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1. Self-paced E-learning: Exploring the Development of a Cybersecurity Micro-credential through K-12 Teacher Professional Development.

   Borowczak, M. ; Mugayitoglu, B. ; Burrows, A. ; Kennedy, C. ; Carson, A. ; C. & Finch, A. ( January 2020 , Proceedings of SITE Interactive Conference 2020)

   Langran, E. (Ed.)

   This work discusses ongoing experiences in creating interdisciplinary solutions to the development of cybersecurity/computer science skills for K-12 teachers. Participants for this work were K-12 teachers; the work was conducted during the summer semester of 2020. Nine K-12 teachers enrolled in the pilot course, and five K-12 teachers completed modules 0 & 1 of the cybersecurity course. This work describes a month long, self-paced cybersecurity micro-credential which consisted of an introduction to cybersecurity and the CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Accessibility). The primary research question explores the extent to which the cybersecurity micro-credential was considered helpful in understanding cybersecurity concepts and principles. The authors utilized quantitative and qualitative data collection via four methods: 1) content knowledge quiz (quantitative); 2) focus group (qualitative); 3) five semi-structured interviews (qualitative) and 4) two bi-weekly progress reports (qualitative). Qualitatively, focus group, semi-structured interview questions, and bi-weekly progress reports were coded and grouped into major themes by searching descriptive words. Quantitatively, a moderate positive relationship was found between post-test scores and total time in hours spent on modules 0 & 1. The main limitation is the sample size (n=5), which is too small to produce generalizable results. The work showcases innovative tools for teaching cybersecurity. 

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2. The Power of Teacher Leadership to Transform CS Education

   Lalbeharie, Verna ; Jacques, Catherine ; Goltermann, Theresa ; Lockett, David. ( June 2021 , Constellations Professional Development Summit: CS for Social Good)

   null (Ed.)

   CS teachers must develop numerous skills and attributes that go beyond those of other K-12 teachers, given the unique nature of the CS education landscape. In fact, CS teachers are often called upon to serve as teacher leaders very early in their CS careers in order to build a CS program in their schools or districts and ensure equitable access to CS courses. So how can we best support CS teachers in growing that leadership knowledge and skills? The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and its CS for All Teachers community of practice recently developed a “stack” of asynchronous and interactive professional learning modules – or micro-credentials – on teacher leadership in CS. There are five micro-credentials included in the stack, which focus on the following topics: 1) Equity in CS, 2) Collaboration in CS, 3) Building a CS Program, 4) Advocacy for CS, and 5) CS Policy. Presenters will discuss the promise of teacher leadership to transform CS education. They will share how the micro-credentials were created and what the literature says about using this approach for professional learning. 

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3. On the Development of Cybersecurity and Computing Centric Professional Developments and the Subsequent Implementation of Topics in K12 Lesson Plans (RTP)

   Robins, Andey ; Burrows, Andrea C. ; Borowczak, Mike ( August 2022 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   In recent years, Wyoming has developed Computer Science (CS) standards for adoption and use within K-12 classrooms. These standards, adopted in January of 2022, go into effect for the 2022-2023 school year. The University of Wyoming has offered two different computer science week-long professional developments for teachers. Many K-12 teachers do not have a CS background, so developing CS lessons plans can be a challenge in these PDs.This research study is centered around three central questions: 1) To what extent did K-12 teachers integrate computing topics into their PD created lesson plans; 2) How do the teacher perceptions from the two CS PDs compare to each other; and 3) How was the CS PD translated to classroom activity? The first PD opportunity (n=14), was designed to give hands-on learning with CS topics focused on cybersecurity. The second PD opportunity (n=28), focused on integrating CS into existing curricula. At the end of each of these PDs, teacher K-12 teachers incorporated CS topics into their selected existing lesson plan(s). Additionally, a support network was implemented to support excellence in CS education throughout the state. This research study team evaluated the lesson plans developed during each PD event, by using a rubric on each lesson plan. Researchers collected exit surveys from the teachers. Implementation metrics were also gathered, including, how long each lesson lasted, how many students were involved in the implementation, what grades the student belonged to, the basic demographics of the students, the type of course the lesson plan was housed in, if the K-12 teacher reached their intended purpose, what evidence the K-12 teacher had of the success of their lesson plan, data summaries based on supplied evidence, how the K-12 teachers would change the lesson, the challenges and successes they experienced, and samples of student work. Quantitative analysis was basic descriptive statistics. Findings, based on evaluation of 40+ lessons, taught to over 1500 K-12 students, indicate that when assessed on a three point rubric of struggling, emerging, or excellent - certain components (e.g., organization, objectives, integration, activities & assessment, questions, and catch) of K-12 teacher created lessons plans varied drastically. In particular, lesson plan organization, integration, and questions each had a significant number of submissions which were evaluated as "struggling" [45%, 46%, 41%] through interesting integration, objectives, activities & assessment, and catch all saw submissions which were evaluated as "excellent" [43%, 48%, 43%, 48%]. The relationship between existing K-12 policies and expectations surfaces within these results and in combination with other findings leads to implications for the translation of current research practices into pre-collegiate PDs. 

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4. Educating the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Experts

   Katerina Goseva-Popstojanova, West Virginia ; Robin A.M. Hensel, West Virginia ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   The overall goal of the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) S-STEM funded "Attracting and Cultivating Cybersecurity Experts and Scholars through Scholarships" (ACCESS) program is to increase Cybersecurity-related STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, persistence, graduation, and career pathways of these students to improve the education of future STEM workers. Specifically, ACCESS aims to contribute towards addressing the tremendous governmental and industry need for highly skilled cybersecurity experts. Program objectives include: (1) increasing annual enrollment of students in the B.S. in Computer and Information Sciences programs with specialization in Cybersecurity; (2) enhancing curricular and extra-curricular student support services and activities for students; (3) strengthening the partnerships with computer and information technology employers; and (4) investigating the impact of the curricular and co-curricular activities on student success. While significant research has been done relative to student success, retention, and persistence to graduation in STEM fields, cybersecurity is a new field of study and factors affecting student recruitment, academic success, retention, persistence to graduation within this field are not known. In year 1, students were recruited, applications were evaluated, and scholarships were awarded to nine academically talented students, beginning fall 2020. Of these students, four are female (one is from an underrepresented minority population) and five are male (three are from underrepresented minority populations). The students engage in a set of co-curriculum activities, including participation in: outreach activities; technical and career development seminars; a cybersecurity-focused student organization; and potentially, cybersecurity undergraduate research and summer internship opportunities. The paper and poster describe the background of the ACCESS program, recruitment and selection of ACCESS scholarship recipients, project activities, and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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5. Investigating the presence of mathematics and the levels of cognitively demanding mathematical tasks in integrated STEM units

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-022-00070-1  

   Forde, Elizabeth N. ; Robinson, Latanya ; Ellis, Joshua A. ; Dare, Emily A. ( May 2023 , Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research)

   Effective K-12 integrated STEM education should reflect an intentional effort to adequately represent and facilitate each of its component disciplines in a meaningful way. However, most research in this space has been conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from mathematical tasks present within integrated STEM lessons. In order to seek insight pertaining to this gap in the literature, we sought to better understand how science teachers use mathematics within K-12 integrated STEM instruction. We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design to explore the enactment of mathematics in integrated STEM lessons that focus on physical, earth, and life science content. We first examined 2030 sets of video-recorded classroom observation scores generated from the 10-item STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP) designed for observing integrated STEM education in K-12 classrooms. We compared the STEM-OP scores of classroom observations that included mathematics with those that did not. This quantitative analysis was followed by a closer, more in-depth qualitative examination of how mathematics was employed, focusing on the degree of cognitive demand. To do this, we coded and analyzed transcripts from video-recorded classroom observations in which mathematical content was present. Our study yielded two main findings about mathematics in integrated STEM lessons: (1) the presence of mathematical content resulted in higher STEM-OP scores on nearly all items, and (2) mathematical tasks within these lessons were categorized as requiring mainly low levels of cognitive demand from students. This study highlights the need for the increased inclusion of mathematical tasks in integrated STEM teaching. Implications for including higher-order mathematical thinking within integrated STEM teaching are discussed.

    

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