Professional Biography
Betty Chandy is the Director for Online Learning at Catalyst @ Penn GSE. She runs the Virtual Online Teaching (VOLT) certificate program and the Experiences in Applied Computational Thinking (EXACT) program for educators. She started her career as a high school teacher and instructional coach. She then moved into research exploring the impact of professional development on teachers’ pedagogical practices. Her research interests include design of learning environments, online teaching and learning, the use of innovative technology within classrooms, and teacher development. She has worked extensively with technology professional development programs for teachers in the U.S. and India. She earned her doctorate from Penn GSE.
The Computational Thinking in Action (CTiA) program is a statewide collaboration between Catalyst @ Penn GSE, and the Bucks IU, Luzerne IU 18, ARIN IU 28, and Central IU 10. Each IU partner will work with Catalyst and their district teams within their region to be part of the CTiA program. Among the various school districts in the program are Armstrong, Bristol Township, Glendale Area, and Hazleton Area School Districts. CTiA program seeks to prepare educators to teach computer science, develop computational thinking, and provide professional development and training to help the partners to collaboratively create materials that will include: 1) A standalone course titled Introduction to Computer Science, to be offered at the middle school level, 2) a series of lessons to be implemented in various core subjects, and 3) a formal curriculum for an after-school offering in robotics and computer science.
VOLT has partnered with the Aditya Birla Education Academy to offer the VOLT program to teachers across India. The scope of the program includes a week-long, 30-hour, intensive professional development workshop, provided in Mumbai. This in-person intensive will provide an introduction to: improving teaching for student engagement and active learning; increasing the use of hybrid/blended learning designs; and developing 21st century skills and digital literacies. The workshops will be followed by several online workshops and working sessions over the course of the year to engage teachers in collaborative lesson planning and designing of learning environments.
