Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Computational Environmental Science

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Because of the powerful innovation and application of computing in STEM disciplines, there is an urgent need for real-world, interdisciplinary, and computational preparation of students from the early grades through high school (preK-12). Researchers at Boston College, Iowa State, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Educational Development Center will train environmental science teachers to use a recent scientific discovery, artificial transparent soil to integrate computational environmental science into their teaching practice. Artificial transparent soil allows for the visualization of roots in living plants and allows scientists, teachers, and students to study root structures and soil ecology on a microscopic level. Mechanically, the artificial soil mimics real soil, supports root structures, holds suspended minerals, can be colonized by microorganisms, and exchanges gases like soil. The project investigators will bring this new computational technology to environmental science teachers in public schools in Massachusetts, Iowa, and Colorado. Teachers will learn how to integrate computational science into their environmental science curriculum and will be immersed in an interdisciplinary training program where they will learn the physics, chemistry, and biological principles underlying artificial transparent soil, while also learning how to program and code micro-electronics and conduct scientific experiments with their students. This project was submitted in response to NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Discovery Research PreK-12: Advancing STEM + Computing (17-149) and is supported by the STEM + Computing Program that advances research and development of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to the integration of computing within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning for preK-12 students in both formal and informal settings. STEM+C supports research on how students learn to think computationally to solve interdisciplinary problems in the STEM fields. The overarching driving question for the research revolves around understanding how and in what ways a supportive professional development ecosystem can be developed that enables teachers to infuse computational science into their teaching that supports their students in conducting scientific research. Specifically, the research team questions are: (1) How do teachers adapt and implement computational science practices when teaching science? (2) How do teachers and the curriculum design help teachers navigate the tensions of infusing computation while also ensuring STEM content and what computational science and scientific practices do teachers utilize in their teaching?, and (3) What are the supports, both in terms of professional development and as a part of the curriculum materials themselves, that need to be provided to teachers to support them in integrating and adapting the program for their classroom? The project team will utilize design-based research approach that will involve classroom observations, interviews with teachers, and surveys to evaluate how and in what ways teachers adapted the materials to their classrooms. The project team aims to develop case studies of teachers across contexts that will serve as the basis for future professional development. The project team will recruit teachers who teach in under-resourced schools, teach youth of color, or teach in schools with a high percentage of underrepresented populations in STEM fields. The project team has existing partnerships with school districts throughout Massachusetts (Boston Public, Waltham, Springfield, and Lawrence), Colorado, and Iowa. The research and evaluation of this program will enable, educators and teachers, to implement best practices regarding the infusion of computational science using a holistic interdisciplinary to STEM instruction. Further, given the limited work, and general lack of computational knowledge amongst the nations' environmental science teachers this work will provide some of the first insights into how to support science teachers to use coding and computation in their classrooms. This work will be shared with a wide range of audiences through public festivals, teacher conferences, and traditional academic research conferences.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.