How did you get into this area?

I discovered how computing can help K-12 students get interested in mathematics and science by using Squeak Etoys, a programming language for use in education, about 16 years ago. The discovery of this amazing technology brought several of us (at the University of North Carolina Wilmington), faculty of learning science/design, STEM education, and computer science, together to find a way of helping our underserved middle and high school students learn about science and mathematics by engaging in real-world problem-solving via creating Squeak Etoys projects. We received NSF funding and, later, the Dept. of Education and additional NSF grants to provide professional development opportunities for STEM teachers to help them use the tools to engage students. Our projects were very successful and resulted in several other university and school district initiatives.

When I joined Towson University in 2018, I wanted to continue this effort and apply what I had learned for over eleven years, here at Towson. My interest introduced me to the MCCE and CSTA groups. Working with both groups at the state and national levels has been a great pleasure and a wonderful experience. 

What are some stories you can tell about the work you’ve done up to now?

There have been several successful stories since I started working here at the College of Education, Towson University. One of them is how quickly and successfully I formed a multidisciplinary team of teacher educators, learning designers, and computer science faculty to work on promoting CS/and CT in the College of Education. No one could believe that a team of 10, which later increased to 15 faculty from various subject areas, could work together for three years voluntarily and with little incentive. Of course, the support of MCCE was the key to recognizing our initiatives and plans as worthy of support. However, the credit goes to our faculty for their interest in advancing teacher education candidates’ knowledge and skills in computing and computational thinking. Their desire to do so while we knew we would face challenges integrating the ideas in our teacher education programs is worth noting. Since 2019, more than 20 education faculty have been trained in using computational thinking in their courses and have introduced their teacher education students to the CT self-directed module we developed as a team. We expanded our project to early education (4-5 years old) and special education. We have several projects now supported by MCCE in these areas, in addition to K-8. This year, we have expanded the project to include our School Library Media Specialists and our Middle School program. 

What are some things that are going well right now or hopes for what you’d like to see happen in the near future?

The good news is that our teacher education faculty and students see the need to expand their knowledge and skills in computing, computational thinking, and computer science. They are interested in learning how to integrate CT/CS in various subject areas and grade levels. Our challenge is to add the knowledge and skills into already packed teacher education programs and offer additional internships for our Pk-8 teacher education candidates. Moreover, while there are courses in CS at the high school level and requirements for teachers who teach those courses, there are no specific requirements for PK-8 teachers, and the state does not have an endorsement for PK-8 teachers in CS/CT. This makes it difficult to offer add-on certificates in these areas for deeper knowledge and skills and to build confidence in teacher education candidates. Another challenge has always been and continues to be getting young girls from underserved communities interested in STEM fields and providing them with quality education. Introducing computing, project-based, hands-on, problem-solving pedagogies is key to increasing their interests, and we need quality teachers at PK-12 and equal access to increase the number of women in computing, engineering, and STEM fields.