This panel will discuss a new Computer Science Education (GSE) graduate certificate program that is currently in development at the University of Vermont. We will discuss the CSE framework and how it aligns to the AOE endorsement standards for Computer Science in Vermont. In our panel we will address the following: How can you become endorsed to teach CS? What are the challenges of teaching this discipline? What can be done to attract students to CS classes?
Regina Toolin is an Associate Professor of STEM Education in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont. Her research, teaching, and program development focuses on social constructivist models of teaching and learning in STEM and Computer Science education. She is particularly interested in promoting and researching STEM+CS classrooms that are grounded in the principles of project-based, inquiry-based, and culturally relevant teaching and learning. She is Principal Investigator of UVM’s NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and the GEAR-UP Champlain Research Experience for Secondary Teachers (CREST) Program. She is Co-PI for the NSF Collaborative Research: Network Cluster: Using Big Data approaches to assess ecohydrological resilience across scales and is Senior Personnel on the NSF EPSCoR RII Track 2 FEC: Leveraging Intelligent Informatics and Smart Data for Improved Understanding of Northern Forest Ecosystem Resiliency (INSPIRES) Project. Dr. Toolin recently served as the Regional Director for the Northeast Association for Science Teacher Education (NEASTE), is an editorial board member for the Journal of Science Education and Technology, and has published her research pertaining to STEM+CS teaching and learning in The Science Teacher, Science Education, International Journal of Science Education, Journal of Science Education and Technology, Journal of Computational Science Education and the International Journal of Social Policy and Education.
Panelists: Robert Erickson, Lisa Dion, Peter Drescher, & Randy Brown
