UCLA gets $2.5M to fund development program for computer science teachers

UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund a professional development program for computer science teachers in Los Angeles high schools.

 

The new program, Teachers Are Key, brings together education reform researchers and faculty from UCLA and the University of Oregon with the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

 

"There is a severe shortage of high school teachers who have both computer science content and pedagogical knowledge to teach a college-preparatory level computer science curriculum," said Jane Margolis, a UCLA senior education researcher and principal investigator for the grant. "Our goal is to design and implement an intensive program that will offer continuous in-classroom teacher development supported by district-wide computer science coaching and a peer-to-peer monitoring system."

 

Teachers Are Key is based on Margolis' research identifying the main obstacles to offering and achieving quality high school computer science education. 

 

"In addition to the teacher crisis, we also found that current computer science courses fail to engage students and are commonly confused with computer literacy courses," Margolis said. "The challenges we identified are most severe in schools with high concentrations of African American and Latino/a students."

 

The research findings obtained and programs designed through Teachers Are Key will be disseminated nationwide, allowing other school districts and universities to utilize them.   

 

Part of the initial launch of the program includes a new pre-AP computer science college preparatory course, "Exploring Computer Science," which will be piloted in more than 20 Los Angeles schools during the 2009–10 academic year. Educational coaches will help teachers develop successful strategies, assist with student recruitment, ensure that the curriculum is aligned with national standards and provide on-line and in-person support. Peer-to-peer teacher support teams will work together to help improve teaching methods.

 

Joanna Goode, an assistant professor of education at the University of Oregon who earned her doctorate at UCLA, will also serve as a principal investigator for the grant. 

 

Co-investigators include Todd Ullah, principal of Washington Prep High School in Los Angeles, and Diane Watkins, director of secondary science for the LAUSD. 

 

Teachers Are Key will build new partnerships with UCLA's Center X, the Computer Science Teachers Association, the UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) and UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA).

The UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) includes both the department of education and the department of information studies. Together, the two embody the school's commitment to understanding and improving educational practice, information systems and policy in a diverse society. GSE&IS's academic programs bring together faculty and students committed to expanding the range of knowledge in education, information science and associated disciplines. Its professional programs seek to develop librarians, teachers, administrators and information professionals within the enriched context of a research university.

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