This award renews an exemplary Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Site at the University of Southern California (USC). The USC Viterbi School of Engineering has partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to develop an integrated engineering and computer science RET Site targeting middle school science and math educators. The resulting program is a collaborative research-based professional development effort that combines the computer science, engineering, technological, and pedagogical expertise of USC faculty with inner-city teachers in 6th- thru 8th-grade science and math classrooms in the LAUSD. The primary goals of the program are to: (1) increase teachers' knowledge of computationally-focused science and engineering technologies; (2) increase middle school teachers' disciplinary pedagogic competence in computer science, engineering, and applied math through a comprehensive program that includes targeted lab-based research experiences focused on computer science and engineering aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Math Standards, and advanced lesson study; and (3) build and maintain long-term collaborative partnerships between LAUSD middle school teachers and the research community that positively impact student achievement and career paths.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in the strong research foundation at the core of the RET Site combined with a leadership team that excels at both research and educational outreach. This RET Site is focused on innovative, societally relevant computer science and engineering research and brings this research to high-need middle school science and math teachers using lesson-study focused professional development approaches. The goal is to facilitate team teaching between math and science teachers to integrate their subject areas with engineering and computer science problem solving aligned with the Next Generation Science and the Common Core Math standards. This project effectively translates research into educational practice and provides exemplary models for weaving computing and engineering concepts into K-12 education.
The RET Site program has significant broader impacts. It will result in innovative curricula that not only address new curriculum standards, but also address an area of significant need in middle school content. It will provide video-based middle school lesson exemplars and units of study for teachers nationwide to use in their classrooms. The LAUSD, the second largest public school district in the United States, has a significant population of students from under-represented groups. Thus this project has the potential to have a positive influence on many students who are traditionally under-represented as computer scientists and engineers.
