NSF Award
1945672
As the nation becomes increasingly diverse, it is important that the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce and body of scholars who will define and implement the K-12 education research agenda include practitioners that reflect that diversity. The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) will convene a Fall 2019 Computer Science for All Researcher Practitioner Partnerships (CSforAll:RPP) Development Workshop in Washington, DC. The National Science Foundation (NSF)'s CSforAll:RPP program focuses on the importance of researcher-practitioner partnerships in supporting computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) education. CSforAll empowers our Nation's students to develop skills and competencies in problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration that will help them excel in today's increasingly digital and computational world. As a public, historically black and land-grant institution, UDC's responsibility is to build a diverse generation of competitive, civically engaged scholars and leaders. The CSforALL:RPP workshop builds on UDC's culture of teaching and learning as well as on the core values of collaboration and innovation. Through targeted outreach, UDC will engage more minority-serving institutions in the CSforALL:RPP initiative. Workshop teams will receive information, guidance, and access to resources they will need to enhance the capacity of their schools to produce successful CS/CT education outcomes for diverse groups of students.<br/><br/>In partnership with NSF-funded Research+Practice Collaboratory, UDC's project staff will coordinate the event logistics for up to 100 workshop attendees. Participants will include three- to four-person teams of CS education researchers and preK-12 practitioners (teachers, administrators, and counselors), along with other community and industry partners. Logistical planning will include participant team recruitment and registration; arranging meeting room space, catering, and A/V support; and providing reimbursements for travel costs for eligible participants. The 1.5-day workshop will engage teams with different models of RPPs, strategies and tools for forming and maintaining RPPs, and data collection and analysis approaches well-suited to RPPs. Workshop participants will learn how to design and lead RPPs to provide high school teachers with the preparation, professional development and ongoing support that they need to teach rigorous computer science courses; preK-8 teachers with the instructional materials and preparation they need to integrate CS and CT into their teaching; and schools and districts the resources needed to define and evaluate multi-grade pathways in CS and CT. Minority institutions are important incubators of STEM teachers of color--RPPs will assist them in developing/sustaining exemplary teacher education programs, uniquely tailored to equip teachers committed to preparing and inspiring more students from diverse groups to consider computer science careers which in turn, will contribute to America's global competitiveness.<br/><br/>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.
