Day 1
01 Workshop Opener 02 Previously, on 03 Break 04 Model Lesson 05 ML Reflection 06 Equity 07 Lunch 08 Curriculum Investigation 09 Conclusions and Connections 10 Break 11 Unit Planning 12 Wrap Up 13 Debrief

Session 1: Workshop Opener

50 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 work on developing the skills necessary to continue to build their CS content and pedagogical knowledge outside of the workshop through the forum, the community’s shared resources, online courses, peer collaboration,
  • Participants engage in the “think, pair, share” teaching and learning strategy

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” - 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.

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Workshop Opening Logistics (3 minutes)

Warm Up and Check In (22 minutes)

Share Out (15 minutes)

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Workshop Opening Logistics (3 minutes)

As Teachers Walk In

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.

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

(2 minutes) Attendance

Have everyone complete the attendance for the day

(1 minute) Review Norms

  • Provide a brief overview of what participants will be doing in the workshop.

  • Remind the group of the norms you set at Workshop 1.

Warm Up and Check In (22 minutes)

(5 minutes) Personal Reflection

Discussion Goal

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

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 topics we discussed at our last workshop?
    • Debugging: How are your students doing with applying debugging process to programming
    • Your role as the teacher: How has your role as the teacher shifted and changed as you have implemented various aspects of the course?
  • How is it going with the class in general?
    • What adaptations have you made for your students’ needs?
  • 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 Networking

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. Note the space needed for speed networking.

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

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

(7 minutes) Share Concerns at Table

Discussion Goal

Identify from the post-it notes, concerns or questions to be addressed by the whole group.

Participants head back to tables and share concerns and what they learned from others. Participants write down questions or topics on post-it notes that they want to share with the whole group, and hold them up for facilitators to collect.

  • Review the post-it notes and decide:

    • what issues folks are having that others in the room can help solve.
    • what questions to add to the question parking lot that can be answered later in the day.

  • As teachers share in their groups, circulate to hear discussions and decide what topics to address with the whole group such as assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer, or learning material along with your students.

Share Out (15 minutes)

Facilitator Tip

Consider having one facilitator run the discussion while the other takes notes on the designated slide. For workshops with only one facilitator, you might consider enlisting the help of a participant with note taking. If this session starts to run long, suggest that the remaining questions go on post-it notes to the question parking lot.

(15 minutes) Group Discussion

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. 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 4: The Design Process?

  • How are your students doing with applying the debugging process to programming?

Theme Introduction (10 minutes)

(1 minute) Introductory Remarks

Remarks

In the last workshop, we focused on the theme of the “Role of the Teacher.” In today’s workshop, we will extend this idea to think about the “Role of the Student”. In a CS Discoveries classroom, students are meant to be active. Students learn through doing and exploration rather than through direct instruction. Today we will consider how we, as educators, can create and support an inclusive learning environment that allows students to grow and develop in this active role.

Discussion Goal

Participants should walk away with a working definition of active learning and a clear idea of what active learning looks like in the CS Discoveries classroom. Active learning does not include passively listening to the teacher lecture or memorizing facts. Examples of active learning include:

  • students collaborating with peers
  • engaging in discussions
  • working together to solve a problem
  • exploring new concepts, etc

(8 minutes) Think, Pair, Share

Prompt:

  • What does it mean for students to be active in the classroom?

  • What sorts of things are students doing? What is the teacher doing?

  • (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 “Role of the Student”. Our goal is to leave the day with a clear plan for how we can leverage our role as the teacher to support students in taking an active role in their learning in an inclusive learning environment.