Day 1
01 Opener 02 Break 03 Model Lessons 04 Debug 05 Break 06 Focus on Equity 07 Break 08 Support 09 Lunch 10 Async 11 Planning 12 Barriers 13 Wrap Up

Session 3: Model Lessons

60 minutes

lesson exploration

Purpose

The purpose of this session is for participants to experience lessons as students and to observe active teaching during a context-setting lesson and skill-building lesson. In addition, participants will be introduced to CS teaching practices.

Objectives

  • Participants will develop empathy for the student experience.
  • Participants will identify CS teaching practices that support inclusion.
  • Participants will identify the role of the teacher in supporting equitable CS classrooms.

Supplies & Prep

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Model Lessons (43 minutes)

CS Teaching Practices (17 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Model Lessons (43 minutes)

(1 minute) 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:

  • For facilitators to model teaching practices and strategies that support learning CS and implementing CS Fundamentals courses.
  • 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 support them in preparing and planning the curriculum and course materials in a later session.
  • Share with participants the curriculum does not always follow the lesson progression of a context-setting lesson followed by a skill-building lesson for a concept chunk as modeled in this session.

Remarks

We are going to engage in two model lessons through role play. I will have my “teacher hat” on and you will have the “learner hat” on. 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 come back to at the end of the lesson. After the model lesson, we will have time to reflect on what we noticed and experienced during the model lesson in order to help us plan and prepare to implement lessons in our classrooms.

(2 minutes) Model Lessons Context

  • The model lessons are for a K-5 or 2-3 workshop and part of Course C, designed for students in second grade.
  • The context-setting lesson and the skill-building lesson modeled within this session are two separate lessons, but modeled as a single lesson.
  • The model lessons are intended to be taught in their entirety as separate lessons.
  • For the purposes of our workshop today, we’ve shortened the lessons to 20 minutes each to focus on the main activity for each type of lesson.
  • Types of lessons modeled:
    • Context-setting Lesson: Lessons that introduce CS concepts usually in a hands-on way as an unplugged activity without any computers.
    • Skill-building Lesson: Lessons on the computer to give students structured practice with a new tool or programming concept.

(20 minutes) Context-setting Model Lesson

Facilitator Tip

Model “Discovery and Inquiry” by engaging all participants in making their own meaning of the pattern and the CS concept “event”, rather than directly telling participants what “event” means in CS.

Warm Up (5 minutes)

Remarks

Say: Let’s see if we can find a pattern here: When you flip a switch, the lights turn on. When you tap on a phone, an app starts. When the alarm clock goes off, you get out of bed. When ___ (event), ____ (action).

Facilitator Tip

The objective of the model lesson is to introduce the curriculum and teaching practices that support student learning, rather than focusing on participants learning CS content at this time. However, consider attending to misconceptions between events and conditionals if they surface. Misconceptions may be identified based on the language participants are using.

Conditionals are different from events in that conditionals include words such as “if, else, while” and require a decision to be made. Events include words such as “click, mouse over, key down” and require an action to happen.

For example: conditional - if the switch is flipped, then the light might or might not turn on; event - when the switch is flipped that causes the light to turn on.

Invite participants to fill in the blanks.

  • Examples may include:
  • When you press the start button on a microwave, the microwave works.
  • When you step on the brake, the car stops.

Remarks

Say: Our new vocabulary word today is “event.” In computer science, events cause other actions to happen. Normally when we hear “event,” we might think of:

  • Field trips
  • Competitions
  • Birthday Parties

Remarks

Say: We’re learning a new meaning for the word “event” today. Let’s focus on events that cause other actions to happen. For example, when flipping a switch that causes the lights to turn on or when pressing a key on the keyboard that makes a character move in a game.

Activity (10 minutes)

Remarks

Say: When we play a game on a device, how do we get characters in a game to do something? Invite participants to share responses.

  • Examples may include:
  • Press keys on a keyboard
  • Click on a mouse
  • Swipe on a screen

“Events” are used to tell characters where and how to move.

Project or have a printed copy of the Event Controller to use with participants.

Go over the actions participants will do when a button is “pressed.”

  • If you have a printed copy, then physically tap on the copy and say the name of the shape.

  • If you are showing the slide with the Event Controller, then say the name of the shape and hover the hand image over the shape.

  • For example:

    • Green Star -> Clap
    • Orange Triangle -> Hands in the air
    • Blue Hexagon -> Hands on hips
    • Purple Circle -> Twist
    • Pink Rectangle -> Stomp

Facilitator Tip

Model “Role of the Teacher” by showing active teaching and engaging all participants in the lesson.

“Press” on a button by tapping the shape or hovering the hand image and have participants do the actions.

  • Do a couple of button sequences and challenge the participants to keep up with the actions.

Remarks

Say: Every time a button is pressed or “clicked” is an “event.”

(Optional) Provide participants with a challenge and have participants engage in counting to 20 or singing the ABCs.

  • After a couple of seconds, interrupt participants and press a button for participants to do a corresponding action.

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

Prompts:

  • What did we learn today?
  • What are some examples of events?

Remarks

Say: That ends today’s lesson.

(20 minutes) Skill-building Model Lesson

  • Transition to the next model lesson.

Warm Up (5 minutes)

Remarks

Say: Let’s review our last lesson. We programmed, or created instructions, for the button click events. What program or what instructions did we use for the button click events to do?

  • Example response: Programmed the button click event to cause an action like stomping or clapping.

Say: We are going to add events and build our own Flappy Bird game.

  • Participants will create an event for clicking the mouse and one for when the bird hits an object like the ground or an obstacle.

  • Share participants will be watching a video about coding a game, making a prediction about a puzzle, and working on building their own Flappy Bird game.

Activity (10 minutes)

(1:33 minutes) Play the video “Code your own Flappy Game.”

Briefly preview with participants, puzzle 2 at Level 2.

  • Consider this as an opportunity to provide participants with a basic overview of the features included in the lesson such as:
    • 1) run button
    • 2) drop down menu for language translations
    • 3) hints
    • 4) code blocks
    • 5) workspace to drag and drop code blocks
    • 6) enlarging and listening to text
    • 7) start over button

Remarks

Say: What do you predict will happen when Flappy Bird runs into something like the ground or an obstacle?

Type your prediction in the “chat box.” (Provide participants with a couple of minutes to respond to the question.)

Would someone like to volunteer what they typed in the “chat box?”

Example response: Flappy will move forward with the click of the mouse and the game will end if Flappy runs into anything.

(8:47 minutes) Participants individually work on Lesson 12: Levels 2 - 11.

  • Share with participants they may not get to Level 11 during this time and that’s okay.
  • Consider using the Lead Learner strategy when participants ask questions: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can figure it out.”

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

After nine minutes of working on Levels 2 through 11, transition participants to the Wrap Up to respond to the Journal Prompts.

Journal Prompts:

In your journal

  • Draw and describe a game you want to make in the future.

Facilitator Tip

Model “The Classroom Community,” by engaging all participants in sharing their game with a partner. Model “Role of the Teacher” by helping participants pair up or by pairing up with a participant.

Share your game idea on the slide.

Share with participants this concludes the model lessons.

CS Teaching Practices (17 minutes)

Remarks

Let’s take our learner hats off and put our teacher hats back on to debrief the model lessons and discuss how CS teaching practices support an inclusive CS classroom.

(2 minutes) Whole Group Share Out

Discussion Goal

The goal here is for participants to:

  • recognize that neither teachers nor students need background knowledge in CS to engage with the lessons’ activities,
  • identify the lessons require the role of the teacher to be active in order to engage all students in learning CS as well as support the pacing of the curriculum.

Encourage participants to use any form of a “chat box” to type their responses into for prompt #1. Then summarize patterns or trends responses for the group.

Encourage participants to use any form of a “chat box” to type their responses into for prompt #2.

  • Summarize patterns or trends within responses for the group.
    • Prompts:
      • What background knowledge was needed to engage with the lessons’ activities?
      • What was the role of the teacher during the lessons?

(10 minutes) Breakout Rooms

Remarks

Three CS teaching practices were modeled during the model lesson:

Role of the Teacher: Acting as the lead learner, “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can figure it out.”

Discovery and Inquiry: Students explore concepts and build their own understanding through lesson activities.

The Classroom Community: Lessons encourage active learning and communication.

Using these CS teaching practices with this curriculum, supports all educators in creating equitable CS classrooms. First, let’s identify when in the model lesson these CS teaching practices were observed. Second, let’s identify how these CS teaching practices support inclusion in CS Fundamentals. Inclusion in CS means having a welcoming learning environment for all students in which they are engaged and learning CS. In a later session, we will talk more about inclusion as we focus on what equity in CS means.

(4 minutes) Part I Prompts: CS teaching practices and Inclusion

  • Invite participants to turn to page 4 in the Curriculum Guide to refer to during the small group discussion.
  • Participants discuss the following prompts in breakout rooms with small groups of 3-4 people.
    • Role of the Teacher
      • When were there opportunities for the teacher to be a lead learner during the lessons?
      • Example response: Teacher shared they don’t know everything about events or programming events with code.
    • Discovery and Inquiry
      • When were there opportunities for students to make sense of the content during the lessons?
      • Example response: Students finding a pattern to make sense of “events” instead of starting the lesson with an explanation of what an “event” is.
    • The Classroom Community
      • When were there opportunities for active learning (communicating or creating with other students) during the lessons?
      • Example response: Students communicate with each other during the warm up for the context-setting lesson and share their ideas during the wrap up during the skill-building lesson.

(6 minutes) Part II Prompts: Establishing inclusion

  • After four minutes, participants discuss the following prompts with their small groups.
  • Encourage small groups to each have a presenter who will share key takeaways from breakout room discussions

Prompts:

  • How do the CS teaching practices help establish an inclusive CS Fundamentals classroom in which all are engaged and learning CS?
    • What responsibility does a teacher have in establishing inclusion in CS?

    • Example responses:

      • Role of the Teacher
      • Modeling how to be a CS learner.

      • The teacher is responsible for actively teaching lessons in order to support active learning for all students.

      • Discovery and Inquiry

      • Supporting students in asking questions when making sense of their own learning.

      • The teacher is responsible for supporting all students in taking the lead in learning CS.

      • The Classroom Community

      • Creating a welcoming learning environment where mistakes are part of the learning process.
      • The teacher is responsible for supporting all students in building and strengthening communication skills during lessons.

Transition: Remind participants the designated slides include prompts for the breakout room discussion.

Producers: Send groups of 3-4 participants to breakout rooms for ten minutes. After four minutes, broadcast a message for participants to discuss Part II Prompts. Then bring participants back to the main room.

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

(5 minutes) Whole Group Share Out

Discussion Goal

The goal of this discussion is for participants to identify the CS teaching practices support active teaching which leads to active learning for all students. When all students are engaged and learning CS is when inclusion is happening. Also, to recognize the responsibility a teacher has in supporting inclusion in CS, which in turn supports equity in CS.

Participants return to the main room and a presenter from each small group shares key takeaways from the small group discussion about one CS teaching practice.