Program Overview

Advancing Rural Computer Science (ARCS)

About the Project

Advancing Rural Computer Science (ARCS) aims to serve 18,000 K-5 students and 440 K-5 teachers over 5 years. The focus is on serving students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM and computer science education, including students in rural communities, minorities, and students from economically disadvantaged families.

Program Goals

The ARCS project has 4 main goals:

1. Train teachers and help them acquire computer science microcredentials, enabling them to work with others at their school and build capacity for K-5 computer science instruction.
2. Develop instructional materials that integrate computer science curriculum standards into core elementary subject areas, including reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies.
3. Increase student readiness for STEM and computer science coursework in higher grade levels.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the project as a model for other computer science education initiatives.

Project Partners

The Center for Educational Partnerships at Old Dominion University serves as the lead agency for the proposed project, with collaborators from the Virginia Department of Education and CodeVA contributing to project activities, and the University of Virginia conducting the external evaluation.

Funding

The project is funded by the United States Department of Education under Early-phase: Absolute Priority 3 - Field Initiated Innovations - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Why Teachers Join ARCS

Teachers join ARCS for various reasons, including:

• To become familiar with the Virginia Computer Science Standards for K-5 and learn to integrate them into core content lessons.
• To receive a Chromebook and stipends up to $1,150.
• To receive classroom resources such as Sphero Indi Class Packs, Sphero Bolts, Bee-Bots Bundle, and Sphero littleBits.
• To enhance their knowledge base and confidence to teach with CS.
• To earn digital badges and re-certification points by completing asynchronous online Microcredentials.
• To build a school-based community through CodeVA's synchronous K-5 Coaches Academy training.
• To receive support from experts throughout the course of the project.
• To learn strategies and activities that can be used immediately in classrooms.
• To network and share lessons with teachers from across Virginia.

Resources for Teachers

One of the goals of the ARCS project is to improve the quantity and quality of computer science instructional resources available to teachers in Virginia. Resources produced by ARCS have been aligned with the Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning and made freely available via the #GoOpenVA online database. The project has also developed a series of high-quality microcredentials that teachers may complete through the Old Dominion University School of Continuing Education.

Cohorts

The ARCS project has multiple cohorts, including:

Cohort 2023

Cohort 2023 consisted of one immediate start group and one delayed start group. The immediate group began the program in the summer of 2023 with CodeVA's Coaches Academy training and is currently ongoing. The delayed group will start their program in the summer of 2024.

Cohort 2021

Cohort 2021 consisted of one immediate start group and one delayed start group. The immediate group began the program in the summer of 2021. The delayed group started their program the following year. Both groups have completed CodeVA's Coaches Academy summer training.

Cohort 2020

The 2020 pilot cohort wrapped up their two-year project participation in the summer of 2022 by completing their asynchronous online Microcredentials, earning their digital badges and recertification points.

Team

The ARCS team is a diverse, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional group with expertise in computer science, teacher professional development, curriculum design, STEM education, educational research, and program evaluation. Team members are from The Center for Educational Partnerships and School of Continuing Education at Old Dominion University, at Code Virginia, in the Virginia Department of Education's Office of STEM Innovation, and at the University of Virginia.

Research and Evaluation

The ARCS project has undergone external evaluation, with reports available for each year of the project. The final technical report is also available.

Open-Source Materials

The ARCS project has developed open-source materials, including microcredential materials and course materials, which are available for use by teachers.

Microcredential Materials

The microcredential materials cover topics such as:

• Introduction to Computer Science, Digital Impact, and Digital Citizenship
• Computing Systems, Networks, and Cybersecurity
• Algorithms and Programming
• Data Analysis
• Integrating Computer Science into a Core Content Lesson

Microcredential Course Materials

The microcredential course materials are available for grades K-2 and 3-5, and include content knowledge and affective instruments for computer science.