Day 1
01 Workshop Opener 02 Blind Spots 03 Break 04 Intro to App Lab 05 Intro Circuit Playground 06 Previously, on Unit 6 07 Lunch 08 Model Lesson 09 Model Lesson Reflection 10 Break 11 Curriculum Investigation 12 Conclusions and Connections 13 Wrap Up 14 Debrief

Session 1: Workshop Opener

45 minutes

discussion-based

Purpose

This session is designed to bring participants together to kick off the workshop, reflect on how things are going in the classroom, and introduce the theme for the day. This is a place to check in on specific lessons that people have already taught, as well as pacing and teaching practices that were modeled or discussed in the previous workshop.

It is common to surface concerns during this session that can be revisited and addressed throughout the workshop.

Objectives

  • Participants collaborate with one another to share resources and ideas for their classrooms
  • Participants engage in the “think, pair, share” teaching and learning strategy

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup:

  • Posters up for people to add post-its to as they come in
    • “Where are we now” - On a piece of chart paper or on the board, create a histogram for teachers to note where they are in the curriculum. Remind teachers to take out their Curriculum Guides as a guide to unit progressions.
    • “Question Parking Lot” - For people to post questions they have.
  • Check to make sure you have one Circuit Playground for each pair of participants

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Supplies:

  • Circuit Playground (1 per pair)

Agenda

Opening Workshop Logistics (5 minutes)

Warm Up and Check In (20 minutes)

Share Out (10 minutes)

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Opening Workshop Logistics (5 minutes)

Facilitator Tip

Facilitator Tip: Ways to Prepare for this Session:

  • Reflect on teacher needs at the last workshop — what were the most common concerns? How can you check in on those concerns here?
  • Make a plan with your co-facilitator for how you plan to divide up roles during the session.

(0 minutes) As Teachers Walk In

Have a slide up at the front of the room to direct teachers to:

  • Add post-its to "Where are we now" poster
  • Kick off the “Question Parking Lot” chart by asking participants to add in anything they need to talk about
  • Install the Maker App for using Maker Toolkit on your computer (There are special instructions for Chromebook users)

(2 minutes) Attendance

Have everyone complete the attendance for the day

(2 minutes) Workshop Schedule

Display the workshop schedule slide.

Remarks

Today’s workshop will focus on Unit 6: Physical Computing. In this unit, students will explore the connection between hardware and software using the Circuit Playground and App Lab. In previous workshops, we have done a model lesson in the morning followed by a curriculum investigation in the afternoon. Today, will will spend some dedicated time in the morning to exploring new tools and programs that are used in Unit 6. We will do a model lesson and curriculum investigation in the afternoon.

(1 minute) Review Norms

Remind the group of the norms you set at earlier workshops.

Warm Up and Check In (20 minutes)

Discussion Goal

Jog memories and think concretely about the lessons they’ve done so far and what’s coming soon.

Facilitator Tip

While discussions are happening, one facilitator should circle the room while the other reads over the post-its that teachers posted as they came into the room.

(3 minutes) Personal Reflection

Have teachers reflect on the following questions individually, and be ready to share with someone else. They don't need to answer every question but participants can use these questions to jog their memory.

  • How is it going with the class in general?
    • What has been your biggest challenge in implementing CS Discoveries?
  • How is it going with the topics we discussed at our last workshop?
    • Differentiation: How are you doing with differentiation?
    • Learning in Context: How have you helped students understand the “why” behind their learning?
  • What is on your mind?
    • What concerns or issues do you have about the topics that are coming up soon?
    • What questions do you have, and/or what do you want to talk about today?

(10 minutes) Speed Dating

Have participants “speed date” their responses to the three prompts above, looking for advice or ideas on questions or issues.

FACILITATOR NOTE: In this activity, speed dating means getting up and talking with someone new about your thoughts. We recommend doing 3 rounds of 3 minutes each, where participants check in with someone new for each round

Facilitator Tip

As teachers share in their groups, the facilitators are circulating to hear teachers' thoughts and are thinking about the topics to discuss in the whole group share out. Likely topics are assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer, learning material along with your students, etc.

Discussion Goal

Bubble up what needs to be addressed by the whole group. Jot down questions or topics on post-its and then hold up for facilitators to collect.

(7 minutes) Share Concerns at Table

Head back to tables and share your concerns and what you learned from others.

As table members catch up and share, facilitators should review the post-it notes and decide what issues folks are having that others in the room can help solve. Other post-it notes that may be appropriate to answer later in the day can be added to the question parking lot.

Share Out (10 minutes)

(10 minutes) Group Discussion

Facilitator Tip

If this session starts to run long, suggest that the remaining questions go on post-it notes to the question parking lot.

Facilitators prime the discussion with topics that have been brought up so far in the day, and put them to the group for everyone to answer. For example, a facilitator might say, “I heard a lot of people talking about ..., what does the group think about this?” The goal is to pull out widely-held questions and to check in with groups on the following:

  • How are things going? Are there any specific needs that need to be addressed before we move on to Unit 6: Physical Computing?
  • How are your students doing working in groups?

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

(1 minute) Introductory Remarks

Remarks

So far this year, we have reflected on the “Role of the Teacher”, the “Role of the Student” and “Learning in Context.” Today we will expand our focus on student learning as we discuss and reflect on “Learning through Creation”. In the last workshop we talked a lot about setting the context for learning in order to help students understand the “why” behind what they are learning. When students are “Learning through Creation” their creations become the context for their learning. They are able to build knowledge as they build a product.

Discussion Goal

Although we have not specifically named this practice until now, students have been engaging with “Learning through Creation” throughout the course. The goal of this discussion is for participants to identify an example from the year that could be considered “Learning through Creation.” Answers will vary, but at the root all of examples there should be a clear connection to students building knowledge while building a product such as websites in Unit 2, games in Unit 3, or app prototypes in Unit 4.

(8 minutes) Think, Pair, Share

Prompt: Reflecting back on the year so far, when have students built knowledge while building a product? Think of one specific example that you would like to share.

  • (1 minute) Think: individual reflection
  • (2 minutes) Pair: discuss with a partner
  • (5 minutes) Share: share and discuss with the whole group

(1 minute) Closing Remarks

Remarks

As we move through the day, we will continue to reflect on this idea of the “Learning through Creation”. Our goal is to leave the day with a clear plan for how we will support “Learning through Creation” in our classrooms.