BRIGHT-CS PD: Building Student Retention through Individuated Guided coHort Training in Computer Science Professional Development Researcher Practitioner Partnership

University Of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro NC

Investigators

Abstract

BRIGHT-CS PD (Building Student Retention through Individuated Guided coHort Training in Computer Science Professional Development) a CS for All High School strand Researcher-Practitioner Partnership (RPP) submitted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). BRIGHT-CS PD will provide math and science teachers access to and support for rigorous CS learning. The RPP will collaboratively create robust professional development (PD) materials for high school teachers to improve school and classroom practices to better support and broaden participation of black girls in computer science. This project builds on the BRIGHT-CS middle school student and school projects. Lessons learned from these projects indicate that robust PD materials for teachers are critical to systemically broadening the participation of black girls in CS. The proposed RPP will work with math and science teachers to provide access and support as the teachers participate in high-quality, extant CS instruction via Harvard University’s CS50 courseware. The RPP team will then work with these teachers to adapt and build out their new, up-to-date CS/CT knowledge via robust PD materials designed to help teachers inculcate CS/CT skills into their math and science instruction. 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.