The CSTA Teacher Inquiry Groups are a semester-long program that combines asynchronous online PD with facilitated monthly or bi-monthly community of practice (CoPs) sessions that engage a consistent group of CS educators in discussing identity-inclusive CS topics, practicing safe conversations, and building community. These facilitator-led sessions will help teachers better understand topics in a more intimate environment than traditional PD, allowing them to collaborate and engage in deep conversations with other group members.
We are accepting applications for the spring 2024 program through December 1, 2023.
Approach & Goals
Each month, participants will complete portions of the asynchronous Identity Inclusion for K-12 CS Educators online PD course before they discuss related content at the synchronous Community of Practice (CoPs) sessions. This hybrid approach allows participants with varying understanding of identity-inclusive topics to learn foundational topics without impacting the pace and learning experience of the overall inquiry group. Participants will practice engaging in safe and courageous conversations about equity issues impacting their classrooms and communities.
This experience will prepare teachers to meet the following objectives:
- Get to know yourself and how your intersectionality translates to privilege and marginalization.
- Explore the race construct and examine the cycle of oppression.
- Reflect on race perspectives & facilitate safe conversations.
- Combat implicit biases and promote inclusivity.
Benefits
- Participate in PD to develop equitable and inclusive teaching practices
- Develop and deepen relationships with other CS educators in your region
- Receive a $500 stipend, plus some great swag
Responsibilities
- Complete portions of asynchronous online PD before each community of practice meeting (about 4 hours x 3 months = 12 hours total)
- Actively participate in community of practice sessions (about 10 hours total, see schedules below)
- Create an action plan to implement identity inclusive practices in your classroom
Schedule
CSTA will host two Teacher Inquiry Groups in the 2023-24 school year. The fall cohort will meet once per month on Saturdays (3 x 3 hours each), while the spring cohort will meet twice per month on Wednesday evenings (6 x 1.5 hours each). See the table below for the specific dates for the CoP meetings.
Fall 2023
- Saturday, Sept. 9 – Kickoff session
- Saturday, Oct. 7 – CoP meeting
- Saturday, Nov. 4 – CoP meeting
- Saturday, Dec. 16 – CoP meeting
Spring 2024
- Wednesday, Jan. 17 – Kickoff session
- Wednesday, Feb. 7 – CoP meeting
- Wednesday, Feb. 28 – CoP meeting
- Wednesday, Mar. 6 – CoP meeting
- Wednesday, Mar. 27 – CoP meeting
- Wednesday, Apr. 10 – CoP meeting
- Wednesday, Apr. 24 – CoP meeting
Eligibility Criteria
- Current K-12 teacher who teaches or integrates computer science
OR: another educator role who works closely with K-12 computer science teachers - Willingness and ability to meet the responsibilities listed above
- Interest in developing one’s own equity-related knowledge/skills
- Ability to critically self-reflect
FAQs
The priority deadline is Sunday, August 20, 2023. However, we will still accept participants after this date as space is available.
We expect the application will take between 10-20 minutes to complete.
CSTA hopes to select all eligible educators who apply! We will review applications to look for the eligibility criteria listed above. If we have more eligible applicants than spaces, we will prioritize CS teachers of color and those serving higher concentrations of marginalized student populations.
CSTA will select and notify participants by Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Probably. Any educator who teaches or integrates computer science, or supports other teachers who do so, is welcome to join.
Lots! Participants will deepen their understanding of equity and learn to examine and counteract their personal biases and minimize threats to inclusion, within the context of computer science education. The ultimate goal is to learn how to design inclusive learning environments for all students and plan how to disrupt inequities within your own school or community.
Yes!
We will invite you to a private course session on Coursera, where we have materials and activities organized. You will have about four hours of PD to complete at your own pace each month. This will involve reading, listening/watching, and applying your learning in activities relevant to CS teaching. We will discuss or follow up on this asynchronous work at the live community of practice meetings.
Yes! We’d love to have you participate.
Two or three people who have significant experience in both teaching computer science and facilitating equity-focused professional development.
Given our design, it’s important that you fully participate in the program. Please carefully check the schedule above when applying. You are allowed to miss one session.
Email Vanessa at vanessa.jones@csteachers.org.
Program Support
This program is a project of the Alliance for Identity Inclusive Computing Education (AiiCE), led by Dr. Nicki Washington and Dr. Shani Daily at Duke University. It is supported by Alliance members who are leading training projects on identity-inclusive computing topics.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2118453. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.