March 8, 2024
As the field of computer science (CS) becomes more innovative and important in the digital age, there is a need to remodel CS curriculum as well. In high schools across the country, many students do not pursue CS majors in higher education because the curriculum is not engaging or innovative. STEM Through Games is a project that aims to transform CS curriculum and increase accessibility to STEM fields in high schools across Pittsburgh. The project is a semi-finalist in the 2023-2024 Pitt Seed funding program. Program participants will present their games at the Dean’s Spotlight Series event “Making Good Games for the Greater Good” on March 25.
Traditional CS curriculum takes a bottom-up approach: teaching students the basic foundations of programming and data structure. However, this approach does not teach students how these principles are applied to make meaningful, real-world impacts. Therefore, students often do not feel inspired to explore the field of CS because they find it dull, tedious, or difficult. STEM Through Games offers a new method of engaging students with CS concepts in a fun, impactful way.
STEM Through Games focuses on digital game design and development to teach students CS principles through an immersive, engaging, and hands-on process. Digital games teach CS in cross-disciplinary contexts, allowing students to not only learn how to program, but also how to apply their programming skills to break down complex problems and develop inventive solutions.
Dmitriy Babichenko (pictured), clinical associate professor in the Department of Informatics and Networked Systems, developed STEM Through Games with the following colleagues:
- Faculty
- Jacob Biehl, associate professor, Department of Computer Science and Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship
- Tinukwa Boulder, associate professor of practice and associate department chair, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading, School of Education
- Veena Vasudevan, assistant professor, Department of Digital Media and Learning, School of Education
- Jessica FitzPatrick, teaching associate professor and director of the Digital Narrative and Interactive Design (DNID) program
- Graduate Students
- Rafaela Sampaio, first-year MSIS student
- Undergraduate Students
- Griffin Hurt, SCI ‘24
- Ashley Ingenito, SCI ‘25
- Paige Brannagan, A&S ‘25
- Liam Weixel, A&S ‘25
Dmitriy and his colleagues aim to expose under-represented groups, like gender, ethnic, and racial minorities, to the STEM fields.
“This program is important to me because I have two daughters, 14-year-old Daniella and 12-year-old Sophia. When they were little, both were incredibly interested in science. However, as they got older, I noticed that most science-related activities were very much “boys’ clubs.” One after-school activity that Sophia participated in had 11 boys, and she was the only girl. STEM Through Games, to me, is an opportunity to create learning environments where kids could bring their lived experiences to the table and leverage those experiences to learn about computing and STEM,” stated Babichenko.
Eleven high school students from Pittsburgh public high schools will participate in the pilot program. Over two semesters, students will attend 10 workshops where they will work with Pitt faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students to learn computational thinking through game design and development. They will also participate in research projects with Pitt faculty and students in the gaming and media fields.
“STEM Through Games provides a supportive environment where high school students can develop confidence in their abilities. By successfully completing projects and seeing the impact of their work, students’ self-efficiency in STEM subjects is likely to increase, encouraging them to pursue further studies and careers in these fields,” remarked Babichenko. Learn more about STEM Through Games and Pitt Seed here!
--Alyssa Morales