Share Paper: Elementary teacher perspectives on a blended computational modeling and ecosystem science curriculum

  1. Soobin Jeon, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States
  2. Shari Metcalf, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States
  3. Amanda Dickes, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, United States
  4. Christopher Dede, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States

Abstract: Computational thinking and scientific modeling are essential STEM education practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Integrating modeling into the elementary science curriculum offers the potential to meet important 21st century learning goals, including understanding causal relationships in complex systems and infusing computational thinking into disciplinary contexts. With NSF funding, we have developed a curriculum for 3rd grade science, EcoMOD, that blends a 3D virtual ecosystem with a 2D visual programming and modeling environment to support student learning of ecosystem science concepts and computational modeling. In this paper, we will describe our research with teachers who ...