The Association for Computing Machinery requests funding for a series of workshops for high school teachers from who are interested in placing and teaching Exploring Computer Science (ECS) in their schools. ECS is an entry-level, high-school computing course-developed for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) that introduces students to the foundational, creative, interdisciplinary, and problem-solving nature of computer science. These workshops will expand the professional development opportunities for ECS beyond LAUSD. They will form a model for use in the next few years as ECS and the larger CS 10K Project, begin to scale for national impact. The PI was one of the developers of ECS and the workshops will be organized and run by the Computer Science Teacher's Association (CSTA).
Improving STEM education and guaranteeing equal access to quality education for all students is one of our country’s most pressing challenges. Teachers sit at the crux of this national challenge. In particular, teachers can serve as powerful advocates for broadening participation in computing, but they must have extensive content knowledge, greater understanding of the issues of under-representation, and use of pedagogy that successfully engages traditionally underrepresented students with computer science. Exploring Computer Science (ECS) has filled a long-standing gap in high school computer science curriculum, engaging pedagogy, and a focus on equity. It brings the critical thinking and problem-solving that is at the heart of computer science into schools that usually offer only the basic low-level rudimentary computer literacy skills. ECS is a curriculum designed to democratize computer science knowledge, to be socially relevant and meaningful for a diverse community of students. The curriculum engages students in projects that allow them to apply their emerging computing knowledge to real-world problems. The ECS curriculum has been made available for national distribution. Currently, computer science is not a core academic subject in secondary schools, most states have no standards in computer science, and most states have no certification requirements for computer science teachers. In order for wide-scale implementation of courses such as ECS to occur, these issues need to be addressed at the state and national level so that local districts will see the importance of including computer science courses in their curriculum. This project has been the catalyst for bridging the gap between availability of the curriculum and implementation of that curriculum in districts outside of Los Angeles. The professional development and collaboration opportunities provided to teachers through this grant have laid a foundation for wide-scale implementation. The impact of the workshops on teaching practice, as reported by the teacher participants, related to levels of support, organization, and familiarity with the curriculum; the acquisition and use of specific teaching strategies; the access to resources and materials; and opportunities to reflect on presentation and instruction. The professional development events created a network of teacher leaders who can work within their local context for change and be a support for other teachers nationally. Impact is more possible when a community of teacher leaders is formed locally, a community that engages in professional development together, reflection on their practice, and also become the local advocates for increased access and broadening participation in computing. Our findings point to the recognition that broadening the participation in computing is a local, state, and national problem that must be addressed on multiple levels. It is not enough to provide individual teachers with the professional development needed for effective teaching of ECS or other computer science courses. Infrastructure issues related to policy and best district practices need to be documented and implemented. As an attempt to address the systemic issues, research was conducted related to the status of computer science education in California and a report based on this research, In Need of Repair: The State of K-12 Computer Science Education in California, was written This document provides the necessary information to guide the efforts of the California Computer Science Education Advocacy Network. The In Need of Repair report can also serve as a model for other states that are interested in doing similar research related to the status of computer science education in their state. All of the science and engineering disciplines have suffered from isolation, lack of knowledge about how to make the fields engaging, meaningful, and successful for a diverse student body. What we have learned about the need for systemic change in states and school districts in order for individual teachers to be successful in changing teaching practices to provide a broader equity focus can be transferred to these other disciplines.
