Institute for Advancing Computing Education

09/10/2026

What does the current research show about students' pair programming with AI?

Dr. Julie Smith, Senior at , recently conducted a systematic literature review to understand the current research on student-AI teams (or human-AI). Essentially, rather than two students learning to program through pairs (leveraging the practice of and ), a student and AI tool serve as the pair, switching roles throughout.

Read more about what she found in our most recent post:

What does the research show about students’ pair programming with AI? In Pair programming, one person acts as the “driver” […]

09/02/2026

We recently published from our first year of investigating how teachers become . Read our latest blog that highlights work from Dr. Julie Smith, IACE, and Jennifer Rosato, Northern Lights Collaborative.

This study investigates various pathways across ten states for becoming a computer science teacher using content analysis and interviews.

08/28/2026

Be a part of the dialogue and bridge the gap between research findings and classroom practices with the Discussion Group!

For more details on each week's topics, visit us at bit.ly/CSEd_Discussions

06/08/2026

Join NGCP and Dr. Allison Master for a deep dive into the latest evidence on how STEM stereotypes are evolving - and where the most critical work remains.

While progress has been made in fields like math and science, new research reveals that computer science and engineering stereotypes remain a significant barrier, forming as early as age six. In this webinar, we will explore how specific stereotypes impact interest and belonging differently across STEM disciplines. Participants will leave this webinar with practical strategies on how to empower all young learners to be the innovators of tomorrow.

Register here: bit.ly/STEM_Stereotypes

06/03/2026

🎉 Please join us in welcoming Allison Master, PhD, to the team as our new Principal Education Researcher!

Dr. Master brings extensive expertise in developmental psychology and motivation, with a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Her passion for advancing engaging STEM learning experiences will help strengthen IACE’s mission to advance for all learners.

We’re excited to have Allison on board and look forward to the impact her leadership and research will make. Welcome to the team, Dr. Master!

06/01/2026

Would you like to:

✨ Help your students learn to program responsibly and effectively with AI?

🔍📊 Contribute to innovative research that will have a lasting impact?

💡 Learn proven practices for teaching programming with AI?

👦🏻👩🏻👧🏾 Join a professional learning community of teachers and researchers shaping computer science education?

💲Receive an annual stipend for participating?

If you teach high school computer science in Louisiana, we invite you to express interest in joining a research study.

We’re studying the knowledge and skills students need to successfully write programs with AI (AI pair programming). Your participation will help us design AI pair programming experiences that best support learners. No AI experience is required to take part.

Teachers in the study will learn about AI pair programming and implement it in their classrooms.

If you’re selected, you will:
- Attend a one-day in-person professional development session to prepare for implementation (summer 2026)
- Implement AI pair programming in your CS class(es) (fall 2026)
- Review results and join a virtual meeting to help interpret findings (November 2026 and November 2027)
- Join virtual meetings to help revise student and teacher materials (January 2027 and January 2028)

05/27/2026

📢 New publication

What does strong computer science instruction in K–5 look like - and how can we assess it meaningfully?

Our new paper, Measuring K–5 Teacher Understanding of the CSTA Teacher Standards, outlines a research-based approach for evaluating teacher competencies tied to the CSTA Standards for CS teachers. It examines how vignettes can be used to foster professional growth and support CS instruction.

Whether you’re a CS educator, researcher, PD provider, or school leader, this research offers a new approach to advance high-quality computer science learning for all students.

📖 Read the publication: bit.ly/CSTA-Teacher-Standards

04/22/2026

Join us for Part II of our two-part series, Guidelines for Responsible Use of AI in STEM Education Research. In this session, we’ll cover how to mitigate risks across different phases of the research process - including practical questions you and your project team should ask before, during, and after using AI. This webinar will focus on preserving research integrity and protecting participants.

This webinar series launches alongside a new report to be released very soon; all registrants will receive a digital copy upon release.