Collaborative Research: CSAwesome: Transitioning Teachers from AP CSP to CSA with Differentiated Professional Development

St. Scholastica 学院和 Elms 学院将领导一个小型高中研究与从业者合作伙伴关系 (RPP)，以调查如何为 CS 新手教师从教授 AP 计算机科学原理 (CSP) 课程过渡到 AP CSA Java 课程时提供最好的准备和支持。对高中 AP 计算机科学 (CS) 课程的需求不断增长，最初是 CS 原理，现在是 CSA，这凸显了需要更多教师接受更高级的 CSA 课程的培训。然而，这项任务具有挑战性，因为 CSA 具有更陡峭的学习曲线，因为与基于块的编程环境不同，Java 基于文本的性质引入了语法错误以及编写和调试程序的另一层复杂性。精心设计的差异化专业发展（PD）对于满足个别教师的水平并成功培养他们教授 CSA 的技能和信心是必要的。 RPP 由大学理事会认可的 CSAwesome AP CSA 课程和专业发展 (PD) 提供者的研究人员以及领导差异化 CSAwesome 试点 PD 的 AP CSA 大师级教师的从业者组成。 RPP 团队将使用基于设计的实施研究 (DBIR) RPP 模型，利用迭代方法来完善 CSAwesome 课程和专业发展，以满足教师从 AP CSP 过渡到 CSA 的需求。 RPP 的目标是增加能够教授 AP CSA 的经过培训的教师数量（两年内 60 名），以及他们招募和支持多元化学生的能力，以扩大对高级 CS 课程的参与。CSAwesome 将在研究人员与实践者合作伙伴关系 (RPP) 中利用基于设计的实施研究来完善课程和 PD，以支持教师和学生从 CSP 向 CSA 的过渡。该项目的目标包括 1) 建立一个由研究人员和从业人员组成的可持续 RPP 社区，重点支持新任 CS 教师从 CSP 向 CSA 的过渡，2) 开发和实施差异化 PD，其中包括为 60 名从 CSP 教学过渡到 CSA 的教师提供基于公平的教学内容知识，以及 3) 改进 CSAwesome AP CSA 课程和教师资源，以使用与从业人员和研究人员共同设计的方法支持从 CSP 向 CSA 的过渡。该项目将研究差异化的 PD 和课程在多大程度上支持教师获得内容知识和教学内容知识来教授 AP CSA，特别是支持低收入学生和女学生在计算机方面的需求。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.