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1. 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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2. 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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3. Creating the Conditions to Transform Access and Equity in Computer Science Education

   Flapan, J; Hadad, R; Goins, R; Koshy, S; Ryoo, JJ; Nazario, P (April 2024, American Educational Research Association)

   Computer Science for California (CSforCA) is a coalition of educators, industry leaders, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions advocating for high-quality computer science education, with an emphasis on girls, low-income students, and students of color. Seasons of CS is CSforCA’s year-round professional learning experience that aims to provide educators across the state of California access to quality training in computer science (CS) education that is standards aligned and culturally responsive. In order to (1) expand access to high quality computer science education throughout the state and (2) ensure that access is equitable, scalable and sustainable in the long-term, we concentrate on building the capacity of not just classroom teachers, but also school leaders, and counselors. Seasons of CS builds upon existing professional learning models across the country to increase access and broaden participation in computing (Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2022; Karlin et al., 2023; Yadav et al., 2021; Wachen et al., 2021; Goode et al., 2020) The CAPE Framework helps ground Seasons of CS’s comprehensive collective impact approach to systemic change through sharing data-driven practices that address equity-minded practices to broaden participation. For instance, in partnership with the Kapor Center, CSforCA has developed and implemented a data tool to identify and respond to local and statewide equity gaps in access to computer science education. It is through these data-driven practices that we can hold ourselves - and the state- accountable for increasing access to CS. Furthermore, an ongoing examination of local and statewide data helps our stakeholder groups determine whether our strategies are meeting their intended outcomes, instead of continuing, or worse, exacerbating existing inequities. Since increasing access to ongoing professional learning for teachers is a priority tactic to increasing access of CS education for students, we want to better understand the following: Does increased professional learning opportunities for teachers equip them to reduce barriers to increase access and engagement for students? Does increased professional learning opportunities for teachers equip them to reduce barriers to increased access and engagement for students of color in particular? In order to answer these questions, we developed a study that derives data from the CSforCA data tool, as well as interviews from 70 of the 700 participating educators six months after their summer professional learning experience. In these interviews, we asked participants about barriers to implementing the professional learning they participated in. Preliminary data demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the outcomes of this large-scale professional learning program and explores the degree to which professional learning increases access to computer science among Black, Brown, and Indigenous students. In addition, we provide analyses that demonstrate the limitations of data tools, which have grown in popularity, to demonstrate overall access to -and engagement in- CS education, uncovering where and how CS education is prospering. 

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4. Supporting and Sustaining Equitable STEAM Activities in High School Classrooms: Understanding Computer Science Teachers’ Needs and Practices When Implementing an E-Textiles Curriculum to Forge Connections across Communities

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118468  

   Fields, Deborah; Kafai, Yasmin (June 2023, Sustainability)

   While the last two decades have seen an increased interest in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) in K-12 schools, few efforts have focused on the teachers and teaching practices necessary to support these interventions. Even fewer have considered the important work that teachers carry out not just inside classrooms but beyond the classroom walls to sustain such STEAM implementation efforts, from interacting with administrators to recruiting students and persuading parents about the importance of arts and computer science. In order to understand teachers’ needs and practices regarding STEAM implementation, in this paper, we focus on eight experienced computer science teachers’ reflections on implementing a STEAM unit using electronic textiles, which combine crafting, circuit design, and coding so as to make wearable artifacts. We use a broad lens to examine the practices high school teachers employed not only in their classrooms but also in their schools and communities to keep these equitable learning opportunities going, from communicating with other teachers and admins to building a computer science (CS) teacher community across district and state lines. We also analyzed these reflections to understand teachers’ own social and emotional needs—needs important to staying in the field of CS education—better, as they are relevant to engaging with learning new content, applying new pedagogical skills, and obtaining materials and endorsements from their organizations to bring STEAM into their classrooms. In the discussion, we contemplate what teachers’ reported practices and needs say about supporting and sustaining equitable STEAM in classrooms. 

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5. Preparing Special Education Preservice Teachers to Teach Computational Thinking and Computer Science in Mathematics

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406421992376  

   Bouck, Emily_C; Sands, Phil; Long, Holly; Yadav, Aman (February 2021, Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children)

   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. 

   more » « less