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1. Partnering Middle School Teachers, Industry, and Academic to Bring Engineering to the Science Classroom

   Carrico, C.; Grohs, J.R.; Matusovich, H.M.; Kirk, G.R.; Schilling, M.R. (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   Despite limited success in broadening participation in engineering with rural and Appalachian youth, there remain challenges such as misunderstandings around engineering careers, misalignments with youth’s sociocultural background, and other environmental barriers. In addition, middle school science teachers may be unfamiliar with engineering or how to integrate engineering concepts into science lessons. Furthermore, teachers interested in incorporating engineering into their curriculum may not have the time or resources to do so. The result may be single interventions such as a professional development workshop for teachers or a career day for students. However, those are unlikely to cause major change or sustained interest development. To address these challenges, we have undertaken our NSF ITEST project titled, Virginia Tech Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools (VT PEERS). Through this project, we sought to improve youth awareness of and preparation for engineering related careers and educational pathways. Utilizing regular engagement in engineering-aligned classroom activities and culturally relevant programming, we sought to spark an interest with some students. In addition, our project involves a partnership with teachers, school districts, and local industry to provide a holistic and, hopefully, sustainable influence. By engaging over time we aspired to promote sustainability beyond this NSF project via increased teacher confidence with engineering related activities, continued integration within their science curriculum, and continued relationships with local industry. From the 2017-2020 school years the project has been in seven schools across three rural counties. Each year a grade level was added; that is, the teachers and students from the first year remained for all three years. Year 1 included eight 6th grade science teachers, year 2 added eight 7th grade science teachers, and year 3 added three 8th grade science teachers and a career and technology teacher. The number of students increased from over 500 students in year 1 to over 2500 in year 3. Our three industry partners have remained active throughout the project. During the third and final year in the classrooms, we focused on the sustainable aspects of the project. In particular, on how the intervention support has evolved each year based on data, support requests from the school divisions, and in scaffolding “ownership” of the engineering activities. Qualitative data were used to support our understanding of teachers’ confidence to incorporate engineering into their lessons plans and how their confidence changed over time. Noteworthy, our student data analysis resulted in an instrument change for the third year; however due to COVID, pre and post data was limited to schools who taught on a semester basis. Throughout the project we have utilized the ITEST STEM Workforce Education Helix model to support a pragmatic approach of our research informing our practice to enable an “iterative relationship between STEM content development and STEM career development activities… within the cultural context of schools, with teachers supported by professional development, and through programs supported by effective partnerships.” For example, over the course of the project, scaffolding from the University leading interventions to teachers leading interventions occurred. 

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2. "We're utterly ill-prepared to deal with something like this": Teachers' Perspectives on Student Generation of Synthetic Nonconsensual Explicit Imagery

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713226  

   Wei, Miranda; Yeung, Christina; Roesner, Franziska; Kohno, Tadayoshi (April 2025, ACM)

   Synthetic nonconsensual explicit imagery, also referred to as “deepfake nudes”, is becoming faster and easier to generate. In the last year, synthetic nonconsensual explicit imagery was reported in at least ten US middle and high schools, generated by students of other students. Teachers are at the front lines of this new form of image abuse and have a valuable perspective on threat models in this context. We interviewed 17 US teachers to understand their opinions and concerns about synthetic nonconsensual explicit imagery in schools. No teachers knew of it happening at their schools, but most expected it to be a growing issue. Teachers proposed many interventions, such as improving reporting mechanisms, focusing on consent in sex education, and updating technology policies. However, teachers disagreed about appropriate consequences for students who create such images. We unpack our findings relative to differing models of justice, sexual violence, and sociopolitical challenges within schools. 

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3. Defining Rural: Rural Teachers’ Perspectives and Experiences

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060645  

   Inouye, Martha; Macias, Meghan; Boz, Tugba; Lee, Min Jung; Hammack, Rebekah; Iveland, Ashley; Johansen, Natalie (June 2024, Education Sciences)

   Public agencies and other funding organizations have often defined rural in reference to “urban” and using parameters such as population density, access to cities, and distance to market areas. Using such definitions of rurality within the context of K-12 education as a way to support these systems is challenging because of the diverse geographic and socio-cultural identities of these places despite a common “rural” designation. This study aims to analyze elementary teachers’ perceptions of their school context and role within that context to better understand the diversity of what it means to be rural. Semi-structured interviews with 3rd–5th-grade teachers (n = 35) were used. Data sources also included identity and community walk slides created by these teachers. Structured interview prompts were tailored to these activities. A priori and emergent coding analyses were used to examine teachers’ conception of their rural context and their role within that context. The results show that rural, as defined by teachers, is a diverse and connected place in which diverse community assets support teachers in their instruction in unique ways. By better understanding the diversity of what it means to be rural, we begin to understand the ways in which context shapes experience and best determine how to support rural educational experiences for both teachers and students. 

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4. High school teachers' conceptualizations of engineering teaching

   Emiola, E.; Dalal, M.; Ladeji-Osias, K. (January 2021, the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA))

   null (Ed.)

   Stakeholders of engineering education have recognized the need for engineering instruction in K‐12 classrooms, especially at the high school level. However, lack of engineering-specific standards and varied conceptions of engineering teaching create challenges for high school teachers to teach engineering courses. This paper explores high school teachers’ conceptions of engineering teaching in the context of an engineering education professional development (PD) workshop. We use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to examine participants’ conceptions during two focus groups conducted as part of the PD; particularly focusing on teachers’ goals, interests, challenges, and expected outcomes of teaching a high school level engineering course. Results highlight the need for social support for teachers to sustain engineering teaching. 

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5. "It is what the situation demands": How Communities of Practice Create Value for CS Teachers in the Time of Covid

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3478432.3499072  

   Livingston, Matthew; Ni, Lijun; Tian, Yan; Baskin, Jake; Bohrer, Jason (March 2022, SIGCSE 2022: Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   The recent pandemic has resulted in challenges to the prioritization of CS curriculum and strained the structures that support and grow the professional development and identity building of the teachers who implement it. In this poster we examine how local chapters of a national CS teacher advocacy organization (the CSTA) support their members during a time of transition and change. Using focus group data collected from an ongoing multi-year longitudinal research project, we tried to better understand the challenges that these entities faced as their normal structures of communication and outreach were closed off, and how such challenges might affect the perceptions of the role that local chapters play in supporting the continued development of their members, including their identity as CS teachers. 

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