Day 1
01 Workshop Opener 02 Previously, on Unit 3 03 Break 04 Model Lesson U3L7 05 Reflection 06 Debugging 07 Lunch 08 Curriculum Investigation 09 Assessment 10 Break 11 Conclusions and Connections 12 Scenarios 13 Wrap Up 14 Debrief

Session 1: Workshop Opener

50 minutes

discussion-based | speed dating

Purpose

Bring participants together to kick off the workshop and reflect on how things are going in the classroom. This is a place to check in on specific lesson that people have already taught, as well as pacing and teaching practices that were recommended 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

  • Teachers have communicated where they currently are in the curriculum. This information should hopefully match the information you received in the pre-workshop survey results.
  • Teachers are aware of the theme for the day
  • Misconceptions and existing questions have been asked and answered
  • Teachers are thinking about how things are going and what they want to work on/get help with

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup (using the supplies provided by regional partner):

  • Posters up for people to add post-its to as they come in
    • Where are we now?
    • Question Parking Lot
  • Posters ready for Warm up and Check In:
    • Role of the Teacher
    • Things we know...
  • Four posters for 4 Corners:
    • Hot Topic
    • Local Impact
    • Looking Forward
    • In the Classroom

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Workshop Opening Logistics (10 minutes)

Warm Up and Check In (40 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Workshop Opening Logistics (10 minutes)

Poster Prep

Posters as participants come join:

  • Where are we now - On a piece of chart paper or on the board create a histogram for teachers to add where they are in the curriculum. Reminder teachers to take out their Curriculum Guide as a guide to unit progressions.
  • Question Parking Lot - For people to put up questions they have.

Posters ready for Warm up and Check In:

  • Role of the Teacher - On a piece of chart paper, create a poster that has the words “Role of the Teacher” written in large letters.
  • Things we know... - On a piece of chart paper, create a poster that has the words “Things we know...” written in large letters.

Four posters for 4 Corners each with one of the following titles: “Hot Topic”, “Local Impact”, “Looking Forward”, and “In the Classroom”

  • “Hot Topic” - topic of facilitator’s choice
  • “Local Impact” - topic of facilitator’s choice
  • “Looking Forward” - What are participants looking forward to in this workshop?
  • “In the Classroom” - topic of facilitator’s choice. Most common topics include assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer”, learning material along with your students, inclusion, etc.

Note: Facilitators choose the titles and topics for “Hot Topic”, “Local Impact”, and “In the Classroom”

Facilitator Tip

Ways to Prepare for Session:

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

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 having participants add in anything they need to talk about when they walk in the room

(2 minutes) Attendance

Have everyone complete the attendance for the day

  • On the online workshop dashboard find your workshop
  • Follow the instructions found on your facilitator landing page to start the workshop.

(3 minutes) Introductions

Introduce yourselves to the room so they know who you are. Teachers enjoy knowing facilitators background so make sure to share some key details of who you are. Also take a few minutes to let the participants introduce themselves. (It has been a long time since the summer, and you might have some new participants.)

(5 minutes) Norms

Teaching Tip

You can find Code.org’s context for these norms in our one-pager. We don’t recommend you read the full document to participants but rather pull out the key messages you want to have heard in the workshop.

Review the norms that were introduced during the summer workshop:

  • Be present.
  • Make space and take space.
  • Seek to understand.
  • Take risks.
  • Expect and accept non-closure.

Warm Up and Check In (40 minutes)

(2 minutes) Theme Introduction

Facilitator Tip

As lead learner, the role of the teacher shifts from being the source of knowledge to being the leader in seeking knowledge. It is important for the facilitator to model this teaching and learning strategy throughout the workshop. Opportunities for modeling this strategy will be called out in the teaching tips throughout the agenda. As you move through the agenda, remember the goal is for participants to be able to continue learning on their own after they leave the workshop. Helping a participant work through the process of finding a resource to reference is more valuable than directly explaining a concept.

Create a poster with the words “Role of the Teacher” in large letters. You will draw attention to this poster now, but you will not add anything at this point. The group will add to this poster throughout the day.

Remarks

Our learning today will be focused around an overarching theme: The Role of the Teacher. As you might have already experienced this year, the role of the teacher changes frequently in a CS classroom. Throughout the day we are going to identify the various roles of the teacher in a CS classroom and pair them with teaching strategies that you can use in your own classrooms.

One role of the teacher that we discussed together in the summer workshop is the role of the teacher as lead learner. As lead learner, the teacher’s role in the classroom is to model and encourage good learning strategies. A part of this is helping students find, develop, and use resources to support their learning. As we move through the day we are going to add to this poster to create a resource that we will all be able to use as a reference as we plan for the roles we will play in our own classrooms. During our time together today, keep this theme in mind as you reflect on the role of the teacher in various aspects of Unit 3. After each activity, we will add these ideas to our poster.

Facilitator Tip

Consider creating and displaying a poster with the definition of inclusion so participants can continue to practice using this shared language.

  • Inclusion - creating learning environments as well as using curricula and resources that are accessible,welcoming, and reflective of all students’ identities, backgrounds, differences, and perspectives.

We will also continue to consider how we as teachers can promote an inclusive classroom culture.

(3 minutes) Personal Reflection

Facilitator Tip

The goal of this reflection is to jog memories and think concretely about the lessons they’ve done so far and what’s coming soon.

Facilitators select one or two questions from the list below to have participants reflect on the following questions on their own to be ready to share with others in the 4 Corners Warm Up. They don't need to answer every question but use these questions to jog their memory.

  • What has gone well so far this year?
  • How have your students responded to the lessons you’ve already taught?
  • What have you done to promote a culture of inclusion in your classroom?
  • What adaptations have you made for your student needs?
  • Were there any concepts or activities in Units 1 or 2 that were challenging for you or for your students?
  • What concerns or issues do you have about the topics that are coming up soon?
  • What questions do you have/what do you want to talk about?

Facilitator Tip

  • “Hot Topic” - topic of facilitator’s choice
  • “Local Impact” - topic of facilitator’s choice
  • “Looking Forward” - What are participants looking forward to in this workshop?
  • “In the Classroom” - topic of facilitator’s choice. Most common topics include assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer”, learning material along with your students, etc.

(10 minutes) Four Corners Warm Up

Facilitator creates four posters, each with one of the following titles: “Hot Topic”, “Local Impact”, “Looking Forward”, and “In the Classroom”. Place posters in “corners” of the room.

Facilitator Tip

If the majority of participants choose a single poster to discuss, then break up participants into groups of no more than four, have them modify the poster title, and proceed with the Warm Up.

Participants choose a “corner” to go to based on the poster title they want to discuss. Participants discuss the poster title and write down key challenges or ideas on the poster. If participants have another issue they want to discuss, they may form a fifth group in the center of the four “corners” (center of the room).

Goal: This is an opportunity to identify pressing challenges or ideas participants may want to discuss early on in the workshop, which would otherwise hinder their engagement.

Activity Overview for Participants:

Remarks

We are going to do a 4 Corners Warm Up in which you will choose a poster to walk over to engage in a small group discussion and write key ideas for others to read. Let me describe what each poster discussion is about in order to help you choose. If after hearing the descriptions, you feel there’s another topic you would rather discuss, please form a fifth group in the center of the room (show participants where they should go).

The facilitator provides participants with a brief description (developed by the facilitators) for each poster to guide the discussions:

  • “Hot Topic” (topic may be broad at the national level or specific to your region/city)
  • “Local Impact” (topic may be specific at a district or school level)
  • “Looking Forward” Guiding Question: What are participants looking forward to in this workshop?
  • “In the Classroom” (topic may be about assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer”, learning material along with your students, inclusion, etc.)

Participants walk to each “corner”, read key challenges or ideas, write a solution or suggestion on a post-it note, and place the post-it on the poster.

Goal: This is an opportunity for participants to help others in the room problem solve and for facilitators to identify what may need to be addressed later in the day or added to the question parking lot.

(10 minutes) Group Discussion

Participants go back to their seats. The goal here is to pull out widely-held concerns and questions, as well as check in with participants on the following:

  • What student needs have you encountered and what strategies have you found that help meet those needs?
  • What’s happening with your students who are new to CS? Are they disengaging? What can we do to address that?

Facilitator Tip

As lead learner, the role of the teacher is to activate prior knowledge and help students articulate their learning.

(5 minutes) Activate Prior Knowledge

Facilitator creates a poster with the words “Things we know...” in large letters.

  • (2 minutes) Independent Journaling Prompt: Think back to the summer workshop and experiences you have had teaching this course. What CS concepts have you learned so far?

  • (3 minutes) Group Share Out: Facilitator adds concepts to the “Things we know…” poster during the share out. Leaving this session, display this poster in the room. Participants can reference this resource throughout the day.

Remarks

Now that we have reflected on where we have been, it is time to continue building. As we continue to build, remember to use the “Things we know…” poster as a reference resource.