The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) proposes a project to strengthen and expand access to computer science (CS) education in U.S. high schools. The project will leverage the Thriving in Our Digital World curriculum, the successful UTeach model for STEM teacher preparation, the unique expertise of the UTeach Institute (the organization charged with ensuring the fidelity of national UTeach implementation and the expansion and the sustainability of related STEM education innovations), and a national network, facilitated by the UTeach Institute, of 44 UTeach partner programs at universities across 21 states and the District of Columbia. The project will develop and scale professional development (PD) that prepares teachers for the new AP® CS Principles course as it becomes officially available in the fall of 2016.
The project has four major goals: (1) to develop and integrate CS content and activities into the national UTeach curriculum for pre-service STEM teachers; (2) to facilitate a collaborative dialogue to support the development and strengthening of pathways for CS teacher licensure and secondary instruction in the 21 states and District of Columbia that partner with the UTeach Institute; (3) to develop and pilot in-person and online PD programs to scale high quality training to a diverse corps of teachers preparing to offer the Thriving in Our Digital World curriculum based on the AP CS Principles framework; and (4) to recruit and support 300 teachers. The three-year phased project timeline aligns with the rollout of the new AP CS Principles exam, and it will prepare roughly 6,000 students in Grades 10 through 12 to take the exam. In addition, by leveraging the expertise of the UTeach Institute to scale and sustain STEM teacher preparation and PD initiatives, all project components will be fully institutionalized and sustained through a fee structure by the end of the grant period.
