Examining the Factors that Influence Retention and Effectiveness of Computer Science Teachers in High-Need Middle and High Schools

Etr Associates, Watsonville CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to serve the national need of preparing and retaining effective computer science (CS) teachers in high-need schools. Access to CS education is disproportionately distributed across public schools. High-need schools have greater numbers of students from groups that are underrepresented in computing fields; they are also more likely to have teacher turnover and less likely to have experienced teachers and CS opportunities. This research project will investigate how teacher preparation programs can increase CS teacher retention in high-need schools and prepare teachers to deliver effective, equitable CS instruction. This is essential due to the increasing demand for STEM teachers, particularly in high-need schools, and the call for K-12 CS teachers who are prepared to engage students from underrepresented groups. With turnover particularly high among secondary CS teachers, the goal is to generate information that can be used to increase the longer-term retention of CS teachers in high-need schools. The project will also identify the features of programs that prepare teachers to deliver effective, equitable CS instruction. This project is led by ETR (Education, Training, Research) Associates in partnership with three Noyce-funded projects at New York University, California State University Fresno, and Louisiana Tech University and their surrounding school districts of New York City Public Schools, Fresno Unified, Central Unified, Sanger Unified, Bienville Parish, Caddo Parish, Lincoln Parish, Ouachita Parish, Richland Parish, and Winn Parish. Project goals include addressing research questions around what individual, interpersonal and institutional factors play a role in how teacher preparation programs can increase the retention of CS teachers in high-need schools. The research also intends to investigate how teacher preparation programs can prepare teachers to deliver effective and equitable CS education in middle and high school classrooms. The research will be guided by socio-ecological and social justice pedagogical content knowledge theoretical frameworks. An initial conjecture map that documents research-based hypotheses about how to prepare teachers to persist and engage in effective CS instruction will steer the work. The study aims to recruit up to 80 teachers who are being prepared to teach CS in high-need middle and high schools. They will participate during their pre-service preparation program and their 2-year in-service teaching requirement, as well as beyond this teaching requirement. Mixed methods will be used to collect survey, interview, observation, and institutional data over time. The data will be analyzed to describe teachers’ development of CS knowledge and social justice pedagogy, their experience as a student teacher and a novice lead teacher, their community of support, their identity as a CS teacher, as well as features of the preparation program and school sites. Using a design-research approach, the team will use the data to iteratively refine the conjecture map and make changes at the program level at each institution. This project has the potential to contribute to understanding of how programs can prepare teachers to deliver CS content in an equitable and inclusive way, including identifying promising preparation strategies and supports to address factors that affect retention in high-need schools. It is intended to result in a theoretical model that can be used to inform the design of programs that can increase CS teacher retention and support equitable CS instruction in middle and high school. The geographic dispersion of Noyce projects will increase the likelihood that the results will be relevant to a range of populations and settings. An advisory board of experts on computer science education, teacher preparation, and equity in computing will monitor and provide feedback on project milestones, as well as contribute their expertise to the design of recruitment, data collection, and data analyses. Study findings will be disseminated to researchers and practitioners through publications, presentations, and a CS teacher professional development toolkit. This Track 4: Noyce Research project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts. 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.