National Science Foundation Grant Will Support Doctoral Research of Urban Education Student

As part of their efforts to support the research and development needed to bring computer science content to all K-12 learners, the National Science Foundation awarded $300,000 to researchers at the CUNY Graduate Center's Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (RISLUS) and New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development to establish a partnership with bilingual teachers at three New York City public middle schools in Washington Heights.

This project will support the doctoral research of urban education Cohort '15 student Sara Vogel, who will be the lead Research Assistant on the project. The 2-year project is called Participating in Literacies and Computer Science. It seeks to address a problem of practice facing educators tasked with rolling out New York City's Computer Science for All (CS4All) policy: how to equitably serve emergent bilinguals -- students who speak languages other than English and are learning English. Accordingly, PiLaCS will develop and test pedagogies that draw on the strengths of students as they learn computer science and become empowered makers and users of technology. The grant began August 15, 2017. The Principal Investigators are:

• Christopher Hoadley, Associate Professor of Learning Sciences/Educational Technology, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
• Kate Menken, Professor of Linguistics, at Queens College and RISLUS Research Fellow, CUNY Graduate Center
• Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Childhood, Bilingual, & Special Education, Brooklyn College and RISLUS Associate