Integrating Computer Science into Classrooms: A Professional Development Initiative for Rural Educators
This program is tentative and subject to change.
Providing quality computer science education (CSEd) in rural areas is essential for reducing computing disparities. Compared to teachers from non-rural areas, teachers in rural school face some unique challenges in teaching CS, such as limited access to professional learning resources. However, with close access to agriculture and farming land, rural teachers also have unique opportunities to integrate CS instruction into science or other subject areas in a way that is relevant to students’ daily life. This study will share lessons learned from the implementation of an initiative to prepare rural teachers to integrate CS into their lessons through the context of agriculture. Teachers who participated in the initiative increased their preparedness to integrate CS into their classrooms and indicated that it would benefit their students’ CS and agricultural learning. Some teachers noted that the initiative would ultimately contribute to the local community by increasing student awareness of CS-related career pathways and by expanding technology use in farming. Findings from the project’s initial implementation highlight the value of a CS curriculum that connects to local agricultural industries and the importance of providing teachers with the materials and resources needed to implement it within their context. Initial findings also offered critical insights to inform expansion of the project and to strengthen its support of rural teachers and schools.