Computer Science Courses Project Management

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Proposal Selection Process
Methodology and Evaluation Plans
References

Proposal Selection Process

The grant provided by the National Science Foundation titled Computer science for all aims at helping students in PreK-12 levels to participate in computer science (NSF, 2021). NSF’s review process consists of four steps described in its official policy. First, Program Officers conduct a preliminary review to ensure completeness and conformance with NSF requirements (NSF, n.d.).

The officers then select peer reviewers for further analysis. Second, the selected independent reviewers analyze the proposal according to the set criteria and submit the information to the NSF (NSF, n.d.). Third, Program Officers assess the feedback from peer reviewers to check for accuracy (NSF, n.d.). Finally, the division board issues the decision about the proposal. At all stages, the proposal is evaluated in terms of intellectual merit and broader impact (NSF, n.d.). This implies that all projects should be of the highest quality, based on appropriate metrics, and achieve broad social goals (NSF, n.d.). The proposals should also be creative, advance knowledge, benefit society, have a clear implementation plan, and be financially feasible (NSF, n.d.).

The process is associated with low bias, as it promotes the review of different stakeholders, including outside peer reviewers. Additionally, the process ensures that the proposal aligns with NSF’s goals. However, the process is very long, which may have a negative impact on social change. The information provided by NSF (n.d.) helped me to focus my report on four things: promotion of social change and knowledge, creativity, financial feasibility, and careful planning, as these four things are crucial for the proposal to succeed.

Methodology and Evaluation Plans

Program Description

The project proposes to create computer science courses for PreK-4 students in an elementary school. First, the project includes creating relevant course materials for the youngest students through collaboration with the most talented and experienced teachers and policymakers in the school country. Second, the project requires creating a special classroom with the latest equipment, including top-quality personal computers, video and audio recording equipment, network essentials, virtual reality, and presentation equipment. Third, the project supposes that essential training will be provided to teachers in the school to help students learn computer science.

The project is crucial for the school and the community, as students currently do not have the opportunity to learn computer science appropriately. Even though there are computer classes for elementary school students, the teachers are undertrained, and there are not enough computers to provide all the students with an adequate level of education. Moreover, the computers in the school are outdated, which makes them difficult to use. Implementation of the proposed project can help to improve the prestige of the school country and help the students receive an appropriate education.

The project was driven by the idea that everyone should have the ability to learn computer science starting from pre-school. The purpose of the project is to increase the level of computer literacy in elementary schools. The initiative is a powerful addition to the current way of improving computer literacy in the community, as it provides the opportunity for children to enroll in a computer science club, which can improve their level of satisfaction with the process of learning and improve the outcomes.

Timeline

The project is expected to start in July 2021 from the preparation phase. During this phase, the personnel will be trained and all the equipment prepared for the program start. The Computer Science club will be running for an entire academic year; thus, the second stage will start in August 2021 and continue until June 2022. The second stage will be divided into three substages, as a preliminary evaluation of results will be conducted in January 2022. The third stage will start in June 2022, which will be associated with the evaluation of the results and working on possible improvements. The timeline is visualized in Figure 1 below.

Required Resources

The project does not require large amounts of resources, as the club will be based in an elementary school, which has all the required resources. The only non-human resources required are new computers and appropriate software for the computer science course. The human resources that will be needed are the program coordinator, who will manage the project, schedule the classes, and evaluate the outcomes, and two teachers. The coordinator will also play a role of a teacher when needed. All the staff members will require training. It is expected that an outside training program will be utilized to raise the level of staff’s competence as a Computer Science teacher for K-4 students.

Management Plan

The project will be managed by the project coordinator, who will report to the school’s principal. The coordinator will create schedules for the club at the beginning of every week and control that the teachers provide proper education during the classes. The classes will be provided on a daily basis. The overall number of classes depends upon the number of groups interested in Computer science that will be created. It is expected that there will be between 10 and 15 classes a week provided. The coordinator will run all the communications within the project, make written reports about the progress of the project once a month, and conduct evaluations twice during the project: in January and in June.

Evaluation Research Design, Sample, Reliability, and Validity

One of the most frequently used research designs in evaluation programs is the pre-experimental design (Arora et al., 2019). This approach implies gathering pretest and post-test data utilizing the statistical analysis to understand if the intervention had a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. The purpose of the project is to increase the level of interest and knowledge about Computer Science among Granby Elementary students. Thus, the levels of knowledge and interest of 100 students will be measured before and after the implementation of the program. Statistical analysis will be performed to understand if the program had a significant impact on the dependent variables. A statistically significant improvement with a large enough effect size will demonstrate the success of the program.

The proposed research design is associated with significant benefits, such as simplicity and low cost, which can be crucial for researchers with a small budget and limited experience. However, the research design is associated with significant drawbacks. For instance, the design does not control for many extraneous factors, which are associated with significant threats to validity, as it is difficult to dismiss a rival hypothesis (Evaluation Toolkit, n.d.). As for the reliability of the method, pre-experimental design is not associated with special threats.

Data and Procedures of Evaluation

The evaluations will require the collection of data concerning two variables, including the level of computer science knowledge and interest in computer science. The data will be collected from 100 students using in-class surveys developed to measure the level of computer science knowledge and interest in computer science. The surveys will be conducted three times, at the beginning of the program (August 2021), at the midpoint evaluation (January 2022), and during the final evaluation (June 2022). The instruments for evaluation will be developed specifically for every age group, as they need to consider the reading and writing abilities of elementary school children.

Budget Template

Table 1. Budget

Name	Title	Hours a week	Salary	Fringe benefits	Grand total
Name #1	Coordinator	10	$10,000	$1,665	$11,665
Name #2	Teacher	10	$8,000	$1,332	$9,332
Name #3	Teacher	10	$8,000	$1,332	$9,332
Subtotal:	$30,329
Staff Training	$6,000
Computers	$8,000
Software	$4,800
Grand Total:	$49,129

Budget Narrative

Salaries

(Total: $26,000)

The coordinator will spend 100% of his time controlling the quality of the provided services and providing classes to students 10 hours a week (2 hours per day after finishing the classes). The total requested salary is $10,000 per annum.

The teachers will spend 100% of their time giving classes to students 10 hours a week (2 hours per day after finishing the classes). The total requested salary is $8,000 per annum.

Fringes

(Total: $4,329)

FICA will be paid for all salaries: $26,000 x.0765 = $1,989.

Unemployment cost is $26,000 x.03 = $780.

Retirement for full-time employees: $26,000 x.06 =$1,560.

Staff Training

(Total: $6,000)

Training will be provided for the teachers and the coordinator. The estimated cost of training is $2,000 per person.

Computers and software

(Total: $12,800)

The estimated cost of every computer is $1,000, with $600 additional spent on software. The program is expected to need eight computers in total.

Contingency Plan

While there are few risks associated with the program, there are certain costs that should be considered for contingency purposes. The primary risk that may be associated with the additional cost is increased demand for classes from students and parents. As a result, it may be needed to recruit another teacher, which may be associated with another $9,332. Moreover, additional supplies may be needed in case the school will not be able to provide paper, pens, pencils, crayons, and printer ink. Thus, an additional $600 should be prepared in case of supply shortages. The two risks mentioned above are the only parts of the contingency plan for the present project.

References

Arora, S., Deosthali, P. B., & Rege, S. (2019). Effectiveness of a counseling intervention implemented in antenatal setting for pregnant women facing domestic violence: a pre‐experimental study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 126, 50-57.

Evaluation Toolkit. (n.d.). Choose an evaluation design. Web.

National Science Foundation. (2021). Computer science for all. Grants.gov. Web.

National Science Foundation. (n.d.). Phase II: Proposal review and processing. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!