SHU to Use New Grant for Teachers’ Computer Science Program

Teachers in five school districts will benefit from new training

Sacred Heart University’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education (FCE) was recently awarded $742,520 from the Connecticut Department of Education to fund computer science professional development for K-12 teachers in five school districts across the state.

For the past four years, the FCE has partnered with the international nonprofit Code.org to provide computer science training to educators. Code.org aims to make computer science a “fundamental literacy” in the 21st century.

Darcy Ronan, an FCE professor, and Cenk Erdil, associate professor in SHU’s School of Computer Science & Engineering in the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, are partners in establishing SHU as the Code.org hub for Connecticut and building capacity and interest among educators. They said the state granted the funds in recognition of their contribution as well as the need to invest in computer science education.

“This is the first time in Connecticut that there’s been public funding for computer science professional development,” said Ronan. “What we hope to do is set a model of the program that can be scaled and sustained through legislative funding. There’s an enormous need for computer science instruction. There are so many opportunities for students in computer science; they just need an opportunity to encounter it.”

Michael Alfano, FCE dean, said the grant continues to advance the college. “The funding builds and extends on the Farrington College of Education’s relationships with K-12 educators,” he said. “This shows we are responsive to educators’ needs, and we are helping them to lean into important areas. It allows for the creation of a hub for computer science professional development for teachers, building on our existing professional development work with Code.org.”

The funding will enable SHU and Code.org to train a cohort of K-12 teachers from five high-needs school districts across the state. Previous computer science training workshops were filled with teacher volunteers from various schools, Ronan said, but the grant changes the strategy. The grant supports district partners though a planning process so that they can thoughtfully execute integrating computer science into curricula and identify training needs.

“It’s not just one teacher from a district,” Ronan said. “This new model, this new strategy, makes computer science learning and teaching more sustainable.”

Professional development sets up the districts for a cohesive K-12 computer science pathway. Students will begin to learn computer science when they enter kindergarten and will leave their senior year of high school ready for a variety of pathways.

Traditionally, students have been introduced to computer science in high school―perhaps in an Advanced Placement class. “That was the standard,” Erdil said. “And that’s too late.”

Students who show interest in learning more have had to wait until other classes were available or take a college course, he said.

“We’re making it so everyone starts learning about computer science in kindergarten, so when students do go to college, they can do artificial intelligence, machine learning and so much more.” Early exposure to computer science is also important to ensure broad participation and counter patterns of underrepresentation, Erdil added.

Week-long workshops will start next summer, and then groups will meet on four additional Saturdays throughout the academic year. By the end of the experience, middle school and high school teachers will be equipped with tools and skills to teach a course in computer science with confidence. Elementary school teacher participants will be prepared as master teachers who will then share the curriculum and skills they learned with colleagues.  

“We strongly believe that computer science belongs in every school,” Ronan said.

“Computer science is part of the students’ world; it’s part of their experience. We want to empower them to also be creators of technology, not only users of technology. Computer science teaches them a way to think and approach problems.”

Educators who complete the training will earn credits toward a certificate from SHU’s computer science education endorsement.

To learn more about SHU’s computer science programs and Ronan and Erdil’s work with Code.org, visit the computer science education webpage.

Pictured: Professors Cenk Erdil, right, and Darcy Ronan