Bryan and team, I’m fascinated by the prospects of your project. Would you provide a few examples of how CS and social studies will be integrated? For instance, you mention the great migration as a social studies topic. How will you integrate computer science in this instance?

Maps and mapping will provide a great opportunity to explore the intersection between CS and the social studies. For example one resource we will be exploring is Mapping Inequality https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#lo....

Excellent video and project! I love the animation, and the problem your project responds to is so important. I like the concept of stepping outside of a silo to combine skills from various subjects, blending social studies research with computer science. Social studies is a subject students might feel very passionate about, funneling that passion into website design for example, blends elements of research, history, writing, design, and computer science, all in one project! My program, The GRRATE Project, takes a similar approach, teaching STEM technical skills through a STEAM project, building an electric guitar, robot, or rocket. https://stemforall2021.videohall.com/presentations/1985

What a great project, Chelsea!  Thank you for sharing!

Hi Bryan and team, this sounds really interesting! It would be interesting to hear more about how you're planning to integrate "culturally relevant computer science into their social studies classrooms" and if there has been any push-back from the schools you're working with as you approach the work with that lens? 

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much for this video- super interesting and I love the idea of integrating CS into social studies.  I'm curious how you recruited teachers? Were they excited or resistant to participation?  

Rebecca,

COVID has added a great deal of pressure on educators across the country. We have been working hard to engage educators from our collaborative divisions. We are in the early stages of the project, and we intend to provide teachers with value-added learning experiences. 

I love this bridge between social studies curriculum and computer science, especially bringing together culturally relevant topics as well such as voting rights. I would imagine educators could bridge instruction to environmental protections and economic climate analysis too...so much to unpack for these kids! Well done!

Lauren,

Excellent point about making linkages to geographic and economic content. We have been exploring a number of interesting resources that elevate potential connections between CS and social studies.

For example:https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/data...

Hi, what a great project and need! I especially liked how you speak to developing teachers as leaders in developing culturally responsive lessons for CS. This is also an issue I have been thinking about in science education. It would be great to think together about how to help teachers guide their students to use CS to address community based problems. What are some of the tools you are using or developing to support social studies teachers in teaching CS?

Libby,

Thank you so much for your kind words. We are currently in the development process for PD and curriculum. We are exploring tools that deal with simulations, data analysis and visualization. 

Hello Bryan and team,

Thank you for sharing your project! What a unique combination -- CS and social studies! Your CS focus seems to be on the use and integration of existing digital tools. Are there plans for teachers and students to create their own? In your description, you mention the professional development content will be "vetted by an Advisory Board of nationally recognized content experts." I'm curious to hear more. How will you (or did you) recruit content experts? What are their areas of expertise? How will you determine and measure the impact of your project?

Hi Channa, thanks for your interest in the project and your great questions!  As one of the project researchers I can address your last question about measuring project impact.  The main outcomes we will be measuring during the first year of the project are teachers' knowledge of computer science (concepts/content, particularly as related to the state's CS standards, and different ways of teaching about computer science), capacity to adapt or develop integrated CS and social studies lessons, and self-efficacy around teaching CS-infused social studies lessons.  Later in the project we will also turn to measuring student outcomes, and teachers' capacity to lead efforts in/advocate for CS-integration.

Great idea and integration of foci! I hope that there is wide adoption of this approach as it will help students see the compatibility of otherwise distant fields of study. 

Thanks so much, William, for this comment.  We hope so too!

Delighted to hear about this funding - I have been working on geospatial technologies and redistricting educational resources - explore GeoCivics (https://geocivics.uccs.edu/).

Rebecca,

Thank you so much. We will definitely check out GeoCivics https://geocivics.uccs.edu.

As a CRT teacher in East Los Angeles, CA, I appreciate how you mention that only 40% of CS classes are available. As a researcher/co-presenter with IC4, CS is crucial for students to advance, get better jobs and compete with their peers. Thank you for your thoughtful presentation. 

Toby,

Thank you for the note. We are focusing on elevating issues of equity and access throughout our entire initiative.

Dear Michael and the team,

It is so exciting to hear that this is the first funded project to integrate computer science and social studies content! So awesome!

I am intensely looking forward to the following research. Please keep update!

Wenwei,

Thank you for the kind note!