Developing curricula and supporting teaching of computer science and computational thinking for multilingual learners in grades K-8

该项目将为培训教师和资深教师制定课程和教学方法做好准备，这些课程和教学方法将帮助K-8年级的低收入多语言学习者提高他们在计算机科学和计算思维方面的技能，研究人员将与学校的专家广泛合作，创建一个教师学习途径，建立他们对该课程的信心和经验。该项目还通过让家庭参与基于项目的学习体验，利用学生社区的优势。总体目标是培养教师将计算机科学和计算思维融入科学课程的能力，并增加学生的学习和身份形成，特别是对于那些在STEM领域代表性不足的学生。通过满足经济条件差的学校中多语言学习者的具体需求，该项目将扩大学生发展技能和知识的机会，这对他们在未来就业市场取得成功至关重要。其成果将与全国各地的学校分享，作为对多语种学习者进行公平和包容性计算机科学教育的典范。该项目将研究如何开发和可持续地实施创新，以支持K-8教师以与学习者的生活和社区相关的方式让学生参与计算机科学和计算思维的能力。该项目将采用以设计为基础的研究方法，与教师，学生及其家庭合作设计创新，在教室和社区中测试这些创新，并在项目期间对其进行改进，旨在扩大其影响并提高该地区的整体能力，以支持所有学生的计算机科学教育。数据分析将利用准实验设计来衡量多语言学习者的成绩和教师的学习。这些数据将包括课程创新和教师专业发展，参与者调查和学生成绩数据的观察。这项工作的结果将有助于我们理解（1）如何连贯地将计算机科学/计算思维整合到K-8科学课程中，可以增加学生在核心内容领域和计算机科学/计算思维的学习，特别是对于多语言学习者，（2）一个跨越教师学习不同阶段-从任职到在职-的教师专业发展模式，随着时间的推移，可以为教师建立计算机科学/计算思维经验和信心，以及（3）如何在家里，家庭参与的基于项目的学习经验可以增加所有学生的计算机科学/计算思维身份的形成，特别是多语言和低-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得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的支持。

This project will prepare both teachers-in-training and veteran teachers to develop curriculum and instructional methods that will help low income, multilingual learners in grades K-8 grow their skills in computer science and computational thinking, The researchers will collaborate extensively with practitioner-experts in the schools to create a teacher learning pathway that builds their confidence and experience with this curricula. The project also leverages the strengths of the students’ community by engaging families in project-based learning experiences. The overall aim is to develop teachers' ability to integrate Computer Science and Computational Thinking into their science classes and to increase student learning and identity formation, particularly for those who are underrepresented in the STEM fields. By addressing the specific needs of multi-lingual learners in economically disadvantaged schools, this project will expand students’ opportunities to develop skills and knowledge that will be crucial to their success in the future job market. The results will be shared with schools nationwide as a model of equitable and inclusive computer science education for multilingual learners. This project will examine how to develop and sustainably implement innovations that can support K-8 teachers’ ability to engage their students in computer science and computational thinking in a manner that is relevant to the learners’ lives and communities. The project will employ a design-based research approach collaboratively designing innovations with teachers, students and their families, testing these in classrooms and the community, and refining them over the span of the project with the aim of scaling up their impact and increasing the overall capacity of the district to support computer science education for all students. Data analysis will utilize a quasi-experimental design to measure multilingual learners’ achievement and teacher learning. The data will include observations of the curricular innovations and teacher professional development, participant surveys, and student achievement data. Results from this work will contribute to our understanding of (1) how coherently integrating computer science/computational thinking into K-8 science curriculum can increase student learning in core content areas and computer science/computational thinking, particularly for multilingual learners, (2) how a teacher professional development model that spans different stages of teacher learning – from preservice to in-service – can build computer science/computational thinking experience and confidence for teachers over time, and (3) how at-home, family-engaged project-based learning experiences can increase computer science/computational thinking identity formation for all students, particularly multilingual and low-income learners.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.