The National Science Foundation Math Science Partnership (NSF)
Mobilize is funded by the National Science Foundation.
UCLA Center X
Center X is a nationally renowned research and practice center for urban teacher education in UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) with a long history of partnering with LAUSD; it engages thousands of pre-service and practicing educators through a portfolio of professional development opportunities. Exploring Computer Science curriculum, professional development, and research team is one of the Center X subject areas, and Center X will manage the grant, host the CS methods course, and support the research team. Affiliated MOBILIZE education faculty include national leaders of high school computer science reform Project Director Jane Margolis and Co-PI Joanna Goode (now with the University of Oregon) and Director of Center X Jody Priselac and Co-PI Thomas Philip.
centerx.gseis.ucla.edu (see also www.exploringcs.org)
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
LAUSD is the second largest school district in the country and one of the most diverse, serving over 300,000 secondary school students who are 73% Latino/a, 11% African American, 8% White, 4% Asian, and 0.3% Native American. Its students struggle in math and science as shown on the statewide California Standards Tests for grades 7-11. Only 16% of students score as proficient/advanced in math and only 24.5% in science, with a full 26% in math and 25.9% in science scoring in the Far Below Basic category. Of math and science teachers, 200 are not fully credentialed, half have less than six years experience in the district, and 63% possess only a bachelor degree. To address these issues, LAUSD has articulated a district-wide Theory of Action utilizing five Key Elements, which align closely with the MSP Key Features: curriculum and instruction, professional development, coaching and collaboration, periodic assessment, and instructional leadership. The LAUSD Science Plan focuses on content literacy, understanding skills and concepts, and laboratory activities; it includes Instructional Guides with inquiry-based model lessons and training. The Mathematics Plan emphasizes academic rigor, Instructional Guides with concept lessons, and training. CENS materials will first be used in LAUSD classrooms, with teachers and facilitators taking part in MOBILIZE professional development.
www.lausd.net
UCLA Department of Statistics
statistics.ucla.eduThe UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS)
CENS, an NSF Science and Technology Center in UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, under the Directorship of Deborah Estrin, is a worldwide leader in designing, deploying, and learning from new sensing technologies, with over 60 multi-disciplinary faculty engaged in research into distributed systems, wireless communications, signal processing, and low-power multi-modal sensor-technology design. Working with high school teachers and education faculty, CENS will develop the new CS materials, building on their work in the exciting new area of Participatory Sensing, involving students in sensing and documenting environmental and social processes where they live, work, and play.
research.cens.ucla.edu
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)
CSTA, the national professional organization of CS teachers, is our active supporting partner, critical for our work on systemic reform, policy issues, dissemination of models and materials, and institutionalization and sustainability of this project.
csta.acm.org