PD4CS (Professional Development for Computer Science)<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Funded by National Science Foundation, $1,152,669\u00a02013-2017, PI<\/em>. The goal of project PD4CS is to establish an evidence-based professional development (PD) program to improve teachers\u2019 knowledge to teach computer science, with a special focus on the effective training of teachers having limited computer science background.\u00a0The project team will (i) develop and implement a high-quality professional development approach that incorporates face-to-face training coupled with continuous online just-in-time support at a large-scale; and (ii) assess the effectiveness of that professional development at improving teachers\u2019 knowledge and skills for teaching computer science.<\/p>\n Collaborative Research: Research Initiation: Facilitating Design Thinking through Cases<\/strong>, National Science Foundation, $149,986, 2015-2018, PI<\/em>.\u00a0The goal of the proposed project is to use case studies to introduce design thinking to first-generation and underrepresented students to help them transition from classroom and lab-based learning to engineering capstone design and ultimately to their careers in engineering fields. The case studies will be implemented as part of a new discussion section for a Mechanical Engineering class at UC Merced, a Hispanic Serving Institution where over 60% of undergraduates are the first in their families to attend college, more than half come from bilingual or non-English-speaking homes, and more than 75% of students receive financial aid.\u00a0The main objectives of this project are to: (1) Develop the PI’s expertise in embedding case studies to teach design thinking, (2) establish a library of case studies that use design thinking to expand engineering students’ view of problem formulation and solution development, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of case-based instruction for instilling design thinking behavior in a diverse student population.<\/p>\n Research on Practice Using STEM Inquiry Embedded with Computational Thinking in Elementary School<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0Funded by National Science Foundation, $1,013,651, 2015-2017, Co-PI. \u00a0<\/em>The project will research the results of integrating scientific inquiry and computational thinking in elementary schools, focusing on grades 2-5. Starting with the exemplar lessons, the project will work with the teachers to iteratively modify, implement, and refine those lessons. The project research will investigate how and to what extent this approach enhances teacher and subsequent student understanding (through the lessons they have developed) of computational thinking and inquiry.<\/p>\n
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This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers 1738677, 1502462, 1543061, 1544068, and 1309173. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n