Educate Maine

THE SATELLITE CHIPSET COMPUTER SCIENCE LEARNING MODULE

CSFORME: INTEGRATING COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN MAINE'S RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS -EDUCATE MAINE, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCING COMPUTING EDUCATION, WILL EXPLORE AND PLAN RESOURCES TO PREPARE AND SUPPORT CORE CURRICULUM TEACHERS INTEGRATING COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING (CS/CT) INTO THEIR COURSES. INTEGRATION OF CS/CT INTO REQUIRED CORE DISCIPLINES (SUCH AS SOCIAL STUDIES, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA), MATH AND SCIENCE) HOLDS GREAT PROMISE FOR FOSTERING MORE PARTICIPATION AND INTEREST IN CS AND FOR INCREASING THE GENERAL CS/CT SKILLS AND INTEREST IN THE WORKFORCE. INTEGRATION IS AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT STRATEGY IN RURAL SCHOOLS WHICH OFTEN CANNOT AFFORD A CS-SPECIFIC TEACHER. THIS PROJECT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTITIONERS AND RESEARCHERS SEEK TO SUPPORT MAINE TEACHERS IN DEVELOPING CS SKILLS THAT CAN PREPARE STUDENTS FOR ENTERING THE MODERN WORKFORCE. THIS SMALL HIGH SCHOOL STRAND RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP (RPP) WILL IMPLEMENT EXPLORATORY RESEARCH, RPP BUILDING, AND PILOT TESTING THAT RESULTS IN STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATOR MOTIVATION, AND RESEARCH DATA THAT WILL UNDERPIN THE FUTURE CREATION OF RESOURCES TO PREPARE AND SUPPORT TEACHERS IMPLEMENTING CS/CT INTEGRATION INTO CORE DISCIPLINE TOPICS IN MAINE?S RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS. THE PROJECT WILL REACH 140 TEACHERS IN RURAL MAINE HIGH SCHOOLS WHILE PILOT TESTING A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES AND ENGAGE TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE IN LISTENING SESSIONS AND FOCUS GROUPS, AS WELL AS CONVENING AN 8-PERSON RPP. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THREE RESEARCH QUESTIONS: (1) WHAT OBSTACLES DO HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IN RURAL MAINE COMMUNITIES FACE IN INTEGRATING CS/CT INTO THEIR SUBJECTS? (2) WHAT SUPPORT STRUCTURES AND RESOURCES DO RURAL MAINE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS NEED TO EFFECTIVELY INTEGRATE CS/CT USING THE DEVELOPED CURRICULUM INTO OTHER SUBJECTS? (3) HOW DOES PREPARING RURAL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS TO TEACH CS/CT THROUGH THE DEVELOPED CURRICULUM IN CORE SUBJECTS IMPACT TEACHERS' CS MOTIVATION (INCLUDING SELF-EFFICACY IN TEACHING CS AND EXPECTANCY-VALUE FOR LEARNING CS), AND INTEREST IN TEACHING CS? 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

EAGER: CSFORME AI -NATIONAL EXPERTS WARN THAT THE UNITED STATES FACES A CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TALENT UNLESS EDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES EXPAND (NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, 2021). STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT LEARNING BASIC AI CONCEPTS HELPS PEOPLE BUILD PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DATA SKILLS USEFUL ACROSS MANY CAREERS, NOT JUST IN COMPUTING. INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO CORE SUBJECTS SUCH AS SOCIAL STUDIES, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, MATH, AND SCIENCE HAS STRONG POTENTIAL TO SPARK INTEREST IN AI WHILE BUILDING WORKFORCE-RELEVANT SKILLS FOR ALL STUDENTS. BECAUSE THESE SUBJECTS ARE REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION, EMBEDDING AI CONCEPTS WITHIN THEM ENSURES THAT EVERY STUDENT GAINS EXPOSURE ? NOT JUST THOSE WHO CHOOSE AN ELECTIVE COMPUTING COURSE. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INTEGRATION IS THEREFORE A PRACTICAL AND VALUABLE PATHWAY TO AI LEARNING, ESPECIALLY AT RURAL SCHOOLS, AS THEY OFTEN LACK THE RESOURCES TO OFFER STAND-ALONE COMPUTER SCIENCE CLASSES. THE CS4ME AI PROJECT WILL DESIGN AND PILOT A SHORT, MODULAR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PATHWAY TO SUPPORT RURAL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IN PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE, IN INTEGRATING AI LITERACY THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL THINKING WITHIN THREE CORE SUBJECTS (E.G., ENGLISH, SOCIAL STUDIES, MATH, SCIENCE). TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES WILL BE DELIVERED ASYNCHRONOUSLY WITH OPTIONAL VIRTUAL COACHING SESSIONS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION. TEACHERS WILL WORK IN SMALL SUBJECT-AREA GROUPS TO CO-DESIGN ONE ADAPTED LESSON INTEGRATING CT AND AI CONCEPTS. THESE LESSONS WILL BE PILOTED IN FALL 2026 AND COLLECTED AS PROJECT ARTIFACTS. ACCORDINGLY, THIS PROJECT CONTRIBUTES TO THE GOALS STATED IN THE DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER NSF 25-035 REGARDING ADVANCING AI EDUCATION FOR THE AMERICAN YOUTH. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT TEACHERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ADOPT NEW COMPUTATIONAL OR AI-RELATED INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES WHEN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IS CONTEXTUALIZED, COLLABORATIVE, AND ALIGNED TO SUBJECT-AREA GOALS. THE PROJECT WILL DESIGN AND PILOT A SHORT, MODULAR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PATHWAY TO SUPPORT 6-8 RURAL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IN PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE, IN INTEGRATING AI LITERACY THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL THINKING WITHIN THREE CORE SUBJECTS. CO-DESIGNED WITH TEACHERS, THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WILL BE BUILT ON THE FRAMEWORK OF TEACHAI?S DRAFT EMPOWERING LEARNERS FOR THE AGE OF AI: AN AI LITERACY FRAMEWORK FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (AILIT FRAMEWORK), A JOINT INITIATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD). THE PROJECT USES A MIXED-METHODS DESIGN WITH SHORT SURVEYS, ARTIFACT ANALYSIS, AND BRIEF INTERVIEWS OR REFLECTIONS DURING THE CO-DESIGN PROCESS. FACTORS TO BE INVESTIGATED INCLUDE TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY, PERCEIVED FEASIBILITY AND USEFULNESS, QUALITY OF TEACHER-CREATED LESSONS, AND INTENTIONS FOR FUTURE ADOPTION. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.