a clean slate approach to high school cs
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A Clean Slate Approach to High School CS. Jan Cuny 9/26/2009. Why High School?. Why High School?. Things are really bad there. Without the HS piece, anything we do for middle school will be lost. 3. Without the HS piece, anything we do at the college level will be insufficient. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
A Clean Slate Approach to High School CS
Jan Cuny
9/26/2009QuickTime™ and a
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Why High School?
Why High School?
1. Things are really bad there. 2. Without the HS piece, anything we
do for middle school will be lost.3. Without the HS piece, anything we do
at the college level will be insufficient.
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Why focus on AP?
Often the only CS course that carries college prep credit
Attractive to students & schools 2,000 CB-audited teachers Single point of national leverage
What’s wrong with the current AP course?
Doesn’t appeal to many students (particularly women and minorities)
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AP test takers (2007) 14,529 students took AP CS A
• 204,564 Calculus AB • 141,321 Bio• 96,282 Statistics
AP CS had the worst gender balance of any of the AP tests
• 18.3% CS A • 48.7% Calculus AB • 50.2% Statistics
What’s wrong with the current AP course?
Doesn’t appeal to many students (particularly women and minorities)
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Inaccessible to students without previous experience
Fails to introduce the fundamental concepts of CT
Doesn’t teach the breadth of application or “magic” of computing
Math and Science in U.S. High Schools (NRC, 2002)
AP courses should
• Reflect what we know about how students learn • Build students’ transferable, conceptual understanding and
inquiry skills • Convey the content and unifying concepts of a discipline
AP courses should not be designed solely to replicate introductory college courses (which are not typically exemplary models)
Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Environmental Science are leading the
way. (ESI-0525575)
AP Commission
Owen Astrachan, Chair
Stacey ArmstrongCharmaine Bentley Amy BriggsMark Guzdial Rich Kick Jody Paul Chris Stephenson
AP Advisory Group
Duane Bailey (Williams) Jim Kurose (UMass)
Tiffany Barnes (UNC Charlotte) Andrea Lawrence (Spelman)
Gail Chapman (CSTA Richard Pattis (UCI)
Tim Cortina (CMU) Eric Roberts (Stanford)
Stephen Edwards (VA Tech) Katie Seik (CU)
Dan Garcia (Berkeley) Beth Simon (UCSD)
Joanna Goode (UO) Larry Snyder (UW)
Susanne Hambrusch (Purdue) Lynn Andrea Stein (Oiln)
Michelle Hutton (HS, CA) Fan Trees (Drew)
Deepak Kumar (Bryn Mawr) Cameron Wilson (ACM)
AP GSC’s Big Ideas
1. Computing is a creative human activity that engenders innovation, exploration, and the creation of knowledge.
2. Abstraction is the process of reducing information and detail to solve problems.
3. Humans use computer programs to manipulate data and information to facilitate the creation of insight and knowledge.
95/5% Rule
AP GSC’s Big Ideas
4. Algorithms are tools for developing and expressing solutions to computational problems and for exploring and creating data.
5. Programming is a tool for computational problem solving and the exploration and creation of knowledge.
6. Computer systems and networks facilitate communication and computational problem solving.
7. Computing engages with other disciplines to drive innovation and define new fields.
95/5% Rule
AP GSC
Engaging, accessible, inspiring, rigorous
Focused on the fundamental concepts of computing (CT)
A target for K-9 course development
An impetus for college curriculum reform
Available nationwide (IB as well)
AP GSC
Piloted at the college level 2010 Piloted at the high school level 2011 Test available 2015
What’s before GSC?
Introductory CS
Define a framework Pick exemplars Provide materials
Exploring Computer Science
LAUSD, Jane Margolis Piloted ECS 08/09 Currently in 20 LAUSD schools Complete, detailed curriculum & lessons
plans on CSTA site “G” credit and CTE credit
HS Computing Curriculum
Introductory Computing (for everyone) GSC AP CS A (possibly modified)
The new AP course will be coming to
a school near you in 2014 …
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Getting it
taught &
taught well
GOAL: Have the new curriculum taught in 10,000 schools by 10,000 well-prepared teachers by 2015.
CS / 10,000 Project
Curriculum development Teacher Preparation
In-service preparation Pre-service preparation Ongoing professional development
Entrée into schools
In-Service Preparation
Significant training
Coaching & mentoring for novice teachers, e.g. Teacher Residency Programs
Collaborations with other STEM programs e.g. MSP, GK-12
High quality on-line options (infrastructure, content)
Pre-service preparation
Partnerships between CS & Ed Schools (computing methods courses, recruiting)
Traditional and alternative certification: UTEACH,TFA, MFA, Teaching Fellows, Transitions to Teaching (Troops to Teachers) …
On-going professional development
CSTA
Something like the National Writing Project
In class assistance: GK-12, SLC-like Computing Corps, Citizen teachers, Faculty (Adopt a Classroom)
Collaborate with math & science teachers’ associations
Entrée into the schools
Hardware, Software, Connectivity, & Tech Support
Extended hours & Out of school hours availability
Help with teacher salaries / Stipends
AP Incentives
Maneuver patchwork of state standards, credit issues, certification requirements, etc.
Entrée into the schools
Good news:Lots of school districts REALLY want us.
Status
Intro & AP course well underway Demo sites on teacher training in LA
(Margolis) & Atlanta (Ericson) Discussions with UTEACH, NMSI,
MFA Thought Leaders Meeting 10/20 to
design national rollout (Google) Discussions with possible funders
The time is right.
Clean slate …
We need the computing community to step up.
but we can’t blow it.
What ACM Ed do?
Publicize the effort Advocacy
Local schools: computing classesStates: standards, certification, etc.Universities:
• GSC credit • Adding computing to the preferred list
of HS courses
What can individuals do?
Pilot GSC (university & high schools) Run summer teacher training programs Work with your Ed School to get develop preservice
computing courses Use GK-12 or Service Learning courses to get your
students into K-12 class rooms Recruit students to teaching Work with programs like UTEACH, TFA, MFA, etc.
What can individuals do?
Participate in larger projects e.g. MSP, Race to the Top, Innovation Projects
Consider an Expeditions proposal Promote teaching to your students Help build the significant public/private partnerships
that we will need to commandeer major funding Help review proposals, etc.
Thanks!