Project Grant 2628210

CONFERENCE: ALIGNING TEACHER PREPARATION TO SUPPORT TEACHING COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN RURAL APPALACHIAN SCHOOLS -COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IS THE ABILITY TO ANALYZE PROBLEMS, RECOGNIZE PATTERNS, AND DESIGN SYSTEMATIC SOLUTIONS. IT IS INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED AS AN ESSENTIAL SKILL FOR STUDENTS AT EVERY GRADE LEVEL AND OFTEN INCLUDED IN STATE STANDARDS. IN EASTERN KENTUCKY, SEVERAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE DEVELOPED SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES FOR TEACHING COMPUTATIONAL THINKING. YET PREPARING TEACHERS TO DEVELOP AND DELIVER RELATED INSTRUCTION REMAINS A PERSISTENT CHALLENGE, PARTICULARLY IN RURAL REGIONS WHERE ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT CAN BE LIMITED. THIS PROJECT CONVENES HIGHER EDUCATION AND K-12 EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS IN EASTERN KENTUCKY TO DISCUSS HOW COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IS ADDRESSED IN TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS WITH HOW THESE EFFORTS CAN ALIGN WITH THE NEEDS OF K-12 TEACHING CONTEXTS. THE GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY SHARED BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES, BUILD CROSS-SECTOR STRATEGIES, AND TO WORK TOWARD DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE PATHWAY FOR INTEGRATING COMPUTATIONAL THINKING INTO RURAL EDUCATOR PIPELINES. THIS PROJECT USES A SYSTEMS-THINKING APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE HOW SUCCESSFUL K-12 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING PRACTICES DEVELOPED IN RURAL APPALACHIA CAN INFORM AND RESHAPE TEACHER PREPARATION AT THE HIGHER EDUCATION LEVEL. THE PROJECT UNFOLDS ACROSS THREE PHASES. FIRST, PRE-SCOPING INTERVIEWS WILL ASSESS THE READINESS AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS OF NOMINATED SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS. NEXT, DIRECT OBSERVATION OF A DISTRICT-WIDE STUDENT LEARNING SHOWCASE WILL GIVE PARTICIPANTS A SHARED, PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IS CURRENTLY INTEGRATED ACROSS MULTIPLE GRADE LEVELS. FINALLY, INTENSIVE ACTION-PLANNING WORKSHOPS WILL BRING TOGETHER UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND K-12 PRACTITIONERS TO IDENTIFY STRUCTURAL BARRIERS AND EXPLORE VIABLE PATHWAYS FOR CURRICULAR INTEGRATION. THE EXPECTED INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION IS A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO ALIGN K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHER PREPARATION PIPELINES IN RURAL REGIONS TO SUPPORT THE TEACHING OF COMPUTATIONAL THINKING. DELIVERABLES INCLUDE A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY WHITE PAPER AND A POST-EVALUATION BRIEF DOCUMENTING THE PROGRESSION OF THE CO-DESIGNED PILOT STRATEGIES. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S DIRECTORATE FOR STEM EDUCATION (EDU) STEM K-12 PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS FUNDAMENTAL, APPLIED, AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES STEM TEACHING AND LEARNING AND IMPROVES UNDERSTANDING OF EDUCATION ACROSS THE HUMAN LIFESPAN AND A RANGE OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SETTINGS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S DIRECTORATE FOR STEM EDUCATION (EDU) STEM K-12 PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS FUNDAMENTAL, APPLIED, AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES STEM TEACHING AND LEARNING AND IMPROVES UNDERSTANDING OF EDUCATION ACROSS THE HUMAN LIFESPAN AND A RANGE OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SETTINGS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.