Equitable Professional Learning for K12 Computer Science Teachers

Abstract

To address racial and gender inequality in K12 STEM and computer science education, there needs to be mutli-pronged approach. In addition to the needed work for curricula that is culturally responsive and sustaining, inclusive of all student group, and positively welcomes the identities of historically marginalized people groups, K12 computer science teachers need to be equipped with the training and tools to implement the curricula, pedagogy, and instruction to mitigate the racial and gender gaps in K12 computer science education. To address racial and gender inequality in K12 STEM and computer science education, there needs to be a multi-pronged approach. In addition to the needed work for curricula that is culturally responsive and sustaining, inclusive of all student groups, and positively welcome the identities of historically marginalized people groups, K12 computer science teachers need to be equipped with the training and tools to implement the curriculum, pedagogy, and instruction to mitigate the racial and gender gaps in K12 computer science education. Professional learning is an oft-used medium by curriculum providers as a means for teachers to adequately use boxed computer science curricula on computer science topics and content only. The panel proposes and will share how to implement culturally responsivesustaining pedagogy within K12 teacher professional learning, the importance of the integration of culturally relevant computational thinking and computer science strategies for K12 teachers, improved understanding of instructional practices that benefit all students in the CS classroom, and equity centered instructional coaching can all greatly improve chances of decreasing racial and gender equity gaps at the K12 level for historically marginalized student groups. Much of the presentation will share current tools and programming available to K12 teachers as well as propose scalable and replicable models for use in in-service teacher education broadly, and in-service computer science and STEM teacher professional learning across the nation.