Creating Cognitively‑Demanding, Conceptually‑Focused Coding Opportunities in Mathematics and Science (C4OMS)

About the Project

The C4OMS Project (Creating Cognitively-Demanding, Conceptually-Focused Coding Opportunities in Mathematics and Science) develops units of instruction for third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students that integrate coding into mathematics and science. The project is a collaboration between faculty in the Mary Frances Early College of Education and the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia, in partnership with teachers in the Jackson County School System.

Computer coding is an essential part of knowledge for the current generation of students, and it is important for it to be taught at the elementary school level. Rather than treating coding as a separate subject, the C4OMS Project investigates how coding can be integrated meaningfully with elementary mathematics and science instruction, in ways that support cognitively demanding tasks and conceptual understanding, and that engage girls and students from rural areas.

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Computer Science for All program (Award #2318287, $1,000,000; active since August 2023).

Research Questions

1. What are the characteristics of well-designed tasks that integrate coding with mathematics or coding with science?

2. What resources and decision-making strategies do experienced teachers employ when they design (and revise) conceptually focused, cognitively-demanding tasks that integrate coding with mathematics or integrate coding with science (COMS tasks)?

3. What are the characteristics of instruction when teachers implement COMS tasks?

4. What resources and support do teachers need as they implement tasks such as COMS?

5. What do students learn from COMS tasks?

6. How do students, especially girls and students from rural areas, respond to COMS tasks with respect to interest in coding or computer science, appreciation of integrated instruction, and dispositions related to STEM learning?

Publications & Presentations

Conference Presentations

• Bloodworth, A., Wong, W., Tembe, N., Kleiman, J., & Conner, A. (Accepted). Robot Delivery: A Design Challenge for Integrated STEM and Supporting Collective Argumentation [Workshop]. The 125th School Science and Mathematics Association Convention, Chicago, IL, United States
• Kleiman, J., Tembe, N, and Conner, A.. (Accepted). Sensing Intervention Opportunities in Small-Group Mathematical Argumentation [Research Session Presentation]. The 125th School Science and Mathematics Association Convention, Chicago, IL, United States
• Tembe, N., Çaylı, S., Conner, A. M., Alibek, A., Crawford, B. (2025, October). Shared Decision-Making to Integrate Mathematics and Coding: Lessons from a Multidisciplinary Team [Poster presentation]. The NCTM 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Atlanta, GA, USA
• Wong, W., Bloodworth, A., Crawford, B., & Conner, A. (Accepted). Integrated STEM Design: Maintaining Conceptual Focus in Science and Coding [Research Session Presentation]. The 125th School Science and Mathematics Association Convention, Chicago, IL, United States
• Wong, W., Bloodworth, A., & Conner, A. (Accepted). Teaching exterior angle through integration of coding and robotics in elementary classrooms [Poster Presentation]. The 48th Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Provo UT, United States.
• Wong, W., Bloodworth, A., & Conner, A. (2026, February 20). An integrated lesson of mathematics and coding for elementary students [Conference Presentation]. Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Virtual Spring Conference 2026.
• Wong, W., Bloodworth, A., Kleiman, J., & Conner, A. (2026, February 5–7). How can we integrate mathematics and coding in elementary classrooms? [Individual Session]. The 30th Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Portland, OR, United States.

Peer‑Reviewed Publications

Peer-reviewed publications are in preparation. This section will be updated as work is published.

Teacher Collaborators

• Teachers from Jackson County School System

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award #2318287. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these products are those of the project team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.