Science

NSF Issues New Grant for Computer Science Curriculum

By Erik W. Robelen — September 13, 2011 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

CORRECTED

Two San Diego universities are getting nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to expand a computer science curriculum for students in the city’s high schools, as well as community colleges and universities.

The federal aid will continue work on a program called ComPASS, short for Computing Principles for All Students’ Success, that is aimed at increasing Southern California’s capacity to prepare high school and college students of all backgrounds to “contribute to and participate in what has become a computationally driven economic future,” according to a press release.

The grant is for the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University.

“This project strategically targets the critical elements necessary for offering stimulating and engaging college-preparatory computer science courses to all students in high school, when they are exploring directions and possibilities for their own futures,” Diane Baxter, a principal investigator for the ComPASS project, said in the news release.

Under the new grant, the ComPASS project will:

• develop and evaluate pedagogical content knowledge curriculum to support faculty in adopting best methods and practices in teaching computer science;

• develop and evaluate tailored training and support programs to engage university faculty, and in-service and preservice high school teachers; and

• continue development of the San Diego Computer Science Teachers Association chapter, specifically integrating support for new teachers.

For more about recent efforts to advance computer science education at the K-12 level, check out this EdWeek story from last year.

CORRECTION: The original version of this post misspelled the name of Diane Baxter, a principal investigator for the ComPASS project.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.