Computer science is elementary: Comprehensive plan for computer science implementation at the elementary level

Teaching students computer science in the classroom can have many benefits. Several students in today\u27s education system will go into career fields that do not yet exist and the skills taught through computer science can prepare them for the future. This project outlines the steps for planning a computer science initiative at the elementary level. A literature review examining the effect of teaching computer science on student achievement at the elementary level is used to support an award proposal for funding a high quality computer science curriculum in a rural, underserved district. This project can serve as a model for other schools interested in pursuing a computer science curriculum. Action research could be pursued through this project that could benefit the field of computer science research. Further research is recommended on the effects of a computer science education at the elementary level

Coding in the Classroom

The 21st century has been characterized by rapid growth in technology and computer science. With this shift, computer science curricula have not always been introduced in the classroom at a similar pace (Yadav, Hong, & Stephenson, 2016). With the overwhelming amount of curriculum that needs to be taught and lack of resources at the district level, adding non-required curricula such as computer science and coding to the schedule can be difficult. There simply is not enough time in the day to teach it all. This project bridges the gap between computer science curriculum and the classroom, by showing how it overlaps with the Oregon Common Core State Standards. I have created a unit that teaches coding to fifth graders. It includes specific learning objectives aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. These lessons teach coding using a scaffolded approach based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. This project provides teachers with a small unit for their fifth-grade class that will teach coding and that aligns with the standards that are required to be taught, which brings the computer science and elementary mathematics education worlds together. The existing resources to teach coding lack alignment to Oregon Common Core State Standards, so the goal of this project was to add alignment in order to make teaching computer science curriculum accessible for the classroom teacher

Computer Programming Effects in Elementary: Perceptions and Career Aspirations in STEM

The development of elementary-aged students’ STEM and computer science (CS) literacy is critical in this evolving technological landscape, thus, promoting success for college, career, and STEM/CS professional paths. Research has suggested that elementary- aged students need developmentally appropriate STEM integrated opportunities in the classroom; however, little is known about the potential impact of CS programming and how these opportunities engender positive perceptions, foster confidence, and promote perseverance to nurture students’ early career aspirations related to STEM/CS. The main purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine elementary-aged students’ (N = 132) perceptions of STEM, career choices, and effects from pre- to post-test intervention of CS lessons (N = 183) over a three-month period. Findings included positive and significant changes from students’ pre- to post-tests as well as augmented themes from 52 student interviews to represent increased enjoyment of CS lessons, early exposure, and its benefits for learning to future careers

Using Technology to Engage Preservice Elementary Teachers in Learning about Scientific Inquiry

Elementary teachers are often required to teach inquiry in their classrooms despite having had little exposure to inquiry learning themselves. In a capstone undergraduate science course preservice elementary teachers experience scientific inquiry through the completion of group projects, activities, readings and discussion, in order to develop a sense of how inquiry learning takes place. At the same time, they learn science content necessary for teacher licensure. The course exposes students to different pathways of scientific discovery and to the use of the computer both as a tool for conducting inquiry-based investigations and as a means of collecting and sharing student opinions. The students involved have many misconceptions about science and it is often difficult for them to distinguish science from pseudoscience. Computer simulations are used to help students understand that difference. In addition, a classroom response system using “clickers” is used to poll studentopinions on controversial issues and to stimulate discussion

Elementary Teachers’ Verbal Support of Engineering Integration in an Interdisciplinary Project

Despite emphasis on authentic science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM+CS) projects in classrooms, research continues to demonstrate opportunity gaps in learning STEM+CS for students with disabilities. This study investigates how teachers verbally support students in two differently tracked classrooms to engage in engineering lessons that integrate science and computer science. Specifically, this study explores how the same elementary teachers both implicitly and explicitly support students across two classroom contexts, one class section with a larger proportion of students who were tracked into accelerated mathematics and another class section with a larger proportion of students with individualized educational plans (IEPs). Transcripts of whole-class discussion were analyzed for interdisciplinary instructional moves in which teachers verbally supported the integration of disciplines to help students to engage in interdisciplinary activities. Findings reveal that all of the interdisciplinary instructional moves were implicit for the class section with a large proportion of students in advanced mathematics while most were explicit for the class section with students with IEPs, and that most of the interdisciplinary instructional moves were added by the teachers rather than planned in the curriculum materials. Most commonly, teachers added interdisciplinary instructional moves between computer science and engineering. Implications of this study include recommendations for support that teachers need to engage in the important, but challenging, work of integrating science and computer science practices through engineering lessons within elementary science classrooms. This study adds to a growing understanding of equitable learning opportunities in interdisciplinary learning through engineering for elementary students

Creating Epistemologically-Rich Learning Environments: Computer Modeling Tools for Pre-Service Elementary and Middle School Science Teachers

Abstract In this project, we studied elementary and middle school pre-service teacher's use of computer modeling tools to determine how those tools impacted their views of technology, their understanding of scientific epistemology, and their learning of science pedagogy. These student teachers from an undergraduate elementary science methods course at a large university in the Midwest used several computer-modeling tools throughout the semester for their own science learning and teaching. Analysis of classroom conversations, student work, and interviews indicates that student teachers' use of computer-based modeling tools expanded their understanding of the types of software available for science teaching. However, the intervention made only modest impact on student teaches' perceptions of the usefulness of computer modeling tools for enabling learners to develop and refine their scientific theories. Summary Objectiv

An Initial Look into the Computer Science and Cybersecurity Pathways Project for Career and Technical Education Curricula

Computer science and cybersecurity have gained the attention of various stakeholders, industry representatives, educators, parents and students who are thinking about their future careers. Teaching computer science courses has moved into K-12 education, no longer introduced in the college classroom. There are various reasons for this trend. One is that in this way more children have access to the curriculum that integrates computer science principles, not just those undergraduate students in specific STEM majors. Other industries need different levels of computer science and cybersecurity education. There are various programs across the nation that are focusing on introducing these topics as early as elementary school through various outreach programs or even in the regular curriculum. In 2014, Governor Terry McAuliffe (Commonwealth of Virginia) established the “Cyber Virginia and the Virginia Cyber Security Commission” with recommendations that a cybersecurity workforce pipeline should start in K-12 education and that various pathways should be developed and implemented across the Commonwealth. This paper will provide an initial look into a project funded by the Department of Education that is focused on the Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways in Computer Science and Cybersecurity. It is the first year of implementation

Computational Thinking Unplugged: Comparing the Impact on Confidence and Competence from Analog and Digital Resources in Computer Science Professional Development for Elementary Teachers

The demand for computer science instruction is increasing across the K-12 spectrum, but in many cases elementary teachers are ill prepared to teach the subject. Based on prior research showing a preference for analog interfaces, this study compared the impact of analog and digital interface modalities on teachers’ confidence and competence gains in professional development on computational thinking conceived within the framework of cognitive acceleration. The analog group used the Robot Turtles board game and the digital group used the Scratch Jr. app on iPads while receiving the same professional development content. A single-case experimental design approach with a multiple-baseline approach to establish control and appropriate randomization techniques was used to allow for generalization of findings and identification of a functional relationship. Teachers were assessed using the Elementary Teacher Computer Programming Self-Efficacy Scale for confidence and the Computational Thinking Test for competence. The results indicated a significant and higher effect size on confidence for the analog cases as compared to the digital. Visual analysis confirmed these findings and provided emerging support for a functional relationship. Recommendations for modifications to current professional development, classroom instruction, and policy making practices to adopt an analog-first approach to computer science based on the foundational concepts of computational thinking were identified based on these findings

Design for Co-Design in a Computer Science Curriculum Research-Practice Partnership

This paper reports on a study of the dynamics of a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) oriented around design, specifically the co-design model. The RPP is focused on supporting elementary school computer science (CS) instruction by involving paraprofessional educators and teachers in curricular co-design. A problem of practice addressed is that few elementary educators have backgrounds in teaching CS and have limited available instructional time and budget for CS. The co-design strategy entailed highlighting CS concepts in the mathematics curriculum during classroom instruction and designing computer lab lessons that explored related ideas through programming. Analyses focused on tensions within RPP interaction dynamics and how they were accommodated when RPP partners were designing for co-design activities, a critical component that leads to curricular co-design itself. We illustrate these tensions with examples of clusters of activity that appeared repeatedly among the research and practice team members when designing for co-design