More Like this

1. A Case Study of Teacher Professional Growth Through Co-design and Implementation of Computationally Enriched Biology Units

   Peel, A. (July 2020, ICLS 2020)

   Gresalfi, M. and (Ed.)

   Teachers in K-12 science classrooms play a key role in helping their students engage in computational thinking (CT) activities that reflect authentic science practices. However, we know less about how to support teachers in integrating CT into their classrooms. This paper presents a case of one science teacher over three years as she participated in a Design Based Implementation Research project focused on integrating CT into science curriculum. We analyze her professional growth as a designer and instructor as she created and implemented three computationally-enriched science units with the support of our research team. Results suggest that she became more confident in her understanding of and ability, leading to greater integration of CT in the science units. Relationships with the research team and co-design experiences mediated this growth. Findings yield implications for how best to support teachers in collaborative curriculum design. 

   more » « less
2. Professional knowledge building within an elementary teacher professional development experience on computational thinking in science education

   Hestness, E; Ketelhut, D. J.; McGinnis, J. R.; Plane, J. (January 2018, Journal of technology and teacher education)

   Abstract. We investigated teacher learning within a professional development (PD) workshop series on computational thinking (CT) for elementary-level mentor teachers. The purpose of the PD was to prepare mentor teachers to support preservice teachers in integrating CT into their classroom practice, toward the broader goal of advancing CT for all in the early grades. We examined the ways in which participants collaboratively built on existing professional knowledge as they engaged in professional learning activities designed to introduce CT and related pedagogies for elementary science education. Our data sources were field notes, artifacts, drawings, written reflections, and focus group interviews. We describe how participants developed new understandings of CT integration and made connections to existing professional knowledge of their students, their curriculum, and their school contexts. We discuss implications for teacher learning and PD design relevant to CT, and make recommendations for future research. 

   more » « less
3. Integrating computational thinking into middle school science through co-designed storylines

   Biddy, Q.; Gendreau Chakarov, A.; Jacobs, J.; Recker, M.; Sumner, T.; Penuel, W. (January 2020, Association for Science Teacher Education)

   We describe a professional development model that supports teachers to integrate computational thinking (CT) and computer science principles into middle school science and STEM classes. The model includes the collaborative design (co-design) (Voogt et al., 2015) of storylines or curricular units aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) that utilize programmable sensors such as those contained on the micro:bit. Teachers spend several workshops co-designing CT-integrated storylines and preparing to implement them with their own students. As part of this process, teachers develop or modify curricular materials to ensure a focus on coherent, student driven instruction through the investigation of scientific phenomena that are relevant to the students and utilize sensor technology. Teachers implement the storylines and meet to collaboratively reflect on their instructional practices as well as their students’ learning. Throughout this cyclical, multi-year process, teachers develop expertise in CT-integrated science instruction as they plan for and use instructional practices that align with three dimension science teaching and foreground computational thinking. Throughout the professional learning process, teachers alternate between wearing their “student hats” and their “teacher hats”, in order to maintain both a student and teacher perspective as they co-design and reflect on their implementation of CT-integrated units. This paper illustrates two teachers’ experiences of the professional development process over a two-year period, including their learning, planning, implementation, and reflection on two co-designed units. 

   more » « less
4. Co-Designing an AI Curriculum with University Researchers and Middle School Teachers

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3545947.3576253  

   Gardner-McCune, Christina; Touretzky, David; Cox, Bryan; Uchidiuno, Judith; Jimenez, Yerika; Bentley, Betia; Hanna, William; Jones, Amber (March 2023, SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2)

   Over the past year, our AI4GA team of university faculty and middle school teachers have co-designed a middle school AI curriculum. In this poster we share how we used co-design both as a tool for collaboratively developing engaging AI activities and as a mechanism for mutual professional development. We explain our co-design process, give examples of curriculum materials provided to teachers, and showcase several teacher-created activities. We believe this approach to curriculum development centers the lived experiences of teachers and leverages the knowledge and expertise of university researchers to create high quality and engaging AI learning experiences for K-12 students. 

   more » « less
5. Towards an Adaptable Curriculum-Driven Block-based Learning Environment

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3545947.3576357  

   Gardner-McCune, Christina; Jimenez, Yerika; Magda, David; Kulkarni, Abhishek; Chu, Sharon (March 2022, SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   Over the past year, our AI4GA team of university faculty and middle school teachers have co-designed a middle school AI curriculum. In this poster we share how we used co-design both as a tool for collaboratively developing engaging AI activities and as a mechanism for mutual professional development. We explain our co-design process, give examples of curriculum materials provided to teachers, and showcase several teacher-created activities. We believe this approach to curriculum development centers the lived experiences of teachers and leverages the knowledge and expertise of university researchers to create high quality and engaging AI learning experiences for K-12 students. 

   more » « less