Teacher Preparation in Computer Science and Justice for Transformation

This project aims to meet the national need to develop justice-oriented STEM teachers certified to teach computer science. Program participants will first earn a baccalaureate degree in a STEM major, then pursue teacher certification through Northwestern University's Master of Science in Education (MSED) program. Students will complete the requirements for an Illinois elementary or secondary teaching license in a STEM area, with a subsequent endorsement in computer science.

Sixteen selected participants (two cohorts of eight each) will receive funding as Noyce Scholars for one year as MSED students. In addition to financial support, students will benefit from academic, networking, and social support through coursework to complete the MSED degree at Northwestern and two years of post-graduate teacher induction. The MSED program emphasizes social justice, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and context-specific teacher preparation.

This project at Northwestern University leverages partnerships with Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the School of Education and Social Policy. Several goals will guide the project. First, the project team will recruit, prepare, and support sixteen STEM majors with baccalaureate degrees to certify them as K-12 teachers with a computer science endorsement.

A second goal is to provide a locally immersive and context-specific approach to teacher preparation that enhances individuals' agency and critical analysis of social systems as the foundation of transformative education. The third goal is to produce teachers who understand computational thinking and how it contributes to learning within and across disciplines.

Investigations through comprehensive mixed methods formative and summative project evaluations will provide assessment and feedback and generate new knowledge for best practices. Project investigators will disseminate challenges, successes, and findings through social media, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations at regional and national conferences.

This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) and is partially supported by funds from Micron Foundation. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts.

It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.

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.