Day 1
01 Opener 02 Barriers 03 Break 04 Model 05 Lunch 06 Practices 07 Equity 08 Break 09 Plan 10 End

Session 6: CS Teaching Practices

60 minutes

lesson-exploration

Purpose

The purpose of this session is for participants to dive deeper into the CS Fundamentals teaching practices, as well as the student practices in order to successfully sustain inclusive CS Fundamentals courses in their classrooms.

Objectives

  • Participants will explain how various learning modalities within the curriculum establish and sustain learning CS in inclusive ways.
  • Participants will explain how the curriculum and CS teaching practices establish and sustain students developing student practices.

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup:

  • None

Facilitator Materials:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

CS Teaching Practices (60 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

CS Teaching Practices (60 minutes)

Remarks

During this session, we take a look at how the curriculum, learning platform, and our role as the teacher supports various learners with learning CS and developing student practices. We will use learner profiles to guide parts of our discussions. Throughout our discussions, let’s identify how the curriculum also supports active CS teaching practices which establish and sustain learning CS in inclusive ways.

(30 minutes) Learner Profiles: Part I

(2 minutes) Context

Share with participants the following learner profiles:

  • Learner A: enjoys getting information through visuals such as graphics with meaningful symbols such as arrows. Note: May not always respond to pictures or videos to get information.
  • Learner B: listens attentively when getting information and enjoys discussing ideas with others.
  • Learner C: enjoys reading and writing to both get and share information.
  • Learner D: enjoys actively getting information, using all of their senses.

(22 minutes) Jigsaw Activity

(9 minutes) Part A

Facilitator Tip

For workshops with fewer participants, consider the alternative suggestion:

  • Part A: Participants do not form jigsaw groups and instead choose one or more learner profiles to focus on and identify examples within lessons that support the learner profile they chose.
  • Part B: Participants compare and discuss examples with the whole group.
  • Part C is omitted.

Participants form jigsaw groups of at least four people.

  • Each participant chooses one of the four learner profiles to focus on.
  • Participants choose a course to navigate to and identify examples within the lessons that support the learner profile they chose.

(7 minutes) Part B

  • Participants form four “expert” groups, one for each of the learner profiles.
  • Participants compare and discuss examples they found in a course that support the learner profile for that “expert” group.

(6 minutes) Part C

  • Participants go back to their jigsaw group and take turns sharing examples within the lessons that support each learner profile.

(6 minutes) Whole Group Share Out

Participants respond to the prompt and share responses with the whole group.

Prompts:

  • How do the lessons support various learner profiles?

    • Example response:
      • Lessons support Learner A, by providing videos, symbols, and icons to get and share information.

  • How does supporting various learner profiles establish and sustain inclusive CS Fundamentals lessons?

    • Example response:
      • Supporting various learner profiles is welcoming and reflective of all students differences, abilities, and perspectives. In addition, Code.org videos provide a representation of a variety of people across different races, backgrounds, and ethnicities.

(24 minutes) CS Student and Teaching Practices

Remarks

Next, let’s take a look at CS student practices. CS student practices are skills and qualities that support students in learning CS. In addition to lessons supporting various learner profiles, lessons also support students in developing CS student practices.

(2 minutes) Overview of Student Practices

Give participants an overview of the student practices. Invite participants to follow along on page 27 of the Curriculum Guide.

Page 27, Student Practices

  • Problem Solving
    • Breaking down larger problems into smaller components
  • Persistence
    • Value and expect mistakes
  • Creativity
    • Students’ interests and ideas are incorporated into their work
  • Collaboration
    • Actively contribute to lessons and projects
  • Communication
    • Provide and give feedback

(10 minutes) Think-Pair-Share

Participants engage in a Think-Pair-Share activity to reflect and discuss responses to the prompts.

  • (1 minute) Think: Participants individually think about prompts.
  • (4 minutes) Pair: Participants turn to a partner and share their responses to the prompt.
  • (5 minutes) Share: Participants discuss key ideas or takeaways from their partner discussion with the whole group.

Prompt:

  • How do lessons support students in developing student practices?

(2 minutes) Overview of CS Teaching Practices

Remarks

Lastly, let’s take a look at CS teaching practices which also support student practices. The CS teaching practices discussed here stem from the pedagogical approach to the curriculum values. The pedagogical approach to the curriculum values is intended to construct an equitable and engaging learning environment. The pedagogical approach helps us identify what CS teaching practices might look and sound like in the classroom to support students learning CS in inclusive ways. We will focus on the following CS teaching practices:

  • Role of the Teacher
  • Discovery and Inquiry
  • The Classroom Community

Invite participants to follow along on page 4 of the Curriculum Guide during the overview of the Pedagogical Approach.

Page 4, Pedagogical Approach to Our Values

  • Pedagogical Approach of the Role of the Teacher means CS teaching practices in which:

    • Teachers support all students in first engaging with concepts through lesson activities rather than first providing explanations or lectures.
      • For example, the teacher might say, “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can find out.”
    • Teachers engage in active teaching.
      • For example, engaging all students and supporting the pacing of the curriculum.

  • Pedagogical Approach of Discovery and Inquiry means CS teaching practices in which:

    • Teachers support all students in exploring concepts and building their own understanding of concepts.
    • Teachers support all students with building and strengthening their debugging skills individually.

  • Pedagogical Approach of The Classroom Community means CS teaching practices in which:

    • Teachers support all students in engaging in active learning.
      • For example, providing opportunities for students to communicate or create with other students.
    • Teachers support all students in engaging with pair programming.
    • Teachers use classroom data when making decisions about how to pair students.
    • Teachers support all students in building and strengthening their understanding of debugging as a process.
    • Teachers and all students engage in an inclusive CS learning environment.

(10 minutes) Think-Pair-Share

Participants engage in a Think-Pair-Share activity to reflect and discuss responses to the following prompts.

Invite participants to pair up with a different participant from the last Think-Pair-Share activity.

  • (1 minute) Think: Participants individually think about the prompts.
  • (4 minutes) Pair: Participants share their responses to the prompt with a partner.
  • (5 minutes) Share: Participants discuss key takeaways from their partner discussion with the whole group.

Discussion Goal

The goal of this discussion is to help participants make connections between using CS teaching practices in support of students developing Student Practices.

For example, the Role of the Teacher can support students in developing the student practice of persistence by establishing an active learning community that values and welcomes mistakes as part of the learning process.

Prompts:

  • How do the CS teaching practices support students in developing student practices?

(6 minutes) Next Steps

(1 minute) Journal

Participants individually respond to the prompt.

Prompt:

  • What is my role during lessons to support students in developing student practices?

(5 minutes) Whole Group Share Out

Discussion Goal

The goal of this discussion is to help participants recognize CS teaching practices support active teaching during lessons, which in turn support students in developing student practices.

Participants share their response to the prompt with the whole group.