students can see themselves as doers of STEM.”

Over the project’s nine years, 16 mathematics teachers from four different Florida middle schools helped develop and test the curriculum in their classes. Approximately 600 students were taught using the modules as part of the design phase of the project, and the curriculum is now available for teachers to use for free via Florida State Open Publishing.

Additional members of the grant team are professor of computer science Xin Yuan, professor of computer science David Whalley, and Sherry Southerland, the Anne and John Daves Professor of Science Education in the School of Teacher Education.

Learn more about the FSU Office of STEM Teaching activities at bio.fsu.edu/osta. To learn more about computer science at FSU, visit cs.fsu.edu. Information about the FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences is available at annescollege.fsu.edu.