"Reaching Across the Hallway: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Supporting Computer Science in Rural Schools" is in its first project year. Our goal is to design and develop a professional development model that supports 5th-8th grade teachers in integrating culturally relevant computer science into their social studies classrooms. This discovery research project will develop, test, and refine a "train-the-trainer" professional development model for rural teacher-leaders in an effort to broaden rural students' participation in computer science.
The professional development content will be generated based on input from teachers and administrators from five rural school divisions in three unique regions of Virginia, and vetted by an Advisory Board of nationally-recognized content experts.
Discussion from the 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase (24 posts)
Catherine McCulloch
Facilitator Senior Project Director
May 11, 2021 | 06:28 a.m.
Bryan and team, I’m fascinated by the prospects of your project. Would you provide a few examples of how CS and social studies will be integrated? For instance, you mention the great migration as a social studies topic. How will you integrate computer science in this instance?
Bryan Wallace
Lead Presenter Education Community Manager
May 14, 2021 | 09:33 p.m.
Catherine, Thank you for taking a moment to view our video!
That is a great question. We have been exploring several examples of what the integration of CS in the Social Studies classroom could be. For example:
Building and app to make a relevant local map, or map of Westward expansion, or relationship between natural resources, transportation & industrial development
Students could examine the role the cyber security plays in securing information and what happens when that security fails. They could look at the ways security with codebreaking has worked throughout history.
Students could learn about networking and the internet as they explore the "cheaper and more convenient means of communication." With the convenience comes the risk of the Internet.
In the instance of the great migration example, students could explore additional datasets and mapping resources, as Michael mentioned, to build context of specific populations and their journey connecting the shifts in population.
As part of this project, we are also asking teachers,.as practitioner experts in their content area, to identify the opportunities in the curriculum that are ripe for the integration of CS. We are excited to see what is generated.
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 11, 2021 | 07:02 a.m.
Maps and mapping will provide a great opportunity to explore the intersection between CS and the social studies. For example one resource we will be exploring is Mapping Inequality https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#lo....
Excellent video and project! I love the animation, and the problem your project responds to is so important. I like the concept of stepping outside of a silo to combine skills from various subjects, blending social studies research with computer science. Social studies is a subject students might feel very passionate about, funneling that passion into website design for example, blends elements of research, history, writing, design, and computer science, all in one project! My program, The GRRATE Project, takes a similar approach, teaching STEM technical skills through a STEAM project, building an electric guitar, robot, or rocket. https://videohall.com/p/1985
Bryan Wallace
Lead Presenter Education Community Manager
May 14, 2021 | 09:41 p.m.
Chelsea, Thank you for taking a moment to view our video!
I agree, that the opportunity to explore subject areas stepping outside of the silos is a powerful opportunity for broadening participation and building context for deeper understanding and learning.
Your project seems to be doing just that. Thanks for sharing, I look forward to learning more about it.
Debra Bernstein
Co-Presenter Senior Researcher
May 11, 2021 | 01:26 p.m.
What a great project, Chelsea! Thank you for sharing!
Jaime Gutierrez
Facilitator Research Associate II
May 11, 2021 | 04:47 p.m.
Hi Bryan and team, this sounds really interesting! It would be interesting to hear more about how you're planning to integrate "culturally relevant computer science into their social studies classrooms" and if there has been any push-back from the schools you're working with as you approach the work with that lens?
Thanks for sharing!
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 11, 2021 | 05:41 p.m.
Jaime,
We have paid close attention to the diversity of the divisions that we will be working with. In an effort to enhance the local relevance of the learning experiences, we have been conceptualizing the importance of community connections with the VA Standards of Learning. Within VA we have also been cognizant of a number of new initiatives. For example:
Thanks so much for this video- super interesting and I love the idea of integrating CS into social studies. I'm curious how you recruited teachers? Were they excited or resistant to participation?
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 11, 2021 | 05:47 p.m.
Rebecca,
COVID has added a great deal of pressure on educators across the country. We have been working hard to engage educators from our collaborative divisions. We are in the early stages of the project, and we intend to provide teachers with value-added learning experiences.
I love this bridge between social studies curriculum and computer science, especially bringing together culturally relevant topics as well such as voting rights. I would imagine educators could bridge instruction to environmental protections and economic climate analysis too...so much to unpack for these kids! Well done!
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 12, 2021 | 10:23 a.m.
Lauren,
Excellent point about making linkages to geographic and economic content. We have been exploring a number of interesting resources that elevate potential connections between CS and social studies.
Hi, what a great project and need! I especially liked how you speak to developing teachers as leaders in developing culturally responsive lessons for CS. This is also an issue I have been thinking about in science education. It would be great to think together about how to help teachers guide their students to use CS to address community based problems. What are some of the tools you are using or developing to support social studies teachers in teaching CS?
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 12, 2021 | 06:22 p.m.
Libby,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are currently in the development process for PD and curriculum. We are exploring tools that deal with simulations, data analysis and visualization.
Channa Comer
Facilitator STEM Educator
May 12, 2021 | 08:34 p.m.
Hello Bryan and team,
Thank you for sharing your project! What a unique combination -- CS and social studies! Your CS focus seems to be on the use and integration of existing digital tools. Are there plans for teachers and students to create their own? In your description, you mention the professional development content will be "vetted by an Advisory Board of nationally recognized content experts." I'm curious to hear more. How will you (or did you) recruit content experts? What are their areas of expertise? How will you determine and measure the impact of your project?
Debra Bernstein
Co-Presenter Senior Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 09:07 p.m.
Hi Channa, thanks for your interest in the project and your great questions! As one of the project researchers I can address your last question about measuring project impact. The main outcomes we will be measuring during the first year of the project are teachers' knowledge of computer science (concepts/content, particularly as related to the state's CS standards, and different ways of teaching about computer science), capacity to adapt or develop integrated CS and social studies lessons, and self-efficacy around teaching CS-infused social studies lessons. Later in the project we will also turn to measuring student outcomes, and teachers' capacity to lead efforts in/advocate for CS-integration.
William Gaudelli
Higher Ed Administrator
May 14, 2021 | 09:55 a.m.
Great idea and integration of foci! I hope that there is wide adoption of this approach as it will help students see the compatibility of otherwise distant fields of study.
Debra Bernstein
Co-Presenter Senior Researcher
May 14, 2021 | 10:07 a.m.
Thanks so much, William, for this comment. We hope so too!
Rebecca Theobald
Higher Ed Faculty
May 14, 2021 | 10:50 a.m.
Delighted to hear about this funding - I have been working on geospatial technologies and redistricting educational resources - explore GeoCivics (https://geocivics.uccs.edu/).
As a CRT teacher in East Los Angeles, CA, I appreciate how you mention that only 40% of CS classes are available. As a researcher/co-presenter with IC4, CS is crucial for students to advance, get better jobs and compete with their peers. Thank you for your thoughtful presentation.
Michael Berson
Co-Presenter Professor
May 17, 2021 | 08:59 a.m.
Toby,
Thank you for the note. We are focusing on elevating issues of equity and access throughout our entire initiative.
Wenwei Luo
Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 11:19 a.m.
Dear Michael and the team,
It is so exciting to hear that this is the first funded project to integrate computer science and social studies content! So awesome!
I am intensely looking forward to the following research. Please keep update!
Catherine McCulloch
Senior Project Director
Bryan and team, I’m fascinated by the prospects of your project. Would you provide a few examples of how CS and social studies will be integrated? For instance, you mention the great migration as a social studies topic. How will you integrate computer science in this instance?
Bryan Wallace
Education Community Manager
Catherine, Thank you for taking a moment to view our video!
That is a great question. We have been exploring several examples of what the integration of CS in the Social Studies classroom could be. For example:
In the instance of the great migration example, students could explore additional datasets and mapping resources, as Michael mentioned, to build context of specific populations and their journey connecting the shifts in population.
As part of this project, we are also asking teachers,.as practitioner experts in their content area, to identify the opportunities in the curriculum that are ripe for the integration of CS. We are excited to see what is generated.
Michael Berson
Professor
Maps and mapping will provide a great opportunity to explore the intersection between CS and the social studies. For example one resource we will be exploring is Mapping Inequality https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#lo....
Chelsea Carnes
Excellent video and project! I love the animation, and the problem your project responds to is so important. I like the concept of stepping outside of a silo to combine skills from various subjects, blending social studies research with computer science. Social studies is a subject students might feel very passionate about, funneling that passion into website design for example, blends elements of research, history, writing, design, and computer science, all in one project! My program, The GRRATE Project, takes a similar approach, teaching STEM technical skills through a STEAM project, building an electric guitar, robot, or rocket. https://videohall.com/p/1985
Bryan Wallace
Education Community Manager
Chelsea, Thank you for taking a moment to view our video!
I agree, that the opportunity to explore subject areas stepping outside of the silos is a powerful opportunity for broadening participation and building context for deeper understanding and learning.
Your project seems to be doing just that. Thanks for sharing, I look forward to learning more about it.
Debra Bernstein
Senior Researcher
What a great project, Chelsea! Thank you for sharing!
Jaime Gutierrez
Research Associate II
Hi Bryan and team, this sounds really interesting! It would be interesting to hear more about how you're planning to integrate "culturally relevant computer science into their social studies classrooms" and if there has been any push-back from the schools you're working with as you approach the work with that lens?
Thanks for sharing!
Michael Berson
Professor
Jaime,
We have paid close attention to the diversity of the divisions that we will be working with. In an effort to enhance the local relevance of the learning experiences, we have been conceptualizing the importance of community connections with the VA Standards of Learning. Within VA we have also been cognizant of a number of new initiatives. For example:
Virginia African American History Commission https://www.education.virginia.gov/initiatives/aahec/
Virginia Teachers are going to be assessed on ‘cultural competency.’ What does that mean?
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/04/01/virginia-teachers-are-going-to-be-assessed-on-cultural-competency-what-does-that-mean/
The divisions that we are working with seem very supportive.
Rebecca Zarch
Thanks so much for this video- super interesting and I love the idea of integrating CS into social studies. I'm curious how you recruited teachers? Were they excited or resistant to participation?
Michael Berson
Professor
Rebecca,
COVID has added a great deal of pressure on educators across the country. We have been working hard to engage educators from our collaborative divisions. We are in the early stages of the project, and we intend to provide teachers with value-added learning experiences.
Lauren Goff
I love this bridge between social studies curriculum and computer science, especially bringing together culturally relevant topics as well such as voting rights. I would imagine educators could bridge instruction to environmental protections and economic climate analysis too...so much to unpack for these kids! Well done!
Michael Berson
Professor
Lauren,
Excellent point about making linkages to geographic and economic content. We have been exploring a number of interesting resources that elevate potential connections between CS and social studies.
For example:https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/data...
Libby Gerard
Hi, what a great project and need! I especially liked how you speak to developing teachers as leaders in developing culturally responsive lessons for CS. This is also an issue I have been thinking about in science education. It would be great to think together about how to help teachers guide their students to use CS to address community based problems. What are some of the tools you are using or developing to support social studies teachers in teaching CS?
Michael Berson
Professor
Libby,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are currently in the development process for PD and curriculum. We are exploring tools that deal with simulations, data analysis and visualization.
Channa Comer
STEM Educator
Hello Bryan and team,
Thank you for sharing your project! What a unique combination -- CS and social studies! Your CS focus seems to be on the use and integration of existing digital tools. Are there plans for teachers and students to create their own? In your description, you mention the professional development content will be "vetted by an Advisory Board of nationally recognized content experts." I'm curious to hear more. How will you (or did you) recruit content experts? What are their areas of expertise? How will you determine and measure the impact of your project?
Debra Bernstein
Senior Researcher
Hi Channa, thanks for your interest in the project and your great questions! As one of the project researchers I can address your last question about measuring project impact. The main outcomes we will be measuring during the first year of the project are teachers' knowledge of computer science (concepts/content, particularly as related to the state's CS standards, and different ways of teaching about computer science), capacity to adapt or develop integrated CS and social studies lessons, and self-efficacy around teaching CS-infused social studies lessons. Later in the project we will also turn to measuring student outcomes, and teachers' capacity to lead efforts in/advocate for CS-integration.
William Gaudelli
Great idea and integration of foci! I hope that there is wide adoption of this approach as it will help students see the compatibility of otherwise distant fields of study.
Debra Bernstein
Senior Researcher
Thanks so much, William, for this comment. We hope so too!
Rebecca Theobald
Delighted to hear about this funding - I have been working on geospatial technologies and redistricting educational resources - explore GeoCivics (https://geocivics.uccs.edu/).
Michael Berson
Professor
Rebecca,
Thank you so much. We will definitely check out GeoCivics https://geocivics.uccs.edu.
Toby Baker
As a CRT teacher in East Los Angeles, CA, I appreciate how you mention that only 40% of CS classes are available. As a researcher/co-presenter with IC4, CS is crucial for students to advance, get better jobs and compete with their peers. Thank you for your thoughtful presentation.
Michael Berson
Professor
Toby,
Thank you for the note. We are focusing on elevating issues of equity and access throughout our entire initiative.
Wenwei Luo
Dear Michael and the team,
It is so exciting to hear that this is the first funded project to integrate computer science and social studies content! So awesome!
I am intensely looking forward to the following research. Please keep update!
Michael Berson
Professor
Wenwei,
Thank you for the kind note!
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.