Session 3: Unit 10 Project Run Through
60 minutes
lesson exploration
Purpose
Similar to Unit 3, Unit 10 has a long project that runs through the course of the unit. For teachers who plan only one lesson at a time, this project can be difficult to understand since it is not intended to take one class period. Also, Unit 10 includes important themes and skills that we want students to know to be an informed citizen in the digital world. At times, teachers find these units as “less essential” because they are not directly building students’ programming skills, but in reality, it is these units that we see as building essential and enduring skills regardless of what passions students decide to pursue next.
Objectives
- Participants understand the structure and content of the Unit 10 project.
- Participants have a plan for how they will get “buy in” from students during the Unit 10 project.
Supplies & Prep
Workshop Modality:
- Whole group
- Breakout rooms
Facilitator Supplies:
- Virtual Module 7 - CSP 21 - 22 - Slides
- Slide set-up: Fill out the names of the characters each person will play.
- Note: We have 16 spots in the chart, but you can duplicate the slide if needed to add more participants. It is OK for two people to have the same role, just put them in different groups when directed to in the agenda.
Participant Materials:
Agenda
Warp-Speeed Overview (43 minutes)
Reflection (17 minutes)
Facilitation Guide
Warp-Speeed Overview (43 minutes)
(5 minutes) Introduce the Task
💷 Review the Unit 10 task:
- There is a convention coming up to determine the direction for “Future School”.
- Each student will be given a role to play for a stakeholder in the Future School (parent, teacher, student, etc.).
- They will research innovations their stakeholder might want to have at this Future School and with their group, they will develop a theme or vision for their presentation at the convention.
- This takes place over multiple lessons. Students stay “in character” for each lesson in the simulation.
Facilitator Tip
Really sell this as a simulation. Address participants by their new name, encourage them to describe their role, and be creative thinkers about what their character would want to introduce.
Remarks
As we mentioned, most of this unit is an extended simulation. In the slides, you will see a banner showing you and students that we are in simulation mode. We are going to engage with this project at a “sprinter’s pace” to get a feel for what students will be doing. We expect students will be doing much more research at each of these steps, but here we are going to focus more on the steps of the project rather than the CS content. You have all been assigned a role in this simulation. You are now this new character and you are planning on proposing a new concept for the “Future School”. Before we start,
- 💷 We have assigned you a new role! On the “Roles for the simulation slide” find your name and your character’s name. Read a bit about your new character on your Character Bio sheet we linked on the slide.
- Make a copy of the Project Guide linked in the slides.
Pause for ~2-3 minutes. Consider having participants give you some sort of sign that they are done with the two tasks listed above.
Remarks
We are now going to start the simulation!
Producer support: Prepare to put participants in groups of 4 into breakout rooms for 15 minutes. You will want 4 people with different roles for the simulation in each room.
(3 minutes) Step 1 - Reflect
Remarks
💷 We are so excited to have all of you participate in the “Future School Convention”! You each have a lot to bring to the conversation! To start, look at Step 1 of your Activity Guide and write a bit about what you (in your character) would want in a Future School.
(7 minutes) Step 2 - Research
Remarks
💷 We know you have a lot of ideas for Future School. Now is the time to get them out on the table! Research two different innovations that YOU (in your character) are interested in proposing the Future School adapt. Due to the accelerated pace here, we are going to ask you to answer all these questions the best you can - no citing of sources needed due to the warp-speed we are moving at!
(15 minutes) Step 3: Share Out & Formulate a Vision
Remarks
💷 You are shortly going to join a breakout room with your groupmates! Together, you are going to propose a vision or theme for Future School, one that connects all your innovations. For example, you might suggest that Future School be focused on international relations, or local agriculture, or maybe something else entirely. In your groups:
- Share what innovations you are thinking of for the school
- Give feedback on the innovations
- And develop a theme/vision for your school that connects all those innovations.
Producer support:
-
Put participants in groups of four in breakout rooms for 15 minutes.
-
Participants will come back briefly to get next directions after 15 minutes and then head back to their breakout rooms for an additional 7 minutes.
(8 minutes) Preparing Your Group Presentation
Remarks
💷 In your group develop a 2-minute pitch for your big theme. This pitch should be:
- Coherent: Explains the theme that ties your different innovations together
- Compelling: Highlight the benefits of your vision and get the audience excited
- Creative: Choose the format that will best communicate your vision
- Clear: Make it clear specifically what you’re proposing
- Collaborative: Every group member has a role, and every innovation is briefly explained
- Concise: You’ll only have a couple minutes
Producer support: Put participants in the same groups of four in breakout rooms for seven minutes.
(5 minutes) Share Out
Remarks
💷 Welcome to the Future School Convention! Let’s have one or two groups share their hard work in developing a vision for the Future School!
Have 1-2 groups share their pitch. Cheer each group that presents and thank them for their contributions to the Future School Convention!
Reflection (17 minutes)
Producer support: Prepare to put participants in groups of three into breakout rooms.
(3 minutes) Context
Remarks
💷 You can see we really rushed this project. In the classroom many things would be different:
- Students would actually do research on their innovations.
- Students would create a one-pager on ONE of their innovations.
- Groups would get feedback on their ideas.
- All groups would share out and vote on best innovation and best vision/theme at the “convention”.
- You can learn more about how the simulation is connected through this Unit 10 Big Picture Document (also found in the lesson plans).
💷 Also, periodically, students will pause the simulation for lessons that will help inform their decisions in the simulation. For example, they will learn about security and privacy in technology in two separate lessons that are not part of the simulation, before addressing the security concerns of their own innovations they are proposing.
Facilitator tip
If teachers “sell” the simulation to students, it will be more fun for everyone involved. Encourage teachers to go over the top with emphasizing roles and purpose in the “convention”.
(14 minutes) Think-Pair-Share Discussion
💷 Have participants Think-Pair-Share for 2, 5, and 5 minutes respectively on the following prompts:
- What can you do to get students to “buy in” to the extended simulation?
- What do YOU want students to get out of the project? What would success look like for your class?
- What critical thinking skills are students building during this project that will be helpful regardless of what careers or interests students pursue after taking CSP?
Producer support: Put participants in groups of three into breakout rooms for five minutes when directed to by the facilitator.
Summarize any points from the discussion that you want to reiterate. Otherwise, wrap-up this section with a summary of where we have been. This is the last unit that introduces new content to students and is intended to really end on a collaborative and creative note.