Building Teacher Capacity to Integrate Computer Science into Elementary Mathematics

About This Grant

Rapid changes in computing, especially with advances in artificial intelligence, are reshaping the future needs of society and the demands on the STEM workforce. More than ever, computer science (CS) education is critical for all children. Many schools are looking for ways to introduce CS skills and thinking in the elementary grades. Whereas some initiatives have focused on coding as its own endeavor, not integrated with subjects like mathematics, science, or literacy, developers and researchers are increasingly exploring ways that programming and computational thinking (CT) can be integrated into core content. This project investigates the idea that providing teachers and students with resources to integrate CS/CT with mathematics can mutually benefit learning in both disciplines. Embedding programming into core mathematics instruction for grades 2-5 ensures that all children gain experience with CT and programming in developmentally appropriate ways. It can also increase access to critical mathematics content by providing an engaging approach to mathematics that offers different affordances than pencil-and-paper activities. This project will develop resources that strengthen teacher capacity, engage children in mathematics learning, and prepare them for STEM education pathways. Working with school district partners in four states across the eastern U.S., the project will impact over 100 teachers and 2100 children. An additional 192 teachers in comparison classrooms will be involved in research activities. This project will design and study resources that build teacher capacity to integrate CS/CT into mathematics by building on the investigators' prior work developing integrated Math+CS modules in grades 2-5. These prototype modules introduce children to rich CS/CT challenges using microworlds in the blocks-based programming language Snap!, support critical grade-level mathematics, and promote persistence in problem solving. The work will investigate how the use of Math+CS modules, combined with professional learning and online teacher resources, including video, can build teachers' capacity for CS integration in elementary mathematics. The project will use an iterative design process to create, refine, and test a set of teacher supports for Math+CS; explore feasibility of implementation; investigate usability of the modules; and study teacher and student outcomes. Classroom observations and student interviews will be analyzed using mixed-methods approaches in order to investigate children's engagement and development of programming skill, CS/CT, and mathematical thinking. To examine the impact on teachers' self-efficacy for CS/CT and programming, self-efficacy for teaching CS/CT and programming, and beliefs about CS education, the study will employ a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design using hierarchical regression analysis to examine teacher survey results. Dissemination will focus on making the project's findings and products widely available to both practitioners and researchers, providing free access to the Math+CS modules and teacher supports and reporting via professional meetings and publications. This project is co-funded by NSF's DRK-12 and ITEST programs. The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models, and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. 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.