SHU Partners with Teachers for Model Computer Science Curricula

Project {FUTURE} aims to integrate computer science in elementary classrooms

When school is out for the summer, Sacred Heart University’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development on West Campus becomes a hub of activity and innovation, as Connecticut K-5 teachers gather with SHU faculty for professional learning and curriculum development. SHU’s Project {FUTURE} recently gathered its select collaborative group of 40 Connecticut elementary educators for a weeklong summer institute.

Teachers from 18 Connecticut partner schools are engaged in a two-year process to create and implement computer science-embedded units for their elementary students.

“We believe this integrated approach to computer science in elementary school is meaningful, accessible, sustainable and scalable,” said Darcy Ronan, principal investigator and director of Project {Future} and assistant professor of teacher education in the FCEHD. “It's our aim as researchers to study its effectiveness and, in particular, the potential of computer science-infused units to improve student learning in other content areas.”

Project {FUTURE} is funded by a five-year, $5.1 million research and innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Education and is a partnership with Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, where it is occurring in parallel.

“This summer institute is our chance for a brand-new kind of intervention—teacher groups collaborating in real-time with computer scientists from Marquette University to develop custom coding tools customized for the teacher-created units,” Ronan said.

Teachers Sean Hutchinson and Melissa Wall are designing a computer science-embedded unit for their fourth graders.

“This process of delving into the scientific principles behind erosion has been truly unique, and I must admit my partner and I initially wondered if our vision would work. However, collaborating with the digital resource team from Marquette has been incredibly rewarding. It was affirming that our out-of-the-box thinking was accepted and supported. My students can explore erosion beyond the limitations of traditional materials by integrating coding into this unit. As a co-creator of this unit, I've realized that using code to mimic natural processes requires a deeper understanding of scientific concepts, enabling us to transform it into a robust erosion simulation. As a team, we engaged in fruitful discussions about what concepts needed to be taught and how to utilize coding and gamification to enhance learning,” said Hutchinson a, technology integration and support specialist at Westover Magnet Elementary School in Stamford. 

Wall added, “Hearing the team get excited about our idea and hearing them discuss how to make it work—knowing that it is actually possible—was so cool. I'm excited to share with my students that I helped to create this. Maybe hearing that part—that their teacher did this, came up with the idea and helped to create this program—will help to inspire some of them to go into computer science and program development.”

The suite of tools created for Project {FUTURE} will be unique among digital simulations and animations in that students both manipulate them as users and get “under the hood” to manipulate the code behind the outcomes.

“We are so excited to be a part of this collaboration and to challenge our computer science students to create technology that is accessible to teachers with limited experience in the subject area. Ultimately, this work will impact young children in classrooms in both our states,” said Dennis Brylow, co-principal investigator of Project {FUTURE} and professor and chair of computer science at Marquette University.

Sally Drew, an associate professor of teacher education at SHU, said the program brings together diverse community members who can impact student learning. “Teachers are thrilled to have the time for innovative planning so they can be proactive in ensuring all their students’ strengths and challenges are included in the learning process and that the technologies are maximized to support students with varied learning needs,” she said.

“Project {FUTURE} has established the Farrington College of Education & Human Development as a regional leader in computer science education,” said Michael Alfano, dean of the FCEHD. “As the work continues to evolve, we look forward to hosting even more of Connecticut’s teachers on our campus.”  

Project {FUTURE} in Connecticut will produce and test 10 units, spanning the K-5 grade levels and integrating computer science with science, reading, writing, mathematics, social studies and social-emotional learning.

“Our teachers have surfaced meaningful computer science connections far beyond conventional associations. We’ve been guided from the start by our confidence in teachers’ creativity and it’s been amazing to see the possibilities and pathways they have opened up,” said Ronan.

While their own students will be the first beneficiaries, teachers are also designing for a broader reach as the authors of model units, with publication of Project {FUTURE} materials as open educational resources planned for fall 2024. “We are encouraged to see how these models and tools can catalyze more access to computer science, deeper learning and further innovation and customization.”

Project {FUTURE} counts several SHU FCEHD alums amongst its teacher participants. Kaitlin Adams, ’17, MAT ’18 is a fifth-grade teacher at Park City Magnet in Bridgeport and is developing a unit for her students to explore the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to address community issues.

“Just when I thought being an alum of the SHU five-year education program couldn’t bring me more rich, practical resources on technology in the classroom and social-emotional learning, participating in Project {FUTURE} allowed me to uniquely mesh the two to further improve on best practices for my students and their communities,” she said. Having the opportunity to collaborate with former professors, teacher colleagues from throughout the state and even a sister team from Marquette University has been invaluable to developing a unit. I think I speak for every educator when I say how important it is to play a part in raising future generations to be life-long learners and socially responsible citizens, and that starts with us as educators continuing to do our part in that process.”

Matching funding for Project {FUTURE} comes from leading international computer science education nonprofit Code.org, whose network of partners includes both SHU and Marquette. Access to computer science education is an important contemporary equity issue in education, and Project {FUTURE} is designed to situate resources and innovation primarily in high-need districts like Milwaukee, Ansonia, Bridgeport, Meriden and Stamford. Ronan and Brylow’s collaboration as researchers is grounded in the shared missions of their universities to pursue knowledge in service of the common good. A large-scale study of the computer science-embedded units will take place in the coming year across both study sites.

Above: Melissa Wall and Sean Hutchinson, both teachers in the Stamford Public Schools, collaborate with SHU Professor Darcy Ronan, left, during the Project Future intensive in June.