EDC 2900

DENISE FARRELLY

This project holds great importance for teacher education students at KCC as it scaffolds them through the process of integrating STEM concepts to solve a real-world problem. Students will experience the excitement and wonder involved in using scientific thinking, algorithmic thinking, and data visualization in synthesis, as opposed to isolated procedures. The open-ended nature of this project aims to remove barriers commonly associated with the “one right way” mentality and support inclusivity through team-based decision-making and cooperative learning.

Rationale:

For many years, Education Studies majors at Kingsborough Community College have experienced a gap in their teaching methods and practicum learning due to the lack of a standalone science, math, and technology education course in childhood education. This project holds great importance for teacher education students at KCC as it scaffolds them through the process of integrating STEM concepts to solve a real-world problem. Students will experience the excitement and wonder involved in using scientific thinking, algorithmic thinking, and data visualization in synthesis, as opposed to isolated procedures. The open-ended nature of this project aims to remove barriers commonly associated with the “one right way” mentality and support inclusivity through team-based decision-making and cooperative learning.

Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science Education Framework 

Core Component 4: Student voice, student agency, and self-determination are valued, encouraged, and incorporated during the CS learning process. Student ideas and input are actively solicited from students to co-create classroom instruction.

Learning Goals:

• Teacher candidates will:
• Define what counts as ‘data’
• ​​Understand mechanisms for data collection and organization
• Make informed decisions about the types of data needed for a specific line of inquiry 
• Collect data from their community, organize it in matrices to filter, sort, or group the data, and draw inferences
• Use a data analysis tool to visualize and interpret data

NYSED K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards

• 4-6.CT.2: Collect digital data related to a real-life question or need.
• 4-6.CT.3: Visualize a simple data set in order to highlight relationships and persuade an audience.
• 4-6.CT.4: Decompose a problem into smaller named tasks, some of which can themselves be decomposed into smaller steps. 

What computing and/or digital literacies does this artifact integrate, and for what reasons? 

This project integrates digital data organization, visualization and interpretation to inform real-world decision-making.