| NSF Org: |
CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 2, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 10, 2023 |
| Award Number: | 2031361 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jeffrey Forbes
jforbes@nsf.gov (703)292-5301 CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $258,161.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $258,161.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1200 KENWOOD AVE DULUTH MN US 55811-4199 (218)723-6072 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1200 Kenwood Avenue Duluth MN US 55811-4199 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | CISE Education and Workforce |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.070 |
ABSTRACT
The College of St. Scholastica and Elms College will lead a small, High School Strand Research-Practitioner Partnership (RPP) to investigate how to best prepare and support teachers who are new to CS as they transition from teaching the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) course to AP CSA Java course. Rising demand for high school AP computer science (CS) courses, initially for CS Principles and now for CSA, has highlighted a need for more teachers to be trained in the more advanced CSA course. However, this task is challenging because CSA has a steeper learning curve as, unlike blocks-based programming environments, the text-based nature of Java introduces syntax errors and another layer of complexity in writing and debugging programs. Well-designed differentiated professional development (PD) is necessary to meet individual teachers at their level and successfully build their skills and confidence to teach CSA. The RPP consists of researchers who are College Board endorsed providers of the CSAwesome AP CSA curriculum and professional development (PD), and practitioners who are AP CSA master teachers who are leading differentiated CSAwesome pilot PD. The RPP team will use a design-based implementation research (DBIR) RPP model utilizing an iterative approach to refine the CSAwesome curriculum and professional development to meet the needs of teachers transitioning from AP CSP to CSA. The RPP?s goal is to Increase the number of trained teachers (60 over 2 years) who can teach AP CSA and their ability to recruit and support diverse students in order to broaden participation in advanced CS courses.
CSAwesome will utilize design-based implementation research in a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP) to refine curriculum and PD to support the transition from CSP to CSA for both teachers and students. The goals for this project include 1) establishing a sustainable RPP community of researchers and practitioners focused on supporting the transition of new to CS teachers from CSP to CSA, 2) developing and implementing differentiated PD that includes equity-based pedagogical content knowledge for 60 teachers transitioning from teaching CSP to CSA, and 3) improving the CSAwesome AP CSA curriculum and teacher resources to support the transition from CSP to CSA using a co-design approach with practitioners and researchers. The project will study to what extent the differentiated PD and curriculum support teachers in gaining the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge to teach AP CSA and, in particular, support the needs of low-income and female students in computing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The College of St. Scholastica and Elms College created a Researcher-Practitioner Partnership (RPP) to improve the CSAwesome AP CSA curriculum and professional development (PD) in order to support teachers who are new to CS as they transition from teaching the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) course to AP CSA Java course. The RPP trained 35 teachers, increasing the number of trained teachers who can teach AP CSA and their ability to support diverse students in order to broaden participation in advanced CS courses. The RPP conducted interviews, surveys, and content and pedagogical content knowledge assessments to evaluate and iteratively improve their work.
Our overarching research question is: How does the CSAwesome PD meet the needs of CSP to CSA teachers to prepare them to teach CS A, especially to low-SES and female students? Specifically, what changes, if any, do teachers transitioning from CSP to CSA experience in: Content Knowledge (CK), Curriculum Knowledge (CurrK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Attitudes and Confidence after participating in the CSAwesome PD. The teachers participating in the PD showed significant improvements in their Java content knowledge and effectiveness in teaching CSA. Their students reported increased self-ratings of programming knowledge and interest in CS in post-course surveys. As a result of this project, 35 teachers have provided AP CSA to 276 students in 34 schools which were 82% public schools and 32% Title 1 schools with a high percentage of students from low income families.
The RPP focused on inclusive teaching practices and curriculum design to support the needs of students with low socio-economic status and female students. The CSAwesome curriculum and professional development were updated to include more connections to community, strategies to support low-SES instruction, and peer instruction. They contributed to an educator resource website https://www.inclusivecsteaching.org that will continue to provide valuable strategies to engage and support diverse students. The CSAwesome curriculum and teacher resources are freely available at http://csawesome.org. As of 2023, CSAwesome has been used by more than 150,000 students and over 3,000 teachers.
Last Modified: 10/06/2023
Modified by: Jennifer L Rosato
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