skip to main content
10.1145/3653666.3656110acmconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagesrespectConference Proceedingsconference-collections
short-paper

Unblock Me: An Educational Model to Increase the Computer Science Workforce

Published: 16 May 2024 Publication History

Abstract

The creation of a computer science (CS) workforce is stifled and more often blocked by regulations and policies which create a chasm in the access for African-American students (AAS) to have a quality computer science education in the k12 space. With the passing of Georgia Senate Bill 108 and 32 states adopting similar policies which require all middle and high schools to offer at least one CS class, along with Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) requirements, resources and trained educators to meet those needs were absent. This perspective on equity provides a unique and research-informed educational model that centers the needs of the student to create a significant increase of qualified, culturally-relevant trained, and passionate CS educators. This work will address many of the barriers to producing more CS teachers by identifying the pool of CS educators, addresses credentialing time, compensation, course load, and offers a model that draws upon an untapped pool to unblock the production of CS educators.

References

[1]
N. Modan, Dive Brief, "33 states adopted 57 computer science ed policies since 2018," Published Sept. 11, 2019.
[2]
Code.org, CSTA, & ECEP Alliance, "2022 State of Computer Science Education: Understanding Our National Imperative," [Online]. Available: https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs.
[3]
M. Maryska, P. Doucek, and R. Kunstova, "The Importance of ICT Sector and ICT University Education for the Economic Development," Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 55, pp. 1060--1068, 2012.
[4]
M. Oda, Y. Noborimoto, and T. Horita, "International Trends in K-12 Computer Science Curricula through Comparative Analysis: Implications for the Primary Curricula," International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 24--58, May 2021.
[5]
F. Heintz, L. Mannila, and T. Färnqvist, "A review of models for introducing computational thinking, computer science and computing in K-12 education," 2016 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pp. 1--9, 2016.
[6]
F. Moller and T. Crick, "A university-based model for supporting computer science curriculum reform," Journal of Computers in Education, vol. 5, pp. 415--434, 2018.
[7]
L. Snyder, "Status update: high school CS internationally," Inroads, vol. 3, pp. 82--85, 2012.
[8]
OECD, "Education at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators," OECD Publishing, Paris, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1787/e13bef63-en. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024]
[9]
J. Denner and S. Campe, "Equity and Inclusion in Computer Science Education: Research on Challenges and Opportunities," Computer Science Education: Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in School, p. 85, 2023.
[10]
Georgia Senate Bill 108, [Online]. Available: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/181447. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024]
[11]
Georgia Department of Education, 2022, [Online]. Available: https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/Computer-Science.aspx. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024]
[12]
Computer Science for Georgia, 2022, [Online]. Available: https://cs4ga.org/data/. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024]
[13]
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, "Preparing and Credentialing the Nation's Teachers: The Secretary's 13th Report on the Teacher Workforce," Washington, District of Columbia, 2023. Available https://title2.ed.gov. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024].
[14]
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Preparing and Credentialing the Nation's Teachers: The Secretary's 10th Report on Teacher Quality, Washington, D.C., 2016. Available http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/teachprep/index.html or at https://title2.ed.gov. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024].
[15]
J. Everson and A. J. Ko, ""I would be afraid to be a bad CS teacher": Factors Influencing Participation in Pre-Service Secondary CS Teacher Education," Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - Volume 1, 2022.
[16]
R. M. Ingersoll and D. Perda, "Is the Supply of Mathematics and Science Teachers Sufficient"" American Educational Research Journal, vol. 47, pp. 563--594, 2010.
[17]
J. Cowan, D. Goldhaber, K. G. Hayes, and R. Theobald, "Missing Elements in the Discussion of Teacher Shortages," Educational Researcher, vol. 45, pp. 460--462, 2016.
[18]
L. S. Hagedorn and A. V. Purnamasari, "A Realistic Look at STEM and the Role of Community Colleges," Community College Review, vol. 40, pp. 145--164, 2012.
[19]
J. Yang, Y. Lee, S. Y. Park, M. Wong-Ratcliff, R. G. Ahangar, and M. Mundy, "Discovering the Needs Assessment of Qualified STEM Teachers for the High-Need Schools in South Texas," Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, vol. 16, pp. 55--60, 2015.
[20]
L. Ray, C. Whitehead, K. Shamim, W. Summers, and R. Obando, "School Level Computer Science Education and Computer Science Teacher Training in the US: An Overview and an Example Solution," in Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, pp. 3931--3938, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), March 2011.
[21]
C.C. Whitehead, L. Ray, S. Khan, W. Summers, and R.A. Obando, "Implementing a computer science endorsement program for secondary school teachers," in Proceedings of the 42nd ACM technical symposium on Computer science education, 2011.
[22]
M. Menekse, "Computer science teacher professional development in the United States: a review of studies published between 2004 and 2014," Computer Science Education, vol. 25, pp. 325--350, 2015.
[23]
B. Ericson, M. Guzdial, and T. McKlin, "Preparing secondary computer science teachers through an iterative development process," in Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education, 2014.
[24]
L. Ni, G. Bausch, and R. Benjamin, "Computer science teacher professional development and professional learning communities: A review of the research literature," Computer Science Education, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 29--60, 2023. Available: https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2021.1993666.
[25]
J. Pietros and S. Sweetman, "The importance of research practice partnerships for professional development," Pds Partners, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 23--25, 2020. Available https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/importance-research-practice-partnerships/docview/2609121006/se-2.
[26]
A. Lee, "Computer science education: Online content modules and professional development for secondary teachers in west tennessee - A case study," Manager's Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 8--15, 2018.
[27]
N. R. Howard, "EdTech leaders' beliefs: How are K-5 teachers supported with the integration of computer science in K-5 classrooms"" Technology, Knowledge and Learning, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 203--217, 2019.
[28]
K. Mansour, D. Jackson, L. Bievenue, A. Voight, and N. Sridhar, "Understanding the Impact of Peer Instruction in CS Principles Teacher Professional Development," ACM Transactions on Computing Education, vol. 23, pp. 1--21, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3585077.
[29]
K. Hamlen, N. Sridhar, L. Bievenue, D. Jackson, and A. Lalwani, "Effects of Teacher Training in a Computer Science Principles Curriculum on Teacher and Student Skills, Confidence, and Beliefs," Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3159450.3159496.
[30]
J. Goode, K. Peterson, J. Malyn-Smith, and G. Chapman, "Online Professional Development for High School Computer Science Teachers: Features That Support an Equity-Based Professional Learning Community," Computing in Science & Engineering, vol. 22, pp. 51--59, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1109/MCSE.2020.2989622.
[31]
M. McGill, R. Zarch, S. Sexton, J. Smith, C. Ong, M. Rasberry, and S. Hollis, "Evaluating Computer Science Professional Development for Teachers in the United States," Proceedings of the 21st Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3488042.3488054.
[32]
T. A. Cullen, "Connecting With Industry in Computer Science Education," in Handbook of Research on Integrating Computer Science and Computational Thinking in K-12 Education, pp. 92--106, IGI Global, 2020.
[33]
GaPSC 505--3-.08 Innovative And Experimental Programs.
[34]
U. S. Department of Labor and Statistics. Available: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm
[35]
DataUSA. Available: https://datausa.io/profile/cip/computer-science-110701#top_occ_num_emp. [Accessed Feb. 1, 2024
[36]
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2023. Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023. Special Report NSF 23--315. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/wmpd.
[37]
M. Han, W. Chen, and D. Moges, "Exploration of the Professional Basic Course and the Teaching Team Construction of Computer Science Graduate," Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, pp. 7457--7461, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.12973/EJMSTE/79972. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[38]
M. Schollmeyer, "Computer programming in high school vs. college," pp. 378--382, 1996. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/236452.236584. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[39]
A. Hubbard and K. D'Silva, "Professional Learning in the Midst of Teaching Computer Science," in Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research, 2018. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3230977.3230983. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[40]
A. Hubbard and Y. Kao, "Computer Science teaching knowledge: A framework and assessment," in SIGCSE'17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, March 2017.
[41]
A. Papini, L. Delyser, N. Granor, and K. Wang, "Preparing and Supporting Industry Professionals as Volunteer High School Computer Science Co-Instructors," in Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3017680.3017743. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[42]
M. Armoni, "Looking at Secondary Teacher Preparation Through the Lens of Computer Science," ACM Transactions on Computing Education, vol. 11, pp. 23:1--23:38, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/2048931.2048934. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[43]
T. Barnes, J. Payton, and D. Garcia, "Scaling up for CS10K: Teaching and Supporting New Computer Science High School Teachers (Abstract Only)," in Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, 2016. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/2839509.2844705. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[44]
F. Martin, N. Shanley, N. Hite, M. Pérez-Quiñones, D. Pugalee, and E. Hart, "Developing Online Professional Development for High School Teachers to Teach Computer Science Online," in Proceedings of the 27th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, vol. 2, 2022. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3502717.3532174. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[45]
J. Goode, "If You Build Teachers, Will Students Come" The Role of Teachers in Broadening Computer Science Learning for Urban Youth," Journal of Educational Computing Research, vol. 36, pp. 65--88, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.2190/2102--5G77-QL77--5506. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[46]
A. Yadav, S. Gretter, S. Hambrusch, and P. Sands, "Expanding computer science education in schools: understanding teacher experiences and challenges," Computer Science Education, vol. 26, pp. 235--254, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2016.1257418. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[47]
E. Davis, D. Petish, and J. Smithey, "Challenges New Science Teachers Face," Review of Educational Research, vol. 76, pp. 607--651, 2006. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076004607. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[48]
A. Yadav, S. Gretter, and S. Hambrusch, "Challenges of a Computer Science Classroom: Initial Perspectives from Teachers," in Proceedings of the Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/2818314.2818322. [Accessed April 1, 2024].
[49]
L. S. Vygotsky, Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, 1978.
[50]
J. Piaget, To Understand Is to Invent: The Future of Education. Grossman Publishers, 1973.
[51]
A. M. Villegas and T. Lucas, "Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers: Rethinking the Curriculum," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 20--32, 2002.
[52]
J. A. Banks, Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching (6th ed.). Pearson, 2015.

Index Terms

  1. Unblock Me: An Educational Model to Increase the Computer Science Workforce

    Recommendations

    Comments

    Information & Contributors

    Information

    Published In

    cover image ACM Conferences
    RESPECT 2024: Proceedings of the 2024 on RESPECT Annual Conference
    May 2024
    321 pages
    ISBN:9798400706264
    DOI:10.1145/3653666
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

    Sponsors

    Publisher

    Association for Computing Machinery

    New York, NY, United States

    Publication History

    Published: 16 May 2024

    Permissions

    Request permissions for this article.

    Check for updates

    Author Tags

    1. CS educational policy
    2. adjunct computer science education
    3. computer science
    4. computer science education
    5. educational model
    6. equity
    7. innovative program
    8. partnerships

    Qualifiers

    • Short-paper

    Conference

    RESPECT 2024
    Sponsor:

    Upcoming Conference

    Contributors

    Other Metrics

    Bibliometrics & Citations

    Bibliometrics

    Article Metrics

    • 0
      Total Citations
    • 22
      Total Downloads
    • Downloads (Last 12 months)22
    • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0
    Reflects downloads up to 05 Jan 2025

    Other Metrics

    Citations

    View Options

    Login options

    View options

    PDF

    View or Download as a PDF file.

    PDF

    eReader

    View online with eReader.

    eReader

    Media

    Figures

    Other

    Tables

    Share

    Share

    Share this Publication link

    Share on social media