PROGRAMS

AZHACS - Arizona Hubs Advancing Computer Science

Rural communities and educators working together to build skills and knowledge in Computer Science and Computational Thinking

AZHACS is an initiative of the NSF-funded AZ K-8 Consortium (Award #2031527).

The intent of the Consortium is to be part of the Arizona STEM Ecosystem for K-8 educators to discuss any topic, gain access to resources, engage in professional development, and foster a Practitioner Learning Community or Working Group to share best practices. The Consortium is starting with Computer Science (CS), as the initiative is funded by NSF CS for All.

Participating school districts

Our Mission

In November 2020 the National Science Foundation (NSF) approved the Arizona Computer Science for All proposal. This proposal is designed around two pillars:

1. A study to understand the use of computer science and computational thinking in the classroom

2. Develop Research-Practitioner Partnerships to tackle issues to high-quality CS/CT education.

Get Involved

In the Spring of 2021 AZ HACS is looking for local innovative thinkers, change makers, and collaborators to create RPP teams that will work to better the education culture by bringing in reliable tools to help teachers succeed. Do you want to work with a statewide network on tackling CS/CT issues locally? Think you would be a good fit? Send us an email!

Your Voice

AZ HACS is looking for local collaborators to create RPPs – a blend of community members, educators, and researchers working together to identify issues, gather reliable data, and make informed decisions.

Think you would be a good fit? Get in touch for more information!

Results and Outcomes

In March 2021, the AZHACS team conducted a survey of over 200 K-8 educators and school administrators regarding computer science education in their schools. The objectives of the survey were to:

  • Assess educators’ beliefs regarding the value they place on integrating computer science into K-8 classrooms; 
  • Determine readiness by evaluating the degree to which educators believe their school or district possesses essential ingredients needed to successfully implement and/or advance computer science (e.g., hardware, supportive leadership)
  • Gauge self-reported implementation by assessing the extent to which educators believe their institution is currently implementing Arizona’s Computer Science Standards
View the Full Report Here

AZHACS Resource Center

Over the course of the project, the AZHACS team and collaborating partners have compiled a collection of resources for computer science education. Visit our Resource Center for more information. 

In the Media...

Please direct all media inquiries to Kalman Mannis, Project Director – mannisk@azscience.org

Project Timeline

Female pupil in elementary school computer class

Our First Task – Learn what is actually going on in the classroom / building with Computer Science and Computational Thinking. Please take this short anonymous survey to help us structure our next step. 

Think you would be a good fit? Get in touch for more information!

High angle view of people meeting at table and working with laptops and touchpads

In March and April of 2021, AZ HACS will host a webinar on Research-Practitioner Partnerships and how they can make a difference.

If you would like to join us for this 30-minute webinar, please send us an email. We will send you the zoom link.

Group of business partners communicating at meeting in office

RPPS In Action – In June, July, and August AZ HACS will facilitate the development of Rural Arizona RPPs.

Would you like to be part of the solution? Send us an email!

AZHACS@SciTechInstitute.org

Overview Slides

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About Us

Leadership Team

Primary Investigator (PI): Jeremy Babendure, PhD. Executive Director SciTech Institute

Project Director: Kalman Mannis (Co-PI), Arizona Science Center

Project Manager: Kelly Greene, SciTech Institute

Grant Manager: Michele Roy, SciTech Institute

Research and Evaluation Team

Alexander Kurz, PhD, BCBA-D (he/him/his)
Director, Arizona Practitioner-Researcher Educational Partnership (AzPREP) Office
Associate Research Professor School of Social and Family Dynamics (SSFD)

Eugene Judson, EdD
Associate Professor, ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College

Wendy Miedel Barnard, PhD
Director, College Research and Evaluation Services Team (CREST)

Blaine Smith, PhD. University of Arizona. STEM and 2nd Language Educational Integration Specialist

AZHACS Project Advisory Team

AZ HACS is made richer and more robust due to the amazing support provided by our program advisory team.

BootUp PD is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit specializing in district-wide elementary computer science initiatives that focus on creativity and problem solving. Since 2015, BootUp has worked with over 450 elementary schools in seventeen states.

Betsy Hargrove, EdD – Superintendent, Avondale School District, Avondale, AZ.

Erin Henderson, MST – Title IV-A Digital Learning Specialist

Sara Torres – Executive Director, Arizona Science Teacher’s Association

Wes Brownfield – Executive Director, Arizona Rural School’s Association

Jeanne Holm – Vice Mayor City of Los Angeles, Digital Integration Specialist

Janice Mak – Arizona Co-Chair CSforAZ, K12 STEM Curriculum Specialist

Contact Us / Get Involved