Curricular Rapid Response and Teacher Resilience: How a School-University RPP Thrived During COVID-19

• In Event: Partnerships for STEM Education

Abstract

We have worked with a local middle school to form a Research Practice Partnership (RPP) that aims to create a computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS)-centered STEM ecosystem. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine how curriculum developed by researchers was enacted and experienced by teachers and students amidst a vastly different learning environment. This paper discusses how the RPP supported a rapid shift in content and teaching methods and the consequent experiences for teachers and students while implementing a computational modeling lesson. Our results suggest that the RPP supported curricular rapid response, as well as teacher resilience to changing educational conditions, illustrating the powerful potential of fostering relationships between researchers and practitioners in RPPs.

Authors

• Madeline Hinckle, North Carolina State University

• Callie Womble Edwards, North Carolina State University

• Veronica Catete, North Carolina State University

• Nicholas Lytle

• Tiffany Barnes

• Eric N. Wiebe, North Carolina State University