An official website of the United States government
With a rise in technology, the demand for computer science (CS) education is increasing in K-12 schools, yet access is inequitable. This research brings together teachers and students participating in a secondary school CS program in the Milwaukee Public School District through an initiative to ensure all students have access to equitable, meaningful, rigorous, and relevant inquiry-based CS education. Utilizing a qualitative approach and grounded theory, this study investigated student-teacher relationships in computer science program participation and what factors from these relationships contribute to marginalized students continuing in an early Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) K-12 pathway. Findings suggest teachers served a dynamic role as agents of professional orientation central to how students a) experienced CS learning and b) how students perceived the field they were attempting to enter (development of a CS identity). Moreover, these teachers oriented students into an industry with a history of marginalization.
more »
« less
CATCHing CS Equity: Counselors, Administrators, and Teachers Collaborating Holistically
Improving equity in K-12 Computer Science (CS) education benefits from the collaboration of classroom teachers, school counselors, and school leaders. This paper presents the outcomes of a pilot program that brought together cross-functional teams consisting of CS teachers, school counselors, and administrators. Over the course of a year, these teams attended monthly, equity-focused workshops, leveraging pre-existing materials from affordable, high-quality, research based programs. The use of these resources demonstrated benefits of sequencing and synthesizing existing programs. Evidence from surveys and interviews shows that the workshops promoted learning and fostered collaboration between the cross-functional teams that would not have happened otherwise. Participants were motivated by the program, and they generated ideas that turned into actionable projects to promote CS education equity in their schools. While the initiative was well received, areas for improvement were identified, particularly, in school recruitment, workshop structure, and evaluation. This pilot initiative demonstrates that equity-centered programs comprised of cross-functional teams can help achieve systemic improvement of CS education equity
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2219365
- PAR ID:
- 10539199
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (SIGCSE 2024)
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 972-978
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Computer Science Education, Equity, cross-functional teams, Teachers, Counselors, Administrator
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
This paper describes a four-year research practice partnership (RPP) dedicated to building capacity to scale and sustain equitable computer science education across the state of California, USA. The acronym of the RPP–SCALE: Supporting Computing Access and Leadership Equity in California–is also the same acronym that describes the five elements of our healthy research practice partnership: Shared Leadership, Collaboration, Application to Practice, Learning is Ongoing, and Equity-Focused. In response to the lack of supports for school leaders to implement equity-centered computer science education, this partnership brings together 17 local education agencies (including public school districts and county offices of education) and educational researchers to understand how to increase leadership capacity that supports meaningful computing learning opportunities for individuals most underrepresented in the field (e.g., Black, Brown, Indigenous, low-income, and female students). Through mixed methods research methodologies, this paper surfaces details about best practices for creating and sustaining RPPs, as well as the positive impacts of the SCALE RPP’s activities on partners (e.g., the “CS Equity Guide” and associated professional development workshop for school leaders, Summer of CS initiative, etc.) that were created in response to the partnership’s shared goals and interests.more » « less
-
As the number of secondary CS teachers increases to meet the burgeoning course offerings in the U.S., teachers new to the discipline need additional supports beyond one-time workshops focused on particular curricula. To address this need, we implemented a year-long, equity-focused peer mentoring program with twenty-six teachers across one state. Participants met twice monthly to identify and work towards three goals related to the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers. Pilot data suggest that mentees increased in their teaching confidence but needed additional support to apply their learnings in their classrooms. We also identified several ways that our application process hampered our broadening participation goals by making it difficult for teachers working with rural, minoritized or low-income students to participate. In this poster, we will share lessons learned from our pilot and emerging findings from our second year of implementation.more » « less
-
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.more » « less
-
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.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- The DOI is not currently available.
