- Lisa Chambers
- http://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamchambers/
- National Executive Director
- E4Tech: Engaging, Exciting and Empowering Educators through the “T” in STEM
- http://techcorps.org/program-detail/E4Tech/201
- TECH CORPS, Teaching & Learning Collaborative
- Kelli Shrewsberry
- Executive Director
- E4Tech: Engaging, Exciting and Empowering Educators through the “T” in STEM
- http://techcorps.org/program-detail/E4Tech/201
- Teaching & Learning Collaborative
Public Discussion
Continue the discussion of this presentation on the Multiplex. Go to Multiplex
Jennie Lyons
Computer Science Specialist
What a great opportunity to see changes in learning! Important to see the perseverance is one of the student computations thinking takeaways. What are three computer science concepts that you introduce with the lessons?
Lisa Chambers
National Executive Director
Thank you so much for viewing our project!
In addition to perseverance and problem solving our curriculum introduces decomposition, algorithmic thinking, and abstraction (and more!) through the topics of programming, programmable circuits, and robotics.
Sally Crissman
Hi Lisa
A really interesting project that sent me to your poster and piqued my curiosity. Could you describe your boost sessions and how they complement the summer weeks and (I am presuming here!) teaching the curriculum? Also, what is the nature of the online component of your pd? Finally, do teachers choose one of the three modules or they typically use more than one? Thanks. Sally
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Sally,
Thanks for taking the time to look at E4Tech. The Boost sessions are really designed to help teachers experience the technology used (Scratch, Breadboard/Arduino, and makeblock mBots) outside of the curriculum which is the focus of the summer. We wanted to be sure we had time to work with teachers to build background knowledge and ask questions without the additional layer of the curriculum, which we felt might be too much to try to do in the summer experience. The same resources (Scratch, Breadboards, mBots) are used within the curriculum, so this was a nice way to have teachers have some initial experiences with those components. We have tried a few different platforms for online and are using that to stay connected to teachers during the implementation phase (we also have face to face sessions). This has been helpful in getting feedback and keeping conversations going. Right now, we have teachers doing all three modules. We did have one group of teachers who only did one module, so we are hoping that we can compare student understanding when exposed to one module versus all three. Great questions--let us know if you have more!
Ben Sayler
Professor, Physical Science and Mathematics
Excellent video! I'm curious to know more about the curriculum as well. Am I understanding correctly that altogether the 3 modules take about 30 hours of instructional time? Are the modules freely available outside your project? Is there specialized hardware that's required?
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Ben,
Thanks for the questions! Right now, the three modules take around 30-40 hours. There are typically 10 lessons in a module. We are also looking at the implementation of once a week vs. as a unit. Since the modules are a cohesive set of lessons centered around rich mathematical thinking, we like the unit idea-but also like the flexibility that it has. We are hoping that the research we are doing highlights student achievement in both models. The modules right now are in-house until we make some final edits and look at final research results for the current cohort of teachers. However, we did create a "mini-module" to showcase E4Tech as part of #CSEdWeek. You can access those here: CUTOUT4CS
Mariel DeLuca
It is interesting to learn about a program that integrates computer science and computational thinking into mathematics for 3rd and 4th grade students. I believe it would be beneficial for this program to be spread across many different schools. I understand that the curriculum is aligned to Ohio’s learning standards for mathematics and national computer science standards, but has this program been used in different states? With that being asked, is the training offered to any teacher that is willing to participate or only if an entire school district participates?
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Mariel,
We so agree-we would love to see E4Tech begin to expand and are already thinking of ways to do this. While we have this aligned to Ohio's standards as part of our current work, Ohio has done a nice job of building off of the CCSSM for grades 3-4 so we know it's a strong connection for all schools regardless of being in Ohio. Our current participants come from a variety of schools (urban, suburban and rural) and often attend with colleagues or even a single teacher who signs up to participate.
Katie Rich
Hi Lisa and team,
Great video. I was most interested to hear that the teachers don't view this as "one more thing," but rather see this as something they can directly apply to what they already do. We also are working to integrate CS/CT into elementary math, and would love to hear insights into the ways be can best use integrated approaches to minimize the burdens of extra class time or teacher planning time needed.
Ben Sayler
Professor, Physical Science and Mathematics
You say that with teachers halfway through the PD, students in E4Tech classrooms are already showing statistically significant gains in mathematics achievement. Are there particular types of questions they're doing better on, or are they doing better in math across the board? I'd also be curious to know if you're doing any research around student attitudes and dispositions?
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Ben,
Our first year focuses on Number and Operations in Base Ten and Area/Perimeter. While the mid-point results are encouraging (over 70% of items showed gains) we are still being cautious until we have pre/post data. We have attitude surveys for both teachers and students, and will be excited to share those as well.
Brittany Adams
As you mentioned in your video, the early elementary grades are pivotal points for student interest in STEM areas. This curriculum seems to be a great way to expose students to computer concepts, especially since teachers that are implementing it feel it weaves nicely into their math curriculum. Have you considered integrating computer science and computational thinking into any other content areas in addition to math? If so, which ones and how?
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Brittany,
Thanks for the question. Modules 1 and 3 are definitely focused on mathematics and Module 2 (circuits) was more geared towards science content. We certainly have had conversations about how we pull this idea into other content areas. With the design of the modules, they definitely have the potential for us to think about a very integrated unit with multiple areas. We haven't done that quite yet since our current focus is on the mathematics piece, but we have big plans!
Kip Glazer
Dean of Students
I think it's wonderful the teachers you work with feel that this is "not one more thing" that they have to do. I am just curious as to how you are able to incorporate 120 hours of PD. I am also curious as to what assessments you use to see how the students are performing.
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Kip,
Thanks for the comment and question. In Year 1 our current format is: 4 Boost Sessions (32 hours); 10 day summer PD (80hours) and online (8 hours). This is followed by Year 2: 4 face to face sessions (32 hours), classroom implementation (40 hours), online (32 hours) and a 2-day summer (16 hours). The current student assessment is based on NAEP items which we used to create two equivalent forms (pre/post).
Jennie Lyons
Computer Science Specialist
I'm also curious about the gains in both math and computer science concepts and look forward to seeing the results. It will also be interesting to see long term impact on the students' perception of math and CS as they progress. Do you have any plans to extent/add to the study?
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Jennie,
We are so excited for the results as well and share our lessons. As we move forward with the project, I think we will want to do exactly what you are saying. While we are fairly early in the study, we are trying not to jump too quickly before we have results to base some decisions--but definitely something to think about.
Barbara Ericson
Love the quote from the end of the video that shows a growth mindset! I also like that you have a large number of hours for professional development and that it isn't just one year of professional development, but two. In my work with teachers I have found it really important that the teacher professional development isn't just a one week workshop without any follow-up.
Kelli Shrewsberry
Executive Director
Barbara,
I so agree! Often, during implementation teachers are on their own, so we are very strategic during this phase of the project to offer support. It's also one of our favorite parts as they are sharing so many photos and stories of students in action.
Kelli
Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.