Expanding Computer Science Education in Rural Texas: Insights from a Professional Development Program

• In Event: Promoting Equitable CS and AI Education: Strategies to Expand Capacity and Access

Abstract

Objectives or Purposes
This poster intends to evaluate the effects of a rural computer science (CS) education program on building CS teacher capacity and student access to CS.

Theoretical Framework
Provide quality CS education (CSEd) to all students is essential, yet significant challenges remain—particularly in certifying and retaining quality CS teachers and addressing the various needs of rural school districts [34]. Historically, technology has been a driver of agricultural innovation, allowing farms to use more sustainable and effective practices; to support agricultural communities into the future it is essential that the next generation of the workforce has the necessary CS skills. By grounding CSEd within agricultural contexts common in rural areas, students can learn CS while also helping rural areas continue to have the capacity to leverage emerging technology in their communities.
Over the past decade, the WeTeach_CS initiative, a statewide effort aimed at broadening participation in CSEd, has partnered extensively with teachers at rural and remote districts across Texas and significantly increase the number of certified CS teachers in rural Texas [35]. Despite these efforts, there has remained a lack of CSEd courses in Texas rural schools [2]. In 2023, WeTeach_CS launched a year-long pilot rural CSEd program with 14 teachers, that demonstrated the value in a program to build teacher preparedness to teach CS; however it also identified the need to start with a more feasible approach to scaling CSEd in rural classrooms, through integrating CSEd into existing subject areas.

Methods
Building on lessons learned from the pilot program, WeTeach_CS launched a new program, called Project ROCS. Partnering with experienced regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) in Texas, the program served 76 teachers in schools across the state and focused on integrating CS into agriculture instruction (e.g., in a science course), promoting an interdisciplinary approach that offers familiar and engaging context for rural students. Teachers were provided with curriculum, materials, and hands-on activities to help students collect, analyze, and visualize agricultural data.

Data Sources
Teachers completed pre- and post-surveys before and after they participated in the program. Both surveys had items about teacher preparedness to integrate CS into their instruction to assess changes during the program. In addition, the post-survey had question on teacher perceptions of the program outcome and feedback.

Results
Findings from the post-survey revealed several benefits of this interdisciplinary approach: heightened student engagement, increased awareness of CS careers in agriculture, and the ability to connect CS learning to students’ daily lives and local communities. Teachers reported that the program opened up new opportunities for schools to start agriculture-based CS initiatives and helped students see the connection between CS and local community needs in shaping the future of farming and food systems. Teachers emphasized the importance of program’s community of practice and having a network for collaboration.

Significance
The program demonstrated a scalable and sustainable approach for statewide implementation by connecting CS to career pathway and local communities. These findings offer actionable insights for other states or regions seeking to enhance rural CSEd.

Authors

• Zhuoying Wang, University of Texas at Austin

• Miriam Jacobson, University of Texas at Austin

• Amy Carrell, University of Texas at Austin