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1. THE QUANTUM FOR ALL PROJECT: STUDENT LEARNING IN THE SUMMER CAMPS

   https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2024.1425  

   Matsler, Karen; Lopez, Ramon (July 2024, IATED)

   Quantum information science (QIS) undergirds a set of critical technologies that will affect information security, smart phones, computers, and other widely used technology. There is a broad need to develop a "quantum smart" workforce in addition to traditional STEM fields, and this development needs to occur in precollege education. The US National Science Foundation has funded the Quantum for All project to provide professional development opportunities for STEM educators to learn about QIS and how to implement it in the classroom. The teacher professional development is tied to summer camp experience for students during which the teachers can test their delivery of the material with students in the summer camp. In this paper we will discuss the outcomes for students in the summer camp for the various content areas presented and relate that back to results of research on teachers and their performance in the professional development experience. 

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2. THE QUANTUM FOR ALL PROJECT: TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE

   https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2024.1424  

   Lopez, Ramon; Matsler, Karen (July 2024, IATED)

   Quantum information science (QIS) is critical to the future of economic and national security, commerce, and technology). There is a broad need to develop a "quantum smart" workforce with some on critical topics, such as quantum concepts that are relevant to everyday experiences in information security, smart phones, computers, and other widely used technology. The Quantum for All project, funded by the US National Science Foundation, provides opportunities for students to learn about various aspects of quantum science by providing professional development for STEM educators to learn and practice QIS. We utilize a trainer of trainer approach. In this paper we will discuss the content areas and provide an outline of the professional development model. We will also examine growth in teacher content knowledge and their confidence in that content knowledge. Our preliminary results are that the workshops are effective in raising both metrics as measured by pre- and post-surveys, however, there are differences between the content areas. We will examine these differences and provide possible reasons for the results. 

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3. THE QUANTUM FOR ALL PROJECT: TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL

   https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2023.0919  

   Matsler, Karen; Lopez, Ramon (July 2023, https://library.iated.org/)

   Quantum information science (QIS) is of growing importance to economic and national security, commerce, and technology. The development of a "quantum smart" workforce needs to begin before college since most students will not major in physics. Thus, it is vital to expose K-12 students to quantum concepts that are relevant to everyday experiences with credit card security, phones, computers, and basic technology and to prepare teachers to teach this content. The logical venue for exposure to basic ideas in quantum science might be a high school physics course, or even a physical science course if a full physics course is not offered. Professional development (PD) for educators typically includes 1-2 weeks of intensive instruction, usually in the summer. Teachers are then expected to remember what they learned and implement it several months after the PD. The model is based on prior research indicating that an educator needs a minimum of 80 hours of PD to become comfortable enough to implement the new instruction in their classroom. However, little research has been done as to how much they actually implement. For the past three years, we have been engaged in a project funded by the US National Science Foundation to build mechanisms (materials and PD strategies) for educating a quantum-ready workforce. Our PD model is based on pedagogical techniques used in classrooms, specifically the components of learn then practice in order to avoid cognitive overload. Instruction is more effective when the learners (teachers or students) are given opportunities to actively engage in the learning process through interaction/collaboration with peers, exploring challenges, and practicing what they have learned. This paper will share the logistics of our new PD new model, challenges, finding from our current research, and implications for future PD in K-16. 

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4. How an intensive summer course shapes practices in the classroom: Preservice teachers differentiating science content for multilingual students

   Vazquez_Dominguez, Max (February 2024, Conference of the Americas)

   Baldwin, Amy; Danns, Donna; Howe, Chad (Ed.)

   In this presentation, we will analyze and explain how three university faculty designed an intensive 12-day science methods course for preservice teachers to learn about science. The course, which is part of the Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies in Science for English Language Learners project funded by the National Science Foundation, is focused on differentiating science and engineering content for emerging bilingual students (English/Spanish). After the course, teacher educators then implement this content with 4th - 8th grade students in the STEM Summer Scholars Institute, a 15-day academic enrichment program for emerging bilingual students. Not only will we explain how this differentiation toolkit is helping preservice teachers to build more inclusive and supporting environments in science in their current practice, but we also explore how other content, such asco-teaching models and science and engineering methodologies, shaped their teaching skills. The differentiation toolkit consists of the use of technology, hands-on materials, and multimodalities, and we examine how the preservice teacher-students interactions are structured following a culturally and linguistically relevant methodology for the classroom. Project faculty and teacher educators will discuss our experiences in implementing these methodologies (science and culturally and linguistically relevant practices) including areas of growth. 

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5. Back to Computational Transparency: Co-designing with Teachers to Integrate Computational Thinking in Science Classrooms

   Bain, Connor; Anton, Gabriella; Horn, Michael; Wilensky, Uri (June 2020, International Conference of the Learning Sciences)

   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. 

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