Professional Development for Rural Stem Teachers on Data Science and Cybersecurity: A University and School Districts' Partnership

Abstract

The research experience for teachers (RET) professional development was a six-week long summer-intensive National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that took place at a large university in western Texas. It was designed to provide a research-rich learning environment in data science and cybersecurity for STEM teachers in the region, which is mainly rural. Due to geographical isolation, rural teachers lack resources to prepare their middle and high school students for STEM careers and often find it difficult to bring innovative science teaching into their classrooms. The team was comprised of nine teachers, five professors, and six graduate students. We utilized discourse analysis within the situated perspective to examine teacher reflections and artifacts to discover how they assimilated disciplinary knowledge of data science and its application to cybersecurity and how they transferred this knowledge into their middle and high school curriculum. We found the teachers acquired this knowledge by gradually developing a scientist persona. They also acquired sophisticated pedagogical knowledge to integrate complex concepts into their middle and high school STEM curriculum without sacrificing the state standards, while creating a community of learners. This led to reduced feelings of isolation often experienced by rural teachers. It is clear that partnerships between universities and rural school districts can transform the way STEM disciplines are delivered, creating a strong pipeline for rural students in the STEM workforce.