Technology Enhanced Learning for Computer Science Education: A regional STEM Widening Access Case Study
Abstract
The paper details a regional widening access STEM initiative in utilizing computing programming for RaspberryPI, Arduino, Lego Mindstorms and Quadcopters in a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course targeted at IT teachers from schools with a demographic that aligns with the University’s widening access strategy. The paper reports on the results from a “Teach The Teachers” approach and their views of Technology Enhanced Learning for Computer Science Education before and after the CPD course.
... The paper then presents some of the results and feedback obtained from the participants of the sessions and examines how the module has influenced their teaching practices. These results are comparable to the first "run" [16]. In conclusion future plans for similar 'Teach the Teacher'/ 'Train the Trainers' modules are discussed. ...
... Participants have agreed to be contacted at intervals over the next 2 years to monitor their use of the tools explored in this course. The second instance of the course reported here has positive comparable results with the first instance [16]. We have since developed further CPD modules which are ongoing, based on advanced use of these tools as a result of the feedback obtained. ...
This paper summarises a regional widening access STEM initiative in utilizing computing programming for RaspberryPI, Arduino, Lego Mindstorms and Quadcopter Drones in a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course targeted at IT teachers from schools with a demographic that aligns with the University's widening access strategy. The paper reports on the results from a second run of a " Teach the Teachers " (T3) programme and tracking their views of Technology Enhanced Learning for Computer Science Education (TEL4CSE) before and after the CPD course. The paper will firstly address the regional environment and associated statistics that highlight the various achievement gaps. It then goes on to describe the widening access project including the CPD T3 TEL4CSE course that targeted schools with a high percentage of pupils from the categories at the lower end of the spectrum of achievement. The paper then presents some of the results and feedback from the teachers on the CPD course and highlights how it is influencing their practice in school before concluding with future plans for the initiative. The outreach initiative has been a success to date and the data indicates that the teachers have left enthused and believe it will help with improving and motivating the pupils in the lower achievement categories. The teachers will be contacted at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months to monitor progress. From the feedback it is also intended to offer further CPD advanced courses in each of the technologies.
The shift towards physicality and materiality in interaction design and the rise of the Internet of Things is likely to lead to a high demand for physical computing devices and experiences in the coming years. Previous researches have argued that design and development for physical computing require on a diversity of skills including physical design, electronics, computational logic and programming and collaboration. Recent trends in computing education (e.g., initiatives that seek to encourage engagement with computer science topics from a younger age) have the potential to make schools a highly promising site for the development of physical computing skills. Yet, we hypothesize that teaching and learning physical computing is likely to present a range of unique challenges that aren’t addressed by programs that are primarily focused on topics of computing and computer programming alone. In this paper, we present a study that explores the extent and nature of physical computing teaching in the context of one high-profile computing education program: the UK’s Computing at School initiative. Our study comprised a questionnaire that was distributed to teachers, and follow-up interviews with selected respondents. Our findings suggested that physical computing concepts aren't commonly taught in schools, despite physical computing tools being prevalent.
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