A Continuous Coaching Model for High School Computer Science Teachers

到2025年，美国将需要3万多名有资格教授计算机科学的高中教师。虽然佛罗里达州的埃斯坎比亚县学区最近一直在加紧努力，为该州的高中教师做好准备，但对教师专业发展机会的需求非常迫切。西佛罗里达大学、埃斯坎比亚县学区(ECSD)和佛罗里达州教育部之间的这一合作伙伴关系将为现有教师提供持续的支持和培训，使他们能够成功地教授高级选修计算机科学原理课程，该课程已被证明提高了学生对计算的兴趣和参与度。虽然这是一种持续指导的模式，但这种合作关系将创造一支准备教授AP课程的教师队伍。与此同时，该团队将与学校辅导顾问合作，制定在计算机课堂上招收和支持学生的策略，目标是增加注册并在计算机课堂上取得成功的学生数量。这项提议将探索一种基于奈特的教学指导模式的持续支持指导模式，以增加未来教育工作者的人才库，这些人没有深厚的预先存在的教学知识，他们将准备指导和教授AP计算机科学原理(AP-CSP)。该教学模式由西佛罗里达大学计算机科学学院提供，将重点放在计算机科学的教学方法上，采用建构主义教学方法实施。指导模式的三个重点领域将包括：(I)教学辅助和反馈；(Ii)教练提供的及时帮助；以及(Iii)课程建模。这些新的教练和教师是从在职的数学和科学教师中挑选出来的，他们将成为佛罗里达州高中扩大计算参与度的催化剂，其中一些高中还没有提供计算课程，并提高了AP CSP的通过率。该项目旨在招募四名新教练、七名新教师和七名学校指导顾问，以得到该计划的支持和培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The United States will need more than 30,000 high school teachers qualified to teach computer science by 2025. While Florida’s Escambia County school district has recently been ramping up efforts to prepare high school teachers in the state, there is a critical need for teacher professional development opportunities. This partnership between University of West Florida, Escambia County School District (ECSD) and Florida’s Department of Education will develop ongoing support and training for current teachers such that they can successfully teach the Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles course, which has been shown to increase student interest and engagement in computing. Though a model of continuous coaching, this partnership will create a cohort of teachers prepared to teach the AP course. At the same time, the team will work with school guidance counselors on strategies to recruit and support students in computing classes, with the goal of increasing the number of students who enroll and are successful in computing classes. This proposal will explore a continuous support coaching model, based on Knight’s instructional coaching model, for increasing the pool of future educators without deep pre-existing content knowledge, who will be prepared to coach and teach AP Computer Science Principles (AP-CSP). The coaching model, offered by the University of West Florida’s computer science faculty, will be focused on the pedagogy of computer science, implemented using a constructivist pedagogical approach. The three areas of focus of the coaching model will include: (i) teaching assistance and feedback; (ii) just-in-time assistance offered by coaches; and (iii) lesson modeling. These new coaches and teachers, selected from in-service Math and Science teachers, will be catalysts for broadening participation of computing in Florida high schools, some of which do not yet offer a computing course, and increasing the pass-rates in AP CSP. The project aims to recruit four new coaches, seven new teachers, and seven school guidance counselors to be supported and trained by the program.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.