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1. Preparing special education preservice teachers to teach computational thinking and computer science in mathematics.

   https://doi.org/10.1177/088846421992376376  

   Bouck, E.C. ( April 2021 , Teacher education and special education)

   null (Ed.)

   Increasingly in K–12 schools, students are gaining access to computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS). This access, however, is not always extended to students with disabilities. One way to increase CT and CS (CT/CS) exposure for students with disabilities is through preparing special education teachers to do so. In this study, researchers explore exposing special education preservice teachers to the ideas of CT/CS in the context of a mathematics methods course for students with disabilities or those at risk of disability. Through analyzing lesson plans and reflections from 31 preservice special education teachers, the researchers learned that overall emerging promise exists with regard to the limited exposure of preservice special education teachers to CT/CS in mathematics. Specifically, preservice teachers demonstrated the ability to include CT/CS in math lesson plans and showed understanding of how CT/CS might enhance instruction with students with disabilities via reflections on these lessons. The researchers, however, also found a need for increased experiences and opportunities for preservice special education teachers with CT/CS to more positively impact access for students with disabilities. 

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2. How Do We Do CS on Top of Everything Else? A Coaching Cycle Approach in Elementary School

   Pozos, R. ( May 2021 , Annual Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT))

   null (Ed.)

   A key strategy for bringing computer science (CS) education to all students is the integration of computational thinking (CT) into core curriculum in elementary school. But teachers want to know how they can do this on top of their existing priorities. In this paper, we describe how our research-practice partnership is working to motivate, prepare, and support an elementary school to integrate equitable and inclusive computer science into core curriculum. Data were collected from teachers at a K-5 school where 65% of students are Hispanic or Latinx, 46% are English Learners, and 65% are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Data included semi-structured interviews, educators’ written reflections, and observations of classroom implementation and professional development. The findings show how the school is building buy-in and capacity among teachers by using a coaching cycle led by a Teacher on Special Assignment. The cycle of preparation, implementation, and reflection demystifies CS by helping teachers design, test, and revise coherent lesson sequences that integrate CT into their lessons. Contrasting case studies are used to illustrate what teachers learned from the cycle, including the teachers’ reasons for the integration, adaptations they made to promote equity, what the teachers noticed about their students engaging in CT, and their next steps. We discuss the strengths and the limitations of this approach to bringing CS for All. 

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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. Studying In-service Teacher Professional Development on Purposeful Integration of Engineering into K-12 STEM Teaching (Research to Practice)

   Gunning, A. M. ( July 2021 , American Society for Engineering Education 2021 Annual Conference)

   Integrated STEM approaches in K-12 science and math instruction can be more engaging and meaningful for students and often meet the curriculum content and practice goals better than single-subject lessons. Engineering, as a key component of STEM education, offers hands-on, designed-based, problem solving activities to drive student interest and confidence in STEM overall. However, K-12 STEM teachers may not feel equipped to implement engineering practices and may even experience anxiety about trying them out in their classrooms without the added support of professional development and professional learning communities. To address these concerns and support engineering integration, this research study examined the experiences of 18 teachers in one professional development program dedicated to STEM integration and engineering pedagogy for K-12 classrooms. This professional development program positioned the importance of the inclusion of engineering content and encouraged teachers to explore community-based, collaborative activities that identified and spoke to societal needs and social impacts through engineering integration. Data collected from two of the courses in this project, Enhancing Mathematics with STEM and Engineering in the K-12 Classroom, included participant reflections, focus groups, microteaching lesson plans, and field notes. Through a case study approach and grounded theory analysis, themes of self-efficacy, active learning supports, and social justice teaching emerged. The following discussion on teachers’ engineering and STEM self-efficacy, teachers’ integration of engineering to address societal needs and social impacts, and teachers’ development in engineering education through hands-on activities, provides better understanding of engineering education professional development for K-12 STEM teachers. 

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5. Culturally Sustaining STEM Learning in the Gullah Community

   Ciphrah, Regina ; Boyd, Fenice ; Ellis, Jamelle ( January 2022 , National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM for All Video Showcase)

   Culture plays a significant role in students’ learning and understanding. Teaching and learning are most effective when teachers make curricula relevant to students’ cultural, linguistic and experiential backgrounds, and when they take time to know and understand their students and the community they serve. The Culturally Sustaining STEM (CS-STEM) Institute is a feasibility study designed to support professional learning of in-service and preservice teachers in community-based settings. Funded by NSF AISL and ITEST programs, the study is comprised of three goals: supporting preservice and in-service teachers’ practices of culturally-sustaining STEM pedagogy, enhancing pre-adolescent learners’ knowledge of historical and current STEM practices in Gullah Geechee culture, inviting dialogue that critique and challenge perceptions of who participates in STEM agency and how through a Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) model. A primary component of the study was a pilot summer 2021 STEM camp for fifth and sixth grade students in Georgetown, SC, located within the geographical footprint of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. The multi-PI team utilizes constant comparative analytic methods to analyze transcripts from observations and interviews, as well as the educators’ products to measure how the educators understand and apply culturally sustaining pedagogies (e.g., lesson plans). They also measure how the youth convey their understandings of culturally-embedded scientific content and practices by using constant comparative and multimodal analysis of transcripts from interviews and observations, as well as youth-generated artifacts. This research addresses why CS-STEM is important, development and enactment of CS-STEM curriculum, and how CS-STEM increases STEM literacy. 

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