{"id":68306,"date":"2023-05-24T16:50:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T20:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=68306"},"modified":"2023-05-24T16:50:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T20:50:41","slug":"new-approach-to-teaching-computer-science-could-broaden-the-subjects-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/new-approach-to-teaching-computer-science-could-broaden-the-subjects-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"New approach to teaching computer science could broaden the subject\u2019s appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0growing demand for computer science skills<\/a>\u00a0in professional careers and many areas of life, K-12 schools\u00a0struggle to teach<\/a>\u00a0computer science to the next generation.<\/p>\n

However, a new approach to computer science education \u2013 called\u00a0integrated computing<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 addresses the main barriers that schools face when adding computer science education. These barriers include a\u00a0lack of qualified computer science teachers<\/a>, a lack of funds and a focus on courses tied to standardized tests.<\/p>\n

Integrated computing teaches computer science skills like programming and computer literacy within traditional courses. For example, students can use integrated computing activities to\u00a0create geometric patterns in math<\/a>,\u00a0simulate electromagnetic waves in science<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0create chatbots for literary characters<\/a>\u00a0in language arts.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0professor of learning technologies<\/a>, I have been\u00a0designing integrated computing activities<\/a>\u00a0for K-12 students for the past five years. I work with faculty and students in teacher training programs to\u00a0create and test integrated computing activities<\/a>\u00a0across all academic subjects.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0my research<\/a>, I have found that integrated computing solves three major hurdles to teaching computer science education in K-12 schools.<\/p>\n

Challenges to teaching computer science<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Fitting a new academic discipline into an\u00a0already crowded curriculum<\/a>\u00a0can be a challenge. Integrated computing allows computer science education to become part of learning in other classes, the way reading skills are also used in science, math and language arts classes.<\/p>\n

Teacher knowledge is\u00a0another difficulty when it comes to teaching computer science<\/a>\u00a0in K-12 schools. While people who specialize in computer science are often recruited to more lucrative careers than teaching, integrated computing develops all teachers\u2019 computer science knowledge. Teachers do not need to become computer science experts to teach computer literacy and programming skills to their students.<\/p>\n

In fact, the most surprising result of my research is how quickly teachers learn to teach integrated computing activities. In about two hours,\u00a0teachers can use a pre-made computer science lesson<\/a>\u00a0in their classrooms. In the future, I will teach them to use artificial intelligence to create their own lessons for their students. For example, a science teacher recently asked me how she could create a data analysis activity for her class. AI tools would allow her to\u00a0quickly design the technical aspects<\/a>\u00a0of this activity.<\/p>\n

And finally, integrated computing also addresses students\u2019 reluctance to take elective computer science classes when they have little knowledge of computer science. In 2022, over half of U.S. public high schools offered computer science, but just\u00a06% of students<\/a>\u00a0took these classes. Students who do take computer science in high school typically have had\u00a0early exposure to computer science<\/a>. Integrated computing can give all students early exposure to computer science, which I believe will increase the number of students who take computer science courses later in school.<\/p>\n

Computer science for everyone<\/h4>\n

Early exposure to computer science in school is especially important for students from groups\u00a0underrepresented in computer science<\/a>. A\u00a02022 report<\/a>\u00a0from Code.org, a nonprofit that advocates for more computer science education in K-12 schools, found that students who are Latino, female or from low-income or rural areas are\u00a0less likely<\/a>\u00a0to be enrolled in foundational computer science courses.<\/p>\n

Teachers who want to build their computer science knowledge and apply it to their classroom can try these free self-paced, online\u00a0integrated computing courses<\/a>\u00a0that I developed, and which are tied to micro-credentials. Also, this sortable list of\u00a0integrated computing activities<\/a>\u00a0provides free lesson plans. The activities require only a computer \u2013 no prior knowledge is needed, and young learners can complete them outside of class, too.<\/p>\n

Integrated computing provides a path to increase computer literacy for all K-12 students. As technology advances at an increasing rate, I believe schools must take care that our young people do not fall behind.<\/p>\n

Author Bio: Lauren Margulieux is Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at Georgia State University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite\u00a0growing demand for computer science skills\u00a0in professional careers and many areas of life, K-12 schools\u00a0struggle to teach\u00a0computer science to the next generation. However, a new approach to computer science education \u2013 called\u00a0integrated computing\u00a0\u2013 addresses the main barriers that schools face when adding computer science education. These barriers include a\u00a0lack of qualified computer science teachers, a […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[434447],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-68306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-integrated-computing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew approach to teaching computer science could broaden the subject\u2019s appeal - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/new-approach-to-teaching-computer-science-could-broaden-the-subjects-appeal\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New approach to teaching computer science could broaden the subject\u2019s appeal - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite\u00a0growing demand for computer science skills\u00a0in professional careers and many areas of life, K-12 schools\u00a0struggle to teach\u00a0computer science to the next generation. 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