2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work-In-Progress (WIP) proposal presents the ongoing efforts of an interdisciplinary pre-service teacher education initiative focused on the development of educative materials aimed at integrating computer science, mathematics, and science for undergraduate teacher candidates at XXXXX. Computer science (CS) education has gained widespread attention in K-12 schools in recent decades due to its increasing importance to the nature of our society and 21st century careers. Yet, many K-12 teachers may feel unprepared to teach CS if they have not had opportunities to learn the pedagogical and content knowledge related to CS, nor had exposure to computing and programming skills and concepts related to CS. Additionally, many novice teachers join the teaching workforce without necessary knowledge and skills due to constraints within teacher preparation programs due to limited time for the incorporation of courses addressing pedagogies and concepts related to CS.

Even with such constraints, it is imperative that teachers feel prepared to teach computer science concepts as part of their curricula. To this end, our research team—comprised of four teacher educators with expertise in science, STEM, mathematics, and computer science pedagogies—has worked to develop an interdisciplinary computer science (IntComp) mini-curriculum designed to support pre-service teachers to learn about and become familiar with computer science concepts, pedagogy, and related STEM integration.

Taking an iterative design approach, we have developed three distinct computer-based IntComp modules that support K-12 teacher candidates to: 1) explore K-12 computer science concepts and standards; 2) develop familiarity with the intersections of computer science and disciplinary content in mathematics and science; 3) engage with high-quality instructional strategies for integrated STEM and computer science teaching; 4) explore innovative tools and resources for teaching computer science concepts at the elementary level; and 5) engage in collaborative reflection with peers and teacher educators around these topics.

To explore the impact of the modules on teacher learning about CS and integrated approaches to teaching CS, we plan to pilot the IntComp modules in the Spring 2026 semester with pre-service teacher candidates enrolled in sections of two elementary science methods teacher preparation courses and one secondary mathematics methods course. Our team will collect data from undergraduate teacher candidates enrolled in these courses (n=120, approximately). All teacher candidates enrolled in the pilot courses will complete the three IntComp modules as an additional part of their normal coursework. However, students who voluntarily agree to participate in the research study portion of this work will be asked to complete a pre- and post-surveys as well as a post-semester focus group to explore their initial and resultant understanding and learning about CS concepts, integrated approaches to teaching CS. The data collected from these sources, along with student work artifacts, will be analyzed to explore the following research questions guiding this work:
1) How do teacher candidates reflect on and describe their learning of pedagogical and content knowledge related to integrated approaches to CS after engaging with the IntComp modules?
2) How do the IntComp modules influence teacher candidate attitudes and self-efficacy toward integrating CS concepts with other disciplinary subject learning in their teaching practice?

We anticipate having preliminary findings to share as part of our WIP presentation at ASEE 2026 conference. We also anticipate that the implications of this work will be far reaching as computer science education and related skills must be seeded and addressed earlier than postsecondary education. K-12 teachers, as supporters of STEM workforce development and STEM career readiness, can be positioned as strategic allies in these efforts when supported to take up integrated approaches to computer science teaching.