Collaborative Research: Unpacking Computational Thinking for Elementary Teachers and Learners

协作研究：为小学教师和学习者解开计算思维

• 批准号: 2300323
• 负责人: Robin Jocius
• 金额: $ 44.36万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Arlington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2300323&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Unpacking; Computational; Thinking

The goal of this project is to investigate the integration of computational thinking (CT) into elementary school curricula by studying how teachers develop expertise in integrating CT activities that align with interdisciplinary standards and existing curricula. This project addresses the critical need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy by investigating effective models of professional development (PD) that improve STEM teaching and learning. Leveraging an asset-based approach, the project will provide opportunities to broaden participation in computer science education through building a community of practice for teachers and designing CT-infused curricula. To ensure that all teachers have the necessary support to participate in new pedagogical practices of increasing complexity, the project will utilize a collaborative teacher PD and mentorship structure in which teachers will work closely with peers and project team members to prepare, teach, and reflect upon lessons through multi-year participation. The research will document how teachers come to understand CT and take up these practices in their classrooms. The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.Over four years, this project will directly impact 135 teachers in multi-year participation in professional development and approximately 12,000 students indirectly in their classrooms. This project will initially focus on schools in South Carolina, especially in rural districts. The project will be guided by three primary research questions: 1) How do preK-5 teachers integrate CT into their disciplinary teaching?; 2) What are the personal learning trajectories that teachers move through as they work towards CT integration?; 3) What are the barriers and accelerators for teachers’ implementation of CT-infused lessons? This project is grounded in the idea that incremental, sustainable, and substantial teacher learning comes when teachers are fully invested in the cycle of learning and have opportunities to build and strengthen their communities of practice. In reflective PD sessions held throughout the academic year and summer, teachers will explore, co-design, implement, and refine student learning activities that integrate CT into existing content area standards and curricula. The CT activities, which will include standards-based lesson plans, assessments, and supplemental resources, will offer both plugged and unplugged components, so that students and teachers have opportunities to understand the conceptual underpinnings of computational thinking with and without computers. A minimum of 120 lessons and related pedagogical materials mapped to core-content standards will be developed and made freely available to the public on the project website. Using a mixed methods approach, this study will document the trajectories through which elementary teachers move as they begin to integrate CT into disciplinary teaching, as well as barriers and accelerators faced as they integrate CT into disciplinary teaching. Quantitative survey methodologies and multimodal analysis of narrative interviews, classroom video, teacher reflections, and pedagogical artifacts will be used to analyze teachers’ sense making about CT over time and the uptake of new pedagogical approaches in their teaching. Ultimately, this study will produce a set of empirically-tested learning trajectories that can be used to support teachers in integrating CT into their classrooms. As a means of expanding the community of practice, sharing resources, and disseminating project findings to a nationwide audience, the project also incorporates a virtual PD component to support PD access to elementary school teachers from underrepresented and underserved schools across the United States.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.

该项目的目标是调查计算思维（CT）到小学课程的整合，通过研究教师如何发展专业知识，整合CT活动，符合跨学科的标准和现有的课程。该项目通过调查改善STEM教学和学习的有效专业发展（PD）模式，解决了科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）素养的迫切需求。该项目将利用基于资产的方法，通过为教师建立实践社区和设计融入计算机技术的课程，提供扩大计算机科学教育参与度的机会。为了确保所有教师都能获得必要的支持，参与日益复杂的新教学实践，该项目将利用一个合作教师PD和导师结构，教师将与同行和项目团队成员密切合作，通过多年的参与来准备，教学和反思课程。这项研究将记录教师如何理解计算机技术，并在课堂上采取这些做法。探索研究preK-12计划（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具，显着提高preK-12学生和教师的STEM学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和经验依据。在四年的时间里，该项目将直接影响135名教师多年参与专业发展，并间接影响约12，000名学生的课堂。该项目最初将侧重于南卡罗来纳州的学校，特别是农村地区的学校。该项目将由三个主要的研究问题：1）如何preK-5教师整合CT到他们的学科教学？2)教师在实现计算机技术一体化的过程中所经历的个人学习轨迹是什么？3)教师实施计算机技术课程的障碍和加速器是什么？该项目的理念是，当教师充分投入到学习周期中，并有机会建立和加强他们的实践社区时，教师的学习就会逐步增加，可持续和实质性。在整个学年和夏季举行的反思PD会议中，教师将探索，共同设计，实施和完善学生的学习活动，将CT融入现有的内容领域标准和课程。CT活动将包括基于标准的课程计划、评估和补充资源，将提供插入式和非插入式组件，以便学生和教师有机会了解有无计算机的计算思维的概念基础。将根据核心内容标准编制至少120个课程和相关教学材料，并在项目网站上免费提供给公众。使用混合方法的方法，本研究将记录的轨迹，通过小学教师移动，因为他们开始将CT纳入学科教学，以及面临的障碍和加速器，因为他们将CT纳入学科教学。定量调查方法和多模态分析的叙事访谈，课堂录像，教师的反思，和教学文物将被用来分析教师的意义，使CT随着时间的推移和吸收新的教学方法在他们的教学。最终，本研究将产生一组经过实验测试的学习轨迹，可用于支持教师将CT融入课堂。作为扩大实践社区、共享资源和向全国受众传播项目结果的一种手段，该项目还包括一个虚拟的PD部分，以支持来自美国各地代表性不足和服务不足的学校的小学教师获得PD。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估来支持影响审查标准。