A Learning Environment for an Open-Source Contribution Model

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2 project aims to investigate an approach to prepare students taking introductory computer science classes in different STEM programs to contribute to open-source projects. The project will use open-source software (OSS) projects to engage students in real software engineering scenarios, entirely online.

The project will expand knowledge about how to leverage an authentic OSS project as a learning environment and how to engage learners in the activities, particularly learners from historically disenfranchised groups in STEM. In addition, the project will advance knowledge about the feasibility of devising a structured learning path that begins with non-code contributions (e.g., documentation, typo corrections, translations) and that evolves to other types of contributions.

The project will design an online learning environment where individuals make initial non-code contributions, acclimate to the open-source contribution model, and establish a relationship with the OSS community. This environment will promote scaffolding to those wishing to delve deeper into learning to make code-based and other technical contributions, and help students build a professional resumé based on OSS contributions.

A portal called the OSS-Doorway will be developed as part of this project, focusing on non-programmer learners. These learners will be able to explore the open-source environment and understand different project elements and their roles in the open-source contribution process. Within this informal learning environment, the project will engage a broad range of students as non-code contributors who will gain knowledge about the open-source contribution model.

Improving the skills of non-code contributors will also support the sustainability of OSS projects. The first phase of this project will focus on the feasibility of OSS-Doorway to support learning of the open-source contribution model. The methods used in this phase will be participatory design, observational studies, and student surveys.

In the second phase, the project will seek to understand how OSS-Doorway supports the learning of students who come from groups historically disenfranchised in STEM. The project team will apply an adapted version of the GenderMag inspection method to assess how the proposed solution supports diverse populations. The team will also employ observational studies and surveys with students and analyze the data in a manner that considers student demographic characteristics and lived experiences.

As such, this project will provide inclusive strategies for teaching the open-source contribution process. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs are supported by this program.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.