Teachers Are Key: Partnering With and Supporting Quality Computer Science Teachers Within the Second Largest School Districts in the Country

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。来自加州洛杉矶大学（UCLA）的PI提出了一个项目：教师是解决中学计算机科学（CS）教育危机的关键：对高质量高中CS教师的需求。教师是关键建立在加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究人员和洛杉矶联合学区（LAUSD）之间的长期合作。这种合作导致了一个全面的介绍计算机科学课程和暑期专业发展计划的发展，指导教师的课程概念和内容。在这个项目中，PI将在地方和国家一级为计算机科学教师建立有效的支持和专业发展系统。这些教师中的许多人都是计算机科学的新手，并且是学校中唯一的教师，因此专业发展和支持网络是必要的。这个全面的支援网络将提供：1）持续的课堂教师专业发展，并由全区的CS辅导/同侪辅导系统提供支援; 2）整个学年持续的专业发展工作坊;以及3）网上学习社区。所设计的方案和相应的经验教训将在全国范围内传播，作为对其他学区和大学的指导和帮助。（大学教师/研究人员和K-12领导人围绕这些问题建立了伙伴关系）及其合作伙伴：1）加州大学洛杉矶分校X中心，一个领先的城市教师专业发展中心，具有悠久的改革努力历史，并与LAUSD和2）计算机科学教师协会内的教师合作，全国计算机科学教师专业组织。该补助金的PI是大学研究人员和K-12地区领导人谁是独特的定位，以杠杆和扩大成功的计划，并创造一个模式，为制度变革。智力优点：改善STEM教育和保证平等获得优质教育的所有学生是我们国家的一个？最紧迫的挑战。教师是关键，是这个国家挑战的关键。该项目将提供关于两个重要主题的基本知识：1）增加学校，特别是少数民族学生人数较多的学校严格学习计算机科学的机会，以及2）计算机科学教师专业发展的有效方法。这些知识有可能揭示其他STEM学科的类似挑战。更广泛的影响：教师是关键将提供一个模型，说明在学校，地区，州和国家层面必须做些什么，以提高所有学生的计算机科学教育质量。将在全国第二大和最多样化的学区之一设计和实施的专业发展模式将有助于地方和国家正在进行的扩大参与计算的努力。这个项目将提供三个重要的事情的见解1）招聘和培训一个非常大量的新的高中教师谁可以传授给学生的魔法和计算机科学的“计算思维”，2）重新定位CS在高中水平作为一个学术科目，和3）重新设计高中课程，使其严格和从事我们的学生人口的广泛部分。为了发展21世纪的经济，我们必须培养学生在21世纪的技能，包括使严格的计算培训提供给所有学生。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The PIs from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) propose a project: Teachers are Key to address a central aspect of the crisis in secondary school computer science (CS) education: the need for quality high school CS teachers. Teachers are Key builds upon a long-time collaboration between UCLA researchers and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). This collaboration has resulted in the development of a comprehensive introductory computer science curriculum and a summer professional development program to instruct teachers on the curriculum concepts and content. For this project the PIs will build effective supports and a professional development system at a local and national level for computer science teachers. Many of these teachers are new to computer science and are the lone teacher at their schools making professional development and support networks a necessity. This comprehensive support network will offer 1) continuous in-classroom teacher professional development supported by a district-wide CS coaching / peer-to-peer mentoring system, 2) on-going professional development workshops throughout the school year and 3) an on-line learning community. The programs designed and corresponding lessons learned will be disseminated nationwide as a guide and assistance for other school districts and universities.Teachers are Key's initiatives will build upon the expertise of the PIs (university faculty/researchers and K-12 leaders with an established partnership around these issues) and their partners: 1) UCLA Center X, a leading urban teacher professional development center with a long history of reform efforts and working with teachers within LAUSD and the 2) Computer Science Teachers Association, the national professional organization of computer science teachers. The PIs of this grant are university researchers and K-12 District leaders who are uniquely positioned to leverage and scale up successful programs and to create a model for institutional change.Intellectual Merit:Improving STEM education and guaranteeing equal access to quality education for all students is one of our country?s most pressing challenges. Teachers are Key sits at the crux of this national challenge. This project will provide essential knowledge about two important subjects: 1) increasing rigorous learning of computer science opportunities in schools, especially in schools with high numbers of minority students, and 2) effective methods of professional development for computer science teachers. This knowledge has the potential to shed light on similar challenges in other STEM disciplines.Broader Impacts:Teachers are Key will provide a model of what has to be done at the school, district, state, and national levels to improve quality computer science education for all students. The models of professional development that will be designed and implemented in the second largest and one of the most diverse school districts in the country will contribute to local and national efforts underway to broaden participation in computing. This project will provide insight on three important things 1) Recruiting and training a very large number of new high school teachers who can impart to students the magic and "computational thinking" of computer science, 2) re-positioning CS at the high school level as an academic subject, and 3) redesigning the high school curriculum so that it is rigorous and engaging for a broad segment of our student population. In order to develop a 21st Century economy, we must train students in 21st century skills including making rigorous computational training available to all students.