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The CS education community has over the years recognized the importance of data science by including it in the seminal K-12 CS Framework. The move is prompted by research that shows data science is a great tool to broaden participation in CS because it offers students an opportunity to apply their computing knowledge to socially relevant problems. Broadening participation, particularly among underrepresented students, is critical to the future health and stability of the field. However, data science is still a relatively new in the context of K-12 schools and few CS teachers are pedagogically trained in data science. In order to test whether or not data science can be a tool to increase student representation in CS and help schools implement more data science curriculum, our project partnered with a local school district to modify an existing data science unit. This work explores the process of how our research practice partnership tackled the development of the new data science unit. 

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. 

Abstract Stable isotopes of oxygen (δ¹⁸O) in seawater reflect the combined influences of ocean circulation and atmospheric moisture balance. However, it is difficult to disentangle disparate ocean and atmosphere influences on modern seawater δ¹⁸O values, partly because continuous time series of seawater δ¹⁸O are rare. Here we present a nearly nine‐year, continuous record of seawater δ¹⁸O values from the Galápagos. Seawater δ¹⁸O values faithfully track sea surface salinity and salinity along the equator at 50 m depth. Zonal current velocity within the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), directly west of the Galápagos, is strongly correlated with Galápagos surface seawater δ¹⁸O values with a 1‐month lag. Reconstructions of Galápagos seawater δ¹⁸O values could thus provide a window into past variations in the strength of the EUC, an important influence on large‐scale tropical Pacific climate.