WeTeach_CS, The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin’s WeTeach_CS project supports K-12 educators to improve access to high quality CS experiences for a broad and diverse range of students. The Expanding Pathways in Computing (EPIC) group at UT’s Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) serves as the backbone organization for the WeTeach_CS collective impact network which serves hundreds of districts, schools, and educators in Texas and across the nation. WeTeach_CS is dedicated to broadening participation in computing for every student regardless of race, gender, income, or location and leverages the TACC’s internationally recognized computing expertise to guide strategic improvement in computing education at a state and national level. WeTeach_CS is increasing the number of CS certified high school teachers, increasing the number of high schools offering CS courses, increasing the number and diversity of students enrolled in CS courses, and expanding access to computational thinking, coding and programming experiences for all students in K-8. These outcomes are accomplished through both online and face-to-face professional development for K-12 teachers. This includes educators who are currently teaching CS as well as teachers who are pursuing CS certification or interested in integrating computational thinking, coding, or programming into their coursework in science, mathematics, or other subject areas. Professional development includes technical training in software applications such as Scratch and Java, hardware such as Microbit and Raspberry Pi, related fields such as cybersecurity, and basic computer science concepts such as data types, arrays, loops, data structures, etc. Non-technical professional development includes training in emerging topics in CS education such as AP CS Principles, K-12 curricula and resources, strategies for broadening and diversifying student participation in CS, and policies and funding structures that impact CS education. WeTeach_CS has also piloted hybrid teacher training/student CS camps to simultaneously serve both teachers and students in K-12. Initial efforts have focused on Texas schools and students through the establishment of Regional Computer Science Collaboratives that are building educator capacity. In addition to The University of Texas at Austin, institutions such as The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at Tyler, Texas A&M College Station, Rice University, Region One Education Service Center in the Rio Grande Valley and Region 18 Education Service Center in West Texas have received grants through WeTeach_CS to provide direct training to local cohorts of teachers working to grow their CS programs. In 2016-2017, WeTeach_CS is expanding our online courses to reach teachers across the nation, particularly in states that also require teachers to pass a CS certification exam such as the Praxis. The WeTeach_CS project is partnering with a variety of public and private organizations to achieve our collective goal of CS for All. Partners and funders include the Texas Education Agency, 100kin10, NSF’s Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, SFE, Code.org, Google, Microsoft, IBM, TechNet, CS4TX, and hundreds of teachers and school districts across the state. Since September 1, 2015, WeTeach_CS has helped over 500 Texas educators obtain their CS certification.