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Problem. As school districts develop K-12 computer science pathways, they seek guidance and examples from other districts with established pathways. Research Question. Our research question for this project was: How have K-12 school districts in a Midwest state built and implemented a K-12 CS pathway? Methodology. We conducted virtual interviews with 15 representatives from 11 Midwest school districts on developing CS pathways, using a semi-structured protocol and thematic analysis. Findings. CS pathways are often initiated by champions, frequently beginning in high school and progressing to elementary then middle school. CS teachers find it challenging to meet, a variety of funding sources are used, and equity often focuses on student enrollment. Implications. Many school districts need to create CS pathways while others continue to build and refine their pathways; many of whom desire support in that process. The findings can be used by districts, support organizations and policymakers to inform the development of CS pathways. 

This paper will share the development and refinement of a coaching program for high school computer science teachers focused on equity. Two midwest organizations developed coach professional development, selected teachers (coachees), and facilitated a coaching program during the academic year. Two cohorts of the coaching program, serving 20 coaches and 30 coachees, were offered over the course of two and a half years. Working as a researcher-practitioner partnership, the organizations used evaluation and research data to inform improvements during the program offerings and between the first and second cohort. The paper will describe the coaching professional development content and format, the coach professional learning community and activities, and the coach-coachee meetings and other supports and changes made. 

Problem. With many teachers in the United States just starting to learn how to teach computer science (CS), many do not have others nearby with CS teaching experience to provide support on CS practices and concepts. To address this gap, we piloted a one-year remote coaching program designed to provide that missing individualized support to teachers. Research Question. Our research question for this project was: How does teachers’ ability to apply CS practices and knowledge of CS concepts change after the coaching process? Methodology. Our mixed-methods study leveraged three primary forms of data from teachers who were coached (coachees) and teachers providing coaching (coaches): pre- and post-surveys, coaching logs, and self-reflection checklists. Findings. CS coachees’ reported CS knowledge and skills and their ability to apply CS practices related to Standard 1 were significantly higher after the coaching intervention. Implications. As more teachers continue to learn how to teach CS and hone their skills and practices, engaging these teachers in coaching can be powerful in improving their student’s learning. Professional development providers and regional education agencies (districts and schools) could leverage the processes formed through this intervention (which is based on professional development practices with solid evidence for positive impacts) to provide similar coaching to teachers just learning how to teach CS. 

Problem. Currently, state- and district-level policies in the United States call for teachers to be qualified to teach computing in K-12 classrooms. Recognizing that equity-focused practices are key to reaching all students in computing and leveraging a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP), we piloted an intervention designed to provide one-on-one coaching to teachers. Research Question. Our research questions for this project were: 1) What impact does CS coaching have on teacher capacity to implement equitable teaching practices? and 2) What, if any, changes to teacher practice are sustained during and after the CS coaching process? Methodology. Our mixed-methods study leveraged three primary forms of data from teachers who were coached (coachees) and teachers providing coaching (coaches). These included pre- and post-surveys, coaching logs, and self-reflection checklists. Findings. Participants reported use of high-impact instructional design and classroom practices increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention. Their abilities to discuss topics of identity and plan activities that use evidence-based, CS-specific teaching strategies saw the most dramatic increase from pre- to post-intervention. Implications. Coaching may be an impactful way to develop teacher’s use of equitable teaching practices. 

Within K-12 computing education, the building blocks that contribute to student success and equitable outcomes are broadly captured in the CAPE framework (i.e., capacity, access, participation, experience). However, these broad com- ponents provide limited detail on the important factors that can support academic achievement, particularly within each component. Our research question for this study was: What are factors comprising each component of CAPE that support academic achievement among K-12 CS students?To answer this question, we first created an a priori set of factors based on previous research findings that have been found to contribute to academic achievement. After organizing these factors within each CAPE component, we conducted a systematic mapping review of K-12 CS education research (2019-2021) (n = 196) from publicly available peer-reviewed articles from the K-12 CS Education Research Resource Center. Through this mapping, we identified an additional set of factors that have been studied by CS education researchers and added these to our set of factors. More importantly, we found that capacity was the component investigated the most frequently and access was the least. There are many areas (or categories) within each component that remain unstudied (i.e., dual credit offerings, career guidance), even though they play a role in computing education. The expanded CAPE framework is now publicly available and can be used to inform researchers and practitioners about what each CAPE component comprises. These factors are accompanied by descriptions of each factor. Not only does it highlight the many factors to be considered when designing and delivering computing education to K-12 students, it also provides a solid framework for future research that synthesizes or analyzes homogeneous factors or explores how various factors may be correlated. 

Tangential to the efforts to bring computer science (CS) into K-12 education, there has been increasing recognition of the critical role of data science (DS) in preparing future citizens to be able to gather, analyze, and represent data. With only 51% of K-12 schools offering CS, however, and the critical need for students to engage in DS practices, there is the need to examine ways to integrate DS in other subjects. Our study explores the current landscape of DS in methods and content courses within preservice teacher pathways. This poster outlines a study in its preliminary stages that explores how faculty teaching math, science, and social studies methods and content courses in colleges of education: a) define DS, b) conceptualize DS as related to their course content, c) make connections between DS, CS, and/or computational thinking (CT). Taking a participatory design approach, this study will also explore research-based approaches to building the capacity of preservice faculty in DS to advance the practice of teaching CS in a scalable way to expand access in equitable ways to CS and CT.