Kevin Leach
Vanderbilt University, TN·Education Research
Children start using computers and the Internet early, yet few get an early grounding in how computers communicate or how to keep that communication secure. Understanding cybersecurity also depends on computational thinking, which means breaking problems down the way a computer program does.
- Fields
Education Research
Computer Science
- Topics
cybersecurity education
computer science education
K-12 education
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Develop a 9-week modular middle school curriculum covering computing fundamentals, block-based programming, network communication, introductory cybersecurity concepts, and cooperative cybersecurity challenges.
- Introduce each cybersecurity principle through a human-to-human communication challenge, then have students apply it by programming robots on a collaborative virtual robotics platform.
- Pilot test the curriculum in multiple schools and use the results to build a clear path toward state-wide implementation in Tennessee.
More about the research
This project asks how to make cybersecurity concrete and engaging for middle school students who have little or no programming background, with the aim of drawing more young people into cybersecurity and computer science and keeping them there.
Why it matters
Middle school teachers and students, starting in Tennessee, could gain classroom-ready cybersecurity materials that require no prior programming experience. By lowering the barrier to hands-on security work through an intuitive block-based language, the curriculum could help more young students become interested in cybersecurity, computing and robotics careers.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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The school
Vanderbilt University: 22 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 494 research doctorates a year.
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