Integrating computational thinking (CT) in the science classroom presents the opportunity to simultaneously broaden participation in computing, enhance science content learning, and engage students in authentic scientific practice. However, there is a lot more to learn on how teachers might integrate CT activities within their existing curricula. In this work, we describe a process of co-design with researchers and teachers to develop CT-infused science curricula. Specifically, we present a case study of one veteran physics teacher whose conception of CT during a professional development institute changed over time. We use this case study to explore how CT is perceived in physics instruction, a field that has a long history of computational learning opportunities. We also discuss how a co-design process led to the development of a lens through which to identify fruitful opportunities to integrate CT activities in physics curricula which we term computational transparency–purposefully revealing the inner workings of computational tools that students already use in the classroom.
more »
« less
How do you eat an elephant? How problem solving informs computational instruction in high school physics
Science educators agree that computation is a growing necessity for curricula at many levels. One program looking to bring computation into high school classes is ICSAM (Integrating Computation in Science Across Michigan), an NSF-funded program at Michigan State University. ICSAM is a year-round program that brings a community of teachers together to help them equitably add computation into their physics curricula. While in the ICSAM program, data is collected from participating teachers through interviews, surveys, classroom videos, and more. In this paper, we examine a case study of a very active participant who fits the mold of a typical high school physics teacher. We utilize the lenses of critical pedagogical discourses and contextual discourses to explore the decision-making behind the adoption of various resources by this teacher during their time with ICSAM. The ways in which this teacher integrated computation in their classroom, along with the nuanced challenges that they faced, may be able to help inform other teachers, professional development providers, and curriculum development of the nature of implementing computation into high school curricula. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (DRL-1741575) and Michigan State University's Lappan-Philips Foundation.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1741575
- PAR ID:
- 10439265
- Editor(s):
- Frank, Brian W.; Jones, Dyan; Ryan, Qing X.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 494 to 499
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Through the semester-long engineering curricula, middle school students complete a series of contextualized challenges that integrate foundational mathematics and science, introduce advanced manufacturing tools (CAD, 3-D printing), and engage students in the engineering design process. Funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) DRK12 grant, our project is in the process of scaling the curricula in a large urban school district. Over the previous two years, the project has enlisted two cohorts of engineering teachers to implement the curricula in nine middle schools. In addition to understanding whether and how the critical components of the curricula are implemented in diverse school settings, our research team’s fidelity of implementation research investigates contextual factors that help explain why teachers and students engaged with the curricula the way they do. For this line of inquiry, we draw upon the Factor Framework (Century and Cassata, 2014; Century et al. 2012), which provides a comprehensive set of potential factors known to influence implementation of educational innovations. The framework organizes these implementation factors into five categories: characteristics of the innovation, characteristics of individual users, characteristics of the organization, elements of the environment, and networks. After consulting this framework to identify potential factors likely to influence the implementation, we analyzed teacher interview and classroom observation data collected over the course of three semesters of implementation to describe the degree to which various contextual factors either facilitated or limited implementation. Our data indicate three categories of factors influencing implementation: characteristics of the curriculum, characteristics of users (teachers and students), and characteristics of organizations (district, schools). Characteristics of the curriculum that facilitated implementation included features of the curricula and professional development including the perceived effectiveness of the curricula, the adaptability of the curricula, and the degree to which professional learning sessions provided adequate preparation for implementation. Characteristics of teachers identified as facilitating implementation included pedagogical content knowledge, self-efficacy, resourcefulness, and organizational and time management skills. Teachers reported that student interest in the curriculum challenges and STEM, more generally, was another facilitating factor whereas, to varying degrees, disruptive student behavior and students’ lack of foundational mathematics skills were reported as limiting factors. Teachers highlighted specific technological challenges, such as software licensing issues, as limiting factors. Otherwise, we found that teachers generally had sufficient resources to implement the curricula including adequate physical space, technological tools, and supplies. Across teachers and schools, we found that, overall, supportive school and district leadership facilitated implementation. In spite of an overall high level of support in participating schools, we did identify school and district policies with implications for implementation including school-wide scheduling and disciplinary policies that limited instructional time, policies for assigning and moving students among elective courses, and district-wide expectations for assessment and teaching certain additional engineering activities. We believe the findings of this study will be of interest to other researchers and practitioners exploring how engineering education innovations unfold in diverse classrooms and the array of factors that may account for variations in implementation patterns.more » « less
-
Teachers’ lack of computer science (CS) content knowledge and limited opportunities to incorporate CS in existing curricula pose unique challenges at the elementary level. Despite the crucial role of professional development (PD) in preparing elementary school teachers to integrate CS in classroom instruction, there is little research documenting PD programs that focus on integration in literacy and mathematics when compared to other subject areas. In this work, we present a PD program that integrates CS with disciplinary content to support teachers as they integrate CS with literacy and mathematics in elementary school classrooms. Using data from multiple sources, we present findings from two case studies to examine the impact of the PD on teachers’ integration of CS with content in lesson planning and implementation. Findings have implications related to the integration of CS in elementary school and teacher professional development.more » « less
-
With the increased attention on integrating computer science concepts into K-12 curricula, there has been a growing investment into professional development opportunities that prepare teachers to teach computer science principles. Yet, little research exists on design features of professional development that help teachers gain the computer science content, skills and teaching pedagogy that ultimately make an impact on student learning and participation in the classroom. In this work we present a professional development model for helping K-12 teachers integrate computer science principles across the curriculum in a variety of content areas. We subsequently investigate the ways in which the design features of the model promoted teacher learning of computer science content and pedagogy.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Background Integration of engineering into middle school science and mathematics classrooms is a key aspect of STEM integration. However, successful pedagogies for teachers to use engineering talk in their classrooms are not fully understood.
Purpose/Hypothesis This study aims to address this need with the research question: How does a middle school life science teacher use engineering talk during an engineering design‐based STEM integration unit?
Design/Method This case study examined the talk of a teacher whose students demonstrated high levels of learning in science and engineering throughout a three‐year professional development program. Transcripts of whole‐class verbal interactions for 18 class periods in the life science‐based STEM integration unit were analyzed using a theoretical framework based on the Framework for Quality K‐12 Engineering Education.
Results The teacher used talk to integrate engineering in a variety of ways, skillfully weaving engineering throughout the unit. He framed lessons around problem scoping, incorporated engineering ideas into scientific verbal interactions, and aligned individual lessons and the overall unit with the engineering design process. He stayed true to the context of the engineering challenge and treated the students as young engineers.
Conclusions This teacher's talk helped to integrate engineering with the science and mathematics content of the unit and modeled the practices of informed designers to help students learn engineering in the context of their science classroom. These findings have the potential to improve how educators and curricula developers utilize engineering teacher talk to support STEM integration.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Willison
