TCEP wins grant to help advance Computer Science in Virginia

The Center for Educational Partnerships (TCEP) at Old Dominion University (ODU) won a grant that will build to $375,000.00 over 3 years. grant which was a part of $1.3 million in funds authorized by the 2019 General Assembly to fund advance computer science in education in Virginia schools.

The project is named PROGRAM (Professional development and Regional Opportunities Generating Computing Resources And Microcredentials) and is a collaborative Regional Partnership project involving ODU, TCEP, ODU School of Continuing Education and Professional Development, Code Virginia, Brooks Crossing Innovation and Opportunity Center, Chesapeake City Public Schools, Hampton City Public Schools, Isle of Wight County Public Schools, Newport News City Public Schools, and Portsmouth City Public Schools.

PROGRAM will broaden teacher and student access to and participation in Computer Science (CS) learning by achieving the following goals:

1) training and supporting 50 K-8 teachers from Region 2;

2) developing and disseminating open educational resources including SOL based lessons that integrate Computer Science into core curriculum areas, with a particular focus on the foundational CS SOL strand of Algorithms and Programming;

3) increasing teacher, school counselor, and students' awareness of and interest in CS career opportunities; and

4) developing and piloting high quality microcredentials as a method of recognizing teachers' competence in CS integration.

When mature, the project can serve as a model for the way in which agencies from different sectors can work together to revolutionize students' learning and readiness for joining the 21st century workforce.