Day 1
01 Opener 02 Barriers & Challenges 03 Break 04 Model Lesson 05 Lunch 06 Async Prep 07 Teaching Practices 08 Focus on Equity 09 Break 10 Lesson Planning 11 Wrap Up

Session 4: Model Lesson

60 minutes

Purpose

The purpose of this session is for participants to experience a lesson that highlights creativity while observing active teaching during a mini-project lesson.

Objectives

  • Participants will develop empathy for the student experience.
  • Participants will identify how curriculum resources and the role of the teacher both support teaching CS equitably.

Supplies & Prep

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Introduce Model Lessons (2 minutes)

Model Lesson Role Play (38 minutes)

Model Lesson Reflection (20 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Introduce Model Lessons (2 minutes)

(2 minutes) Overview of Model Lessons

Facilitator Note: Facilitators and participants engage with model lessons through role-playing. The purpose of role-playing during the model lesson is:

  • To model teaching practices and strategies that support learning and teaching CS Fundamentals courses in inclusive ways.
  • To provide teachers with an experience of how learners might engage with the curriculum and course materials.
  • To introduce CS content and lesson types to teachers to plan, implement, and teach the curriculum and course materials.

Remarks

We will engage in a model lesson through role-playing to plan, implement, and teach CS Fundamentals. I will have the “teacher hat,” and you will have the “learner hat.” As you engage in the model lessons as learners, I want to encourage you to keep your students in mind and consider role-playing as your students.

Consider your students’ perspectives, the kinds of questions they might ask, and how they would engage in the lesson both on and off the computer. If you have a teacher question during the model lesson, either reframe the question to be something a student might ask or write it down to return to the lesson’s end. After the model lesson, we will have time to reflect on what we noticed and experienced during the model lesson.

Model Lesson Role Play (38 minutes)

(3 minutes) Model Lesson Context

  • The model lesson is part of Course C, designed for students in second grade.
  • We’ve modified and shortened the lesson for our workshop today to focus on the main activity.
  • Type of lesson modeled:
    • Mini-Project lesson: students apply what they have learned by creating a more extensive program step-by-step.

Remarks

Let’s put our hats on and go!

(10 minutes) Warm-Up

(2 minutes) Introduce the Lesson

During the last lesson, we used loops, and today we will continue to use loops. We will create digital stickers by having loops repeat.

Let’s review our vocabulary:

  • A loop is an act of doing something over and over again.
  • To repeat is to do something again.

Say: Before you each go to the lesson online, let’s talk about some of the features in the lesson we can use.

Show participants Course C, Lesson 10, Level 1 and encourage them to follow along on their screen.

(8 minutes) Overview of Lesson Features

  • (2 minutes)

    • Say: What a hint is and where to find hints in the lesson?
    • Hover over the hints to show participants where they can find hints in the lesson.

  • (2 minutes)

  • Say: How do we write code?

    • Hover over the blocks to show participants to drag the blocks into the workspace.

  • (2 minutes)

  • Say: Let’s look at the “Speed Slider.”
    • Hover over the “Speed Slider” and describe it to participants.
  • Say: What do you think the “Speed Slider” does?
    • Sample response: The speed slider makes code run slow or fast.
  • Hover over the “Speed Slider” to show participants how they can adjust it during the lesson.

Facilitator Tip

Model “Discovery and Inquiry” with the routine “Asking Questions.” This is an example of encouraging participants to first engage with the content, make sense of it on their own, and then ask questions for help and support.

(2 minutes) Say: Remember we are practicing our “Asking Questions” routine throughout the lesson.

  • Try it out!
  • Tell someone what you did.
  • Ask questions.

(15 minutes) Breakout Rooms

Facilitator Tip

Model the “Role of the Teacher” by showing active teaching in different breakout rooms. Call on a specific participant to help model the routine. Consider the following as a guide to engage participants in the “Asking Questions” routine.

  • Tell me the steps you took as you worked on the lesson.
  • Have you shared your steps with others? Am I the first?
    • If you did share with others, what did they tell you?
  • What questions do you have?

Participants individually work through Levels 1 - 9 in breakout rooms with a small group of 3-4 people. Participants work on a mini-project creating digital stickers.

  • Share with participants today’s lesson is a time to get creative and that there is no one single right digital sticker.

Transition: Remind participants they are working individually on a mini-project to create digital stickers, but will be in a breakout room with others. Share you will be circulating through breakout rooms for support.

Producers: Send groups of 3-4 participants to breakout rooms for fifteen minutes. Then bring participants back to the main room.

Circulate: Circulate the breakout rooms, engage participants in the “Asking Questions” routine, and provide support as needed.

(6 minutes) Wrap Up

Participants return to the main room. Participants respond to the journal prompts and share out their journal drawing.

  • (3 minutes) Journal Prompts:
    • What was today’s lesson about?
    • How did you feel during today’s lesson?
    • What was the coolest shape or figure you programmed today? Draw it out!

Facilitator Tip

Model “The Classroom Community,” by engaging all participants in sharing their journal entries.

Say: Show your journal drawing with me by putting it in front of your camera. Ready? Go!

Model Lesson Reflection (20 minutes)

Remarks

Let’s take our learner hats off and put our teacher hats back on to debrief and reflect on the model lesson.

(2 minutes) Journal

Prompts:

  • What did you observe and experience during the model lesson?
  • As a learner, what features in the lesson support debugging?

(12 minutes) Breakout Rooms

Discussion Goal

The goal of the breakout room discussion is to prime participants for the next session which narrows the focus on the curriculum along with the role of the teacher in support of implementing and teaching CS Fundamentals equitably.

Participants discuss the following prompts in breakout rooms with a small group of 3-4 people.

  • Role of the Teacher

    • What was the role of the teacher during the model lesson?
      • Example response: the role of the teacher was to engage students in active learning with active teaching.

  • Discovery and Inquiry

    • When were there opportunities for students to make their sense of the content during the lesson?
      • Example response: Students encouraged to follow the “Asking Questions” routine to support them in first making sense of the content on their own, then talking about the content and asking questions.

  • The Classroom Community

    • When were there opportunities for active learning (communicating or creating with other students) during the lesson?
      • All students are encouraged to communicate with each other by engaging in the “Ask Questions” routine.
    • When were there opportunities to create an inclusive classroom in which all students feel they can share and listen to ideas?
      • Example responses: All students are encouraged to share their ideas with other students during the wrap-up.

Transition: Remind participants the designated slides include prompts for the breakout room discussion. Share that each group needs a notetaker.

Producers: Send groups of 3-4 participants to breakout rooms for twelve minutes. Then bring participants back to the main room.

Circulate: Circulate the breakout rooms and provide support as needed.

(6 minutes) Whole Group Reflection

Discussion Goal

Support participants in recognizing active teaching leads to active learning which supports inclusion such that all students are engaged and learning CS Fundamentals.

(3 minutes) Invite a few participants to respond to the prompts with the whole group.

Prompts:

  • How do mini-project lessons compare with context-setting and skill-building lessons?
  • What parts of the lesson, if any, would students find challenging?
  • What are key takeaways from the model lesson for
    • Role of Teacher and Curriculum
    • Discovery and Inquiry
    • The Classroom Community