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Marquette University Receives $1 Million Grant for Computer Science Teacher Training

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Marquette University has received a nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support the training and professional development of computer science teachers in Milwaukee Public Schools. The grant, funded through NSF's Computer Science for All program, will allocate over $502,000 for Marquette and MPS. The three-year project aims to address a lack of adequate training and support for teachers to implement the Exploring Computer Science program, a research-based computer science curriculum.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dr. Dennis Brylow, chair and professor of computer science at Marquette University, will lead the project, which aims to develop and fine-tune a computer science bootcamp experience for teachers.
  • The project will support professional development through a professional learning community focused on pedagogical and implementation concerns.
  • The adapted bootcamp experience will be implemented across two school years with a cohort of 15 teachers, gathering feedback to inform improvements and generate knowledge related to the support and content that teachers need to implement Exploring Computer Science.
  • The project aligns with the Capacity, Access, Participation, Experience framework for computer science education, which MPS uses to promote equitable computer science education.
  • This is the fourth NSF grant for Marquette's PISCES Lab, focused on Promoting Innovative Systems for Computing Education in Schools, since 2014.
  • The grant builds on previous collaborations with the American Institutes for Research and The Learning Partnership, and includes partnerships with Marquette, MPS, the American Institutes for Research, and The Learning Partnership.
  • The project aims to address the need for teacher training and support to implement the Exploring Computer Science program, which has been reported as inadequate by MPS teachers.

Statistics:

  • The grant award is nearly $1 million.
  • Over $502,000 will be allocated for Marquette and MPS.
  • The project will implement the adapted bootcamp experience in two school years with a cohort of 15 teachers.
  • The ECS program has a primarily Black (54%) and Hispanic (27%) student population.
  • The PISCES Lab has received four NSF grants since 2014, totaling over $4 million.
  • The Exploring Computer Science program has been implemented in several MPS schools, but teachers have reported a lack of adequate training and support.

Sources:

  • National Science Foundation, Computer Science for All program.
  • Marquette University, Press Release, received (no date).
  • "Exploring Computer Science" program, American Institutes for Research, The Learning Partnership.

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