Abstract
Computer Science is quickly being recognized as a “new basic” skill that K-12 students will need to enhance their economic opportunity and social mobility. This comes on the heels of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 that requires all students in America to receive an education of high academic standards preparing them for success in college and their careers. Consequently, there is a need for movement beyond teaching computer literacy to learning computer science. Computer science (CS) offers our students the opportunity to become producers and creators of technology instead of consumers of technology. More importantly, CS offers relevance to school curriculum as it encourages a focus on technical solutions to current issues in science, math, language arts, and social studies thus improving students’ interest and engagement in learning. The project has involved a multidisciplinary team of six-university faculty with background expertise in science, computer science, and education. This team has partnered with ten middle school teachers in Forsyth County of Spring/Fall 2017and collected data that has examined the impact of CS lessons on students’ perceptions of CS, interest in STEM, and interest in computer science careers. The data are currently being analyzed and prepared for a presentation at the Symposium on Innovation, Research, and Engagement (SOIRE).
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Metadata
- Subject
Education
- Date submitted
19 July 2022
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Author Biography:
Chantelle Renaud-Grant, is an Associate Professor in Teacher Education at the University of North Georgia. She has been on UNG’s faculty for the past eight years. Dr. Renaud-Grant completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at Grambling State University; her master’s degree in microbiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and then her doctorate in science education at the University of Texas at Austin. She has had a career in education for 18 years where she spent the first ten years of her career as a high school science teacher and then a middle school science teacher before advancing into university instruction. Dr. Renaud-Grant currently teaches in the Middle Grades and Secondary Education program and serves as its program coordinator. Her research focuses on developing viable professional development learning communities among pre-service teachers, in-service teachers and university professors for the purposes of improving the quality of teacher preparation.