Collaborative Research: CAFECS: AP CSP Access for All

The Learning Partnership, Western Springs IL

Investigators

Abstract

The Learning Partnership, DePaul University, and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will collaborate to ensure that all students in Chicago participate in engaging, relevant, and rigorous computing experiences, increase opportunities for all students to pursue computing pathways and prepare all students for the future workforce. Each year, about 14,000 students in CPS graduate with one year of high school computer science credit in fulfillment of the district’s computer science graduation requirement. This accomplishment was the culmination of over a decade of work by the Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science research-practice partnership, which includes CPS teachers, CPS administrators, university computer science faculty, and educational researchers. However, access to advanced computer science courses, specifically AP CS Principles, remains limited. The goal of this project is to ensure every CPS student can take AP CS Principles in their high school and succeed with a score of 3+ on the AP exam. In addition to improving computer science education and supporting teacher professional development, the project will ultimately lead to the development of a stronger and more robust computing workforce that will enhance U.S. economic competitiveness. The project will provide systems of support to address the challenges inherent in preparing all students and teachers for success in AP CS Principles and ensure the course is taught using culturally responsive pedagogy. An increasing proportion of new AP CS Principles teachers do not have a deep background in computer science, and this project will provide content-specific professional development and ongoing coaching. Teachers will be scaffolded in implementing culturally responsive teaching practices through the Exploring Connections to Computer Science activities and professional development program. These practices are especially important for addressing gaps in course outcomes. The project will reach approximately 75 teachers, which would be sufficient to have at least one CS Principles teacher in every school that does not currently offer AP CS Principles. As a result, the number of students taking AP CS Principles should double from roughly 2000 to 4000 students within three years. The project will engage in hypothesis-driven research to identify factors that predict, facilitate or hinder implementation of AP CS Principles in neighborhood schools and create a framework of strategies to support the district-wide effort to expand AP CS Principles. 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.