“Computational thinking will be a fundamental skill used by everyone by the middle of 21st Century. Just like reading, writing, and arithmetic.” — Jeannette M. Wing
In this project, we aim to develop a professional development model for bringing computation thinking into the formal mathematics and science curriculum for grades 3-5 in one district. To achieve this goal, we will implement a three-year professional learning model that includes summer workshops and ongoing support, in-class implementation support, video club sessions. These supports will be conducted to sensitize teachers to noticing in their classrooms. Throughout the process, teachers will co-design and implement projects-based lessons and design-thinking projects that they have designed to integrate computational thinking into math and science.
The outcomes of this research effort will include: teacher-developed project-based or design thinking lessons; a longitudinal study of teacher professional development for promoting computational thinking in the STEM disciplines in elementary grades; a refined and scalable model for professional development; and a set of video teaching cases that provide teachers with models of implementation of such units in their own classrooms that highlight ways to recognize a wide variety of student thinking strategies, particularly when student thinking is not verbal. We will also develop an annual conference at which teachers from the district can learn from each other and can share their own experiences.
Computational Thinking Counts in Elementary Grades: Powerful STEM Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century
Questions about this project can be directed to Chandra Orrill at corrill@umassd.edu
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1934111. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.