We’re a researcher-practitioner partnership at the University of Washington, Shoreline School District, and Highline School District investigating innovative ways to integrate CS education and social justice. Our team combines diverse perspectives and expertise in secondary teacher education, CS education research, administration, and social justice perspectives on computing and society. Our goal is to prepare a new generation of secondary CS educators who center social justice in their teaching, developing students critical consciousness about their relationship to computing in the world.
Our core activities include:
- Writing a free, online, web accessible book, which teaches foundations of CS from a social justice perspective.
- A new 5th quarter add-on endorsement in the UW College of Education’s Secondary Teacher Education Program, graduating up to 20 new secondary CS teachers a year to serve Washington state schools. We’re calling this program STEP CS.
- Research on the challenges and opportunities in preparing justice-focused CS educators.
- Fostering a community of justice-focused CS educators across Washington state and beyond, to support professional learning and networking.
Throughout these activities, our goal is to broaden participation in CS by diversifying CS teachers, and preparing them to teach in CS culturally-responsive, critically conscious ways.
Our team
Our core team includes:
- Amy J. Ko, Ph.D. (PI). Amy is a Professor at the University of Washington Information School, and an expert in CS teaching and learning, as well as other areas of computer science, including human-computer interaction and software engineering. She directs the Code & Cognition Lab, which investigates equitable ways for humanity to learn the power and perils of computing.
- Anne Beitlers, Ph.D. (PI). Anne is an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Washington College of Education, and an expert in English education and teaching methods. She directs the Secondary Teacher Education Program, which graduates an annual cohort of justice-focused educators.
- Dan Gallagher, Ed.D. (Co-PI). Dan is the Director of Career and Technical Education at Shoreline School District and an expert on researcher-practitioner partnerships.
- Juan Lozano (Co-PI). Juan is an Instructional Specialist in Career and Technical Education at Highline School District, a high school CS teacher, and a passionate advocate for broadening participation in computing.
Our Ph.D. students include:
- Jayne Everson. Jayne is a PhD student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, and a former high school math, science, and CS teacher. She is interested in tools to support project-based learning in CS.
- Megumi Kivuva. Megumi is a PhD student in the The Information School and intersted in identity, belonging, equity, and justice in CS.
Other contributors to teaching and research include:
- Brett Wortzman, who is teaching one of the endorsement classes in CS teaching methods.
- Mara Kirdani-Ryan, who has contributed to the book’s chapter on computers.
- Matt Davidson, who has contributed to the book’s chapter on assessment.
- Alannah Oleson, who has contributed to the book’s chapter on design.
- Stefania Druga, who has contributed to the book’s chapter on AI.
Our advisory board includes:
- Andrew Shouse, Chief Program Officer at Washington STEM
- Adam Smith, CTE Director in Cheney School District, CS teacher, and chapter co-president of CSTA Spokane.
- Cheri Bortelson, CS curriculum developer at Bellevue School District.
- William Penuel, expert on researcher-practitioner partnerships.
- Katie Headrick Taylor, an expert on digitally-mediated, intergenerational learning.
We expect to grow to include additional instructors, doctoral students, and undergraduates.
Funding
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2031265. 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.