GigCity CS4All: Creating an Inclusive 21st Century Gig-Enabled Teaching and Learning Community

Chattanooga, TN is among the top 10 fast-growing metro areas for advanced industries, having added

more than 3,000 high-paying jobs since 2010, many of which are in the technology sector. Unfortunately, Chattanooga does not have a district course pathway to prepare students to take advantage of and thrive in these career opportunities. Through this project, University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) will partner with Hamilton County Schools (HCS) and Chattanooga State Community College to develop a PreK-14 computer science (CS) course pathway that integrates ongoing HCS initiatives and best practices already in place in districts across the nation.

The project team will implement a small pilot of the program in eight schools. They will refine the program based on the pilot outcomes, and they will create a scalable implementation plan that broadens the participation of underrepresented groups, women, and disadvantaged rural students in CS knowledge. This project will help HCS improve student academic achievement, expose students to advanced coursework, increase ACT scores, and improve district graduation rates.

More broadly, this project will be instrumental in developing a much-needed workforce trained in the CS skills necessary to develop the next generation of technology-driven products and services across a range of sectors.

University of Tennessee Chattanooga will partner with Hamilton County Schools (HCS) and Chattanooga State Community College to formalize a GigCity CS4All Researcher-Practitioner Partnership (RPP). Together with stakeholders, the RPP will develop and implement a PreK-14 computer science (CS) course pathway that integrates ongoing HCS initiatives and best practices implemented in other districts across the nation.

The project will take place in three phases. In Phase 1, project leaders and stakeholders will formalize the RPP and draft a GigCity PreK-14 CS/CT Pathway based on ongoing HCS programming, as well as best practices from other districts implementing current CS pathways. In Phase 2, the RPP will implement and evaluate a small pilot of the CS pathway in eight schools representing diverse student populations.

In Phase 3, the RPP will focus on refining the CS Pathway curriculum and professional development model based on results of the pilot and focus groups with teachers. The RPP will also create a comprehensive implementation plan to scale the model districtwide, as well as a replication guide to support other districts. HCS educates a student body that is more diverse than the state average, and the district includes urban schools in Chattanooga as well as 19 outlying rural schools.

The leadership team will ensure that this diversity of voices are represented in this collaborative project, and they will create an integration plan that broadens the participation of underrepresented groups, women, and disadvantaged rural students in CS/CT knowledge and skills which will be transferrable to a wide spectrum of degree programs and careers. This project has the potential to help HCS improve student academic achievement and district graduation rates.

The research will also contribute new knowledge towards the effectiveness of ongoing CS initiatives within HCS schools, as well as known barriers to successful CS integration.

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.