STEM &amp; Computer Science Disciplines

Theme/Strand

Technological Innovations

Designing for Broader Access: Considerations in Providing Opportunities for Students to Create Computational Models

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 20:56:39 +0000

Designing for Broader Access: Considerations in Providing Opportunities for Students to Create Computational Models

This session explores the kinds of obstacles students encounter when creating computational models and potential approaches for addressing these issues.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 16:56

Date/Time

Friday, June 8, 2018 - 08:30 - Friday, June 8, 2018 - 10:00

Location

Hoover

Presenters

Daniel Damelin

Joseph Krajcik

Students have traditionally faced difficulties in creating their own computational models due to steep learning curves associated with programming, difficulties in formulating mathematical equations, and lack of student-centered tools to facilitate the use of data from real-world phenomena to inform model design. Addressing these issues will make it possible to broaden participation by engaging students in computational thinking and modeling at younger ages, and by providing a pathway for students who struggle with mathematical formulas and data/graph literacy to participate. Presenters kick off the discussion by demonstrating SageModeler and the design considerations that were meant to address some of these issues. Using a Zoom meeting to facilitate sharing of screens, others are invited to demonstrate or discuss software, systems, and/or projects that strive to engage students in modeling from a STEM+C perspective, with the goal of identifying challenges, design principles, and solutions. The discussion provides a forum to explore synergies between projects regarding approaches both technological and pedagogical for addressing these issues and the potential generation of new ideas for engaging students in computational modeling.

Session Types

Theme/Strand

Technological Innovations

Designing Computer-based Learning Environments That Support Synergistic STEM + Computational Thinking (CT) Learning

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 20:52:14 +0000

Designing Computer-based Learning Environments That Support Synergistic STEM + Computational Thinking (CT) Learning

This panel session brings together several projects that explore affordances and challenges to synergistic delivery of STEM and CT concepts and practices in K–12 classrooms.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 16:52

Date/Time

Friday, June 8, 2018 - 08:30 - Friday, June 8, 2018 - 10:00

Location

Presenters

While there is broad consensus about the synergistic relations between STEM domains and CT concepts and practices, there remains much to be done in developing CT-supported STEM curricula and in providing K–12 teachers and practitioners with the tools and resources to implement such curricula. In this 90-minute topical session, leaders from four DRK–12 STEM+C projects that are developing technology-based solutions address challenges in developing appropriate curricula, resources, and assessments for elementary, middle, and high school STEM courses. Project 1 discusses Collaborative, Computational STEM (C2STEM), designed as a “learning by modeling” environment that combines visual programming with the concept of domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs) to promote learning of physics and CT concepts and practices. Project 2, Science Projects Integrating Computing and Engineering (SPICE), addresses the design of curriculum materials and assessments that integrate science, engineering, and CT, and that align with the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) performance expectations for elementary students. Project 3, ENGAGE, deeply integrates CT practices within the life science curriculum by designing and studying a more comprehensive curriculum strategy for middle schools using a game-based learning environment. Project 4 investigates an innovative school-wide approach to integrating CT learning experiences in STEM courses in high school to reach all students via greater access to high-quality CT learning experiences in a variety of STEM courses.

The panel structure involves an introduction to session goals and structure, challenges, and a framing of synergistic STEM+CT learning (5 minutes); project overviews by the four panelists (40 minutes) to cover project goal(s) and challenges, approaches to synergistic STEM+CT learning, current status and results, and successes and future work; a Q&A session with discussion (40 minutes), and a final period (5 minutes) of reflection, overview of lessons learned, and a preview of future work.

Session Types

Theme/Strand

Today’s Education for Tomorrow’s College and Career Readiness

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 20:35:42 +0000

Today’s Education for Tomorrow’s College and Career Readiness

Panelists discuss the changing landscape of work, business and industry workforce demands, and current education needs and research in areas such as computational thinking.

(Moderator: Joyce Malyn-Smith)

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 16:35

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 14:15 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 15:45

Location

Presenters

What does preK–12 education need to look like in order to prepare our future workforce and citizenry? Trends and forecasts lead us to understand that the future of work will be vastly different from what we know today, particularly the relationship between humans and machines both in routine work environments across industry sectors, and also in designing solutions to formerly intractable problems. With more work tasks being performed by machines, the role of humans in the world of work is changing. What does this mean for teaching and learning in the 21st century? What new skills and/or knowledge will be needed, and how will we prepare today’s youth to succeed in tomorrow’s world? Panelists discuss the changing landscape of work, business and industry workforce demands, and current education needs and research in areas such as computational thinking. The session includes 5-minute presentations by each panelist, 40 minutes of moderated discussion, and ~30 minutes of Q&A with the audience.

Session Types

Theme/Strand

From Pilots to Products: Sustained Dissemination of Curriculum, Software, and Hardware at Scale

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 20:30:39 +0000

From Pilots to Products: Sustained Dissemination of Curriculum, Software, and Hardware at Scale

Plan how to broadly disseminate, maintain, and sustain the products of your DRK–12 and/or STEM+C project. Learn about common models, and share your own ideas and experiences.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 16:30

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 14:15 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 15:45

Location

Presenters

This session, led by veteran PIs and co-PIs from Georgia Tech and Concord Consortium, provides a forum for participants to explore the pros and cons of different routes toward product sustainability. The session begins with a carousel activity in which participants respond to prompt questions about challenges and models for transitioning educational resources from research projects to sustained dissemination at scale. The session leaders then present lightning talks on the pros and cons of common models seen through the lens of the recent DRK–12, MSP, and STEM+C projects led by the presenters. Models include the creation of for-profit and nonprofit entities, the institutionalization of projects within universities, the publishing of software and educational resources via open-source approaches and through publishers, the expansion of alliances with school districts and state departments of education, and the solicitation of industry sponsorships. Participants gather in small groups and participate in a guided activity that prompts them to reflect on the applicability of each model to their own projects, and to explore next steps for their projects.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to

describe models for transitioning projects (e.g., commercialization/I-Corps/SBIR, district and state partnerships, industry partnerships, open source) and understand how they have been applied to specific DRK–12 and STEM+C projects;
articulate common challenges in transitioning the curriculum, hardware, and software products of successful DRK–12 and/or STEM+C projects into scalable, maintainable, and sustainable educational resources; and
reflect on which models may be most appropriate for their own projects, develop plans for next steps, and receive feedback on those plans.

Session Types

Project Design, Implementation, & Dissemination

Theme/Strand

DRK–12 Early Learning Topical Group Synthesis Feedback

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 20:26:07 +0000

DRK–12 Early Learning Topical Group Synthesis Feedback

Discuss and provide feedback on a brief synthesis of the DRK–12 portfolio as it relates to STEM education from preK through grade 3.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 16:26

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 14:15 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 15:45

Location

Presenters

Session Types

Theme/Strand

Broadening the Participation of Latinx Students in Learning Mathematics and Computer Programming: Affordances and Challenges

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 19:38:27 +0000

Broadening the Participation of Latinx Students in Learning Mathematics and Computer Programming: Affordances and Challenges

Join presenters as they use an equity framework to engage participants in discussing broadening the participation of Latinx middle school students in a mathematics and computer programming program.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 15:38

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 14:15 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 15:45

Location

Coolidge

Presenters

Sylvia Celedon-Pattichis

This roundtable discussion begins by framing the affordances and challenges in the context of broadening the participation of Latinx middle school students in STEM+C using an equity lens (Gutiérrez, 2012). Four axes are included as part of this framework: access, achievement (in our case, understandings), identity, and power. Participants are asked to share their understandings of the issues in relation to this equity lens and share stories of opportunities and challenges, as well as ideas of how to address those challenges. An open discussion follows to summarize findings into the following themes: lessons learned, best practices, challenges, and a call for action. We will initiate the discussion by asking the following questions under each theme.

Lessons learned: How can we support learning by building on middle school mathematics or other prior knowledge? What surprises emerged as new issues during your implementation? How were they addressed?
Best practices: How does research inform best practices for working with Latinx middle school students? What strategies can be used to address some of the challenges?
Challenges: How can we broaden participation for students who cannot access the curriculum in English? How can we support low-income communities with limited access to the internet and computing resources?
Call for action: What can middle schools do to support sustainable engagement in mathematics and computer programming? What is the role that universities can play in supporting middle schools? How can the community support them?

Gutiérrez, R. (2012). Context matters: How should we conceptualize equity in mathematics education? In B. Herbel-Eisenmann, J. Choppin, D. Wagner, & D. Pimm (Eds.), Equity in discourse for mathematics education: Theories, practices, and policies (pp. 17–33). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.

Session Types

Theme/Strand

Broadening Participation Through Enhanced Relationships Between STEM Content and Disciplinary Language for Teaching English Learners

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 19:33:26 +0000

Broadening Participation Through Enhanced Relationships Between STEM Content and Disciplinary Language for Teaching English Learners

Learn about a model of language-rich STEM inquiry for broadening participation of English learners in formal and informal spaces, followed by an interactive discussion.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 15:33

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 14:15 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 15:45

Location

Hoover

Presenters

Cory Buxton

This roundtable session begins with the presentation of a model of language-rich STEM inquiry for broadening participation of English learners (ELs) in formal and informal spaces. This model, developed through the work of this DRK–12 project, brings together EL students, their families, and their STEM teachers in both formal and informal STEM learning spaces. The goal of the model is to support teachers in better utilizing their EL students’ conceptual and linguistic assets to support STEM learning goals with the larger aim of broadening participation in STEM to include more ELs. Particular attention is given to the development of the language of STEM, not as language that passively reflects or describes pre-existing concepts and structures but, rather, as multimodal, disciplinary discourse that plays an active role in bringing those concepts and structures into being as STEM students make meaning of the natural world. One of the primary goals of this project was to develop a model that would support teachers in providing all of their students, and particularly their ELs, with the experiences and tools needed to own this language of disciplinary meaning making. Three components of this model are highlighted during this session: multimodal pedagogies, translanguaging practices, and surfing semantic waves. Discussion of these components is followed by time for group discussion and sharing of related strategies.

More specifically, during the group discussion, participants break into three groups based on the three model components that were introduced. Each group considers the following discussion questions and reports back to the whole group with a few key insights and examples from their own work.

Multimodal Pedagogies

How do multimodal approaches to language use in STEM (e.g., creating and discussing models, graphic representations, tool use) provide additional resources for ELs (and all students) to engage more fully in STEM learning?
What additional scaffolds, resources, or supports do you believe EL students and their teachers need to take full advantage of multimodal approaches to language use in STEM?
What examples, resources, or strategies from your own work relate to this idea of using multimodal pedagogies to engage students more fully in the language of STEM?

Translanguaging Practices

How do translanguaging practices (e.g., normalizing the bilingual experience, supporting students in using all their linguistic resources) provide additional resources for ELs (and all students) to engage more fully in STEM learning?
What additional scaffolds, resources, or supports do you believe EL students and their teachers need to take full advantage of translanguaging practices to support STEM learning?
What examples, resources, or strategies from your own work relate to this idea of using translanguaging practices to engage students more fully in the language of STEM?

Surfing Semantic Waves

How does the concept of surfing semantic waves (e.g., teachers intentionally guiding classroom discourse to move back and forth between more-concrete/less-dense disciplinary language and more-abstract/denser disciplinary language) provide additional resources for ELs (and all students) to engage more fully in STEM learning?
What additional scaffolds, resources, or supports do you believe EL students and their teachers need to take full advantage of semantic waving practices to support STEM learning?
What examples, resources, or strategies from your own work relate to this idea of semantic waving practices to engage students more fully in the language of STEM?

Session Types

Theme/Strand

The Ongoing Process of Validating and/or Adapting Learning Trajectories Over Time

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 19:01:11 +0000

The Ongoing Process of Validating and/or Adapting Learning Trajectories Over Time

Hypothetical learning trajectories imply negotiation between teachers and students. In this session, researchers discuss how they validate learning trajectories under variable conditions and anticipate change in practice artifacts.

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 15:01

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 10:45 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 12:15

Location

Presenters

This session contributes to a methodological strand involving experienced researchers on learning trajectories and/or learning progressions (LTs/LPs). All these researchers have empirically demonstrated the potential of LT/LP work to broaden participation by leveraging student ideas and offering engaging task designs. Presenters share new LT research on computational thinking. This topical session asks participants to respond to critical questions on the topics of validity and change followed by audience questions and comments. Validation of LTs (conducted through qualitative analysis and/or measurement) is a process of argumentation linking one’s cognitive claims to forms of evidence gathering and to interpretation of results through warrant and evidence (Kane, 2006; Pellegrino, DiBello, & Goldman, 2016).

The presenters recognize that validation has strong ties to one’s sample and one’s purposes and models for use and implementation. During this session, a presenter from each project reports on how the project plans to or did conduct validation studies of its LT and how differing conditions of practice are handled in field testing and implementation. Participants are asked about their concerns about the trajectories for their LT/LPs: What is hypothetical about LTs? To what degree and how do you expect them to change or be adapted? Do you have a process for anticipating and accommodating change in the LT/LP and its artifacts of practice? Finally, participants are asked, How are your approaches to validation and change mutually complementary or in tension?

Kane, M. T. (2006). Content-related validity evidence in test development. In M. T. Haladyna & M. S. Downing (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 131-153). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Pellegrino, J. W., DiBello, L. V., & Goldman, S. R. (2016). A framework for conceptualizing and evaluating the validity of instructionally relevant assessments. Educational Psychologist, 51(1), 59-81.

Session Types

Theme/Strand

Technological Innovations

Promoting STEM Learning for Students with Learning Disabilities

Cadre-Admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 18:50:29 +0000

Promoting STEM Learning for Students with Learning Disabilities

Panelists examine the challenges and opportunities faced by STEM educators when balancing strong STEM pedagogy with specific strategies for students with learning disabilities.

(Moderator: Robert Ochsendorf)

Cadre-Admin Fri, 04/27/2018 - 14:50

Date/Time

Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 10:45 - Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 12:15

Location

Presenters

For decades, the STEM education community has been moving toward modes of collaborative inquiry and social constructivism within rich and deep contexts for investigation. This includes situated learning models (e.g., cognitive apprenticeship) and student-centered learning in project-based learning environments. A primary focus in recent science education reform efforts encourages students and teachers to engage in more open inquiry and problem-solving practices that are inherent in the scientific discovery process. However, self-directed approaches to learning without appropriate scaffolding and structure have been shown to be counterproductive. While these issues persist in designing science learning experiences for all, they are amplified as a pedagogical challenge when considering the specific instructional needs of students with learning disabilities (LD) who tend to do better in structured learning environments.

With increased focused on students with LD (see READ Act legislation focused on dyslexia) and students with autism, it is important to understand as a community how to include, and perhaps leverage, all learners in today’s STEM learning environments.

This session includes a panel of researchers looking at these tensions between best practices in STEM and LD education. Areas of convergence between such fields is sought and examined. Three panelists give brief presentations of the challenges and opportunities they face in their work, followed by a Q&A session between the panelists and the audience. The last third of the session is a moderated discussion with the audience about salient themes that arise during the session that may help guide a research agenda in this area.

Session Types

Theme/Strand