Day 1
01 Intro 02 CSD Overview 03 Break 04 ML 1: U1L3 05 Tools and Strategies 06 Lunch 07 ML 2: U1L7 08 Tools and Strategies 09 Lesson Assignments 10 Break 11 Lesson Planning 12 Wrap Up 13 Fac. Debrief
Day 2
14 Intro 15 ML 3: U2L2 16 Tools and Strategies 17 Break 18 Lesson Planning 19 Lunch 20 ML 4: U2L3 21 Break 22 Tools and Strategies 23 TLO 1: U2L5 24 Wrap Up 25 Fac. Debrief
Day 3
26 Intro 27 Understanding Context 28 TLO 2: U2L6 29 Break 30 TLO 3: U2L9 31 Lunch 32 TLO 4: U2L11 33 Classroom Culture 34 Break 35 TLO 5: U2L16 36 Wrap Up 37 Fac. Debrief
Day 4
38 Intro 39 Bias and Responsibility 40 Unit 3 Intro 41 Break 42 TLO 6: U3L2 43 TLO 7: U3L3 44 Lunch 45 Differentiation 46 TLO 8: U3L4 47 Break 48 Content Wrap Up 49 Barriers, Opportunities, and Commitments 50 Wrap Up 51 Fac. Debrief
Day 5
52 Intro 53 Prep for the Year 54 Assessment 55 Break 56 Revisit Topics 57 Community 58 Lunch 59 Planning 60 Closing Ceremonies 61 End Early & Friday Facilitator Debrief

Session 33: Classroom Culture

40 minutes

community session | discussion-based

Purpose

This session is designed to create a space for participants to reflect on the culture they hope to create in their classrooms. There is time to describe a positive classroom culture and collaborate with other teachers to share strategies for creating that culture. This is also a time to tie together themes from the previous TLOs as participants think about how a positive classroom culture might support practices such as pair programming, debugging, and student collaboration. The session ends with a discussion about teamwork, which is a large component of Chapter 2 or Unit 2.

Objectives

  • Participants have reflected on and defined what a positive classroom culture looks like
  • Participants have collaborated with their peers about ways to create a positive classroom culture that supports practices such as debugging, pair programming, and peer collaboration
  • Teachers have shared strategies for supporting student teamwork

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup:

  • Participants are seated in pods

Facilitator Supplies and Prep:

Teacher Materials:

  • Poster paper (1 sheet per group)
  • Markers
  • Journal

Agenda

Create a Positive Classroom Culture (31 minutes)

Teamwork (9 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Create a Positive Classroom Culture (31 minutes)

(1 minute) Context Setting

Remarks

In a CS Discoveries classroom, students are expected to solve problems that don’t have clear answers, work together with their peers, and play an active role in their learning. For some students, this might be a new way of learning. The culture that is created within the classroom from the start is crucial in helping students feel like they belong in CS and in setting students up for success throughout the course.

(12 minutes) Classroom Culture Poster

(2 min) Journal Reflection: Think about a class you have taught,or experienced as a student, that you would describe as having a positive classroom culture. What led you to select this class?

Prompt: What does a classroom with a positive culture look like?

  • What do you see?
  • What do you hear?
  • What are the students doing?
  • What is the teacher doing?

(10 min) Participant Instructions: Work with your table group to create a poster that represents a classroom with a positive culture. The poster can be drawn or written in words. Get creative!

(8 minutes) Creating a Positive Culture

Remarks

As educators, we know that a positive classroom culture does not create itself. The teacher plays a role in establishing and supporting that culture. Look at your poster and think about how some of the topics we have discussed so far such as pair programming, debugging, problem solving, and peer collaboration might be impacted by your classroom culture.

Prompt: What steps can a teacher take from the very start of the school year to create and support a positive classroom culture that supports practices such as pair programming, debugging, problem solving, and peer collaboration and leads to students feeling like they belong in CS?

Participant Instructions: Work with your table group to develop a list of steps a teacher can take to create a positive classroom culture that supports practices such as pair programming, debugging, problem solving, and peer collaboration. Be prepared to share with the whole group.

Facilitator Tip

This share out is a great opportunity to incorporate movement. Consider changing this share out to a gallery walk if participants seem to need to get up and move around.

(10 minutes) Group Share Out

Facilitator Instructions:

  • Have each group first share their poster and then share their list of ways a teacher can create and support a positive classroom culture.
  • As participants share out, make a list of common themes to share with the group after each group has had an opportunity to share. Where possible, tie these themes back to the conversation around inclusion that began on Day 2.

Teamwork (9 minutes)

(1 minute) Context Setting

Remarks

In addition to the characteristics you described in your posters, effective teamwork can also contribute to a positive classroom culture. Developing teamwork skills is an essential skill in CS Discoveries. Chapter 2 of Unit 2 places a large emphasis on teamwork and concludes with students completing a group project. This is the first of many opportunities for students to practice and develop their teamwork skills in CS Discoveries.

(3 minutes) Teamwork Video

Watch the teamwork video as a whole group.

(3 minutes) Table Discussion

Prompt: What strategies for supporting teamwork have you experienced or used that might be helpful in supporting students taking CS Discoveries?