Session 1: Workshop Opener
40 minutes
discussion-based
Purpose
The purpose of this session is to bring participants together to kick off the workshop and reflect on how things are going in the classroom. This is a place to check in on specific lessons that people have already taught, as well as pacing and teaching practices that were recommended or discussed in the summer workshops.
It is common to surface concerns during this session that can be revisited and addressed throughout the workshop.
Objectives
- Participants can correct their own misconceptions and existing questions have been asked and answered
- Participants can reflect on the dynamic in their classroom and providing support
- Participants can evaluate their pacing at this point in the year and have ideas for how to get back on track if they’ve fallen behind
- Participants can describe how their identity, experiences, and beliefs shape how they see their role as a CS teacher
Supplies & Prep
Room Setup:
- In pods
- Posters are on the wall
- “Where are we now?”: On a piece of chart paper or on the board, create a histogram for participants to add where they are in the curriculum.
- Question Parking Lot: For people to write and post questions they have.
Facilitator Supplies:
Teacher Materials:
- Journal (Should bring with them)
- CSP Curriculum Guide 21-22 (Should bring with them)
- Pen/pencil
- Post-its
- Computers for attendance
Agenda
Workshop Opening Logistics (5 minutes)
Reconnect (20 minutes)
Share Out (15 minutes)
Facilitation Guide
Workshop Opening Logistics (5 minutes)
Facilitator Tip
The 💷 symbol indicates that a slide is included in the slide deck to cover the content in that section. This is to help you know where you are in the agenda to some extent. It is important to note that the slides do not include all of the text from the agenda. Often we ask you as a facilitator to use the slides to support your presentations, but at times you should provide more context than what is on the slide. You can find that context in this agenda.
(0 mins) As participants enter the room
💷 As participants enter the room, remind them to:
- Take out their Curriculum Guide as a guide to unit progressions
- Add post-its to the following posters:
- “Where are we now?”: On a piece of chart paper or on the board, create a histogram for participants to add where they are in the curriculum.
- Question Parking Lot: For people to write and post questions they have.
(2 mins) Attendance
Have everyone complete the attendance for the day on the online workshop dashboard found in your workshop.
Follow the instructions found in your Facilitator Handbook to take attendance for your workshop.
(1 min) Agenda Overview
💷 Describe what will happen during this session - participants should know that they will have time to talk about how the year is going more generally (classroom management, how students are responding, etc).
Walk through the agenda and plan for the day. Participants should be aware that they will be gaining more experience with Unit 4 and introducing some pedagogical tools for teaching students to program.
Facilitator Tip
More information about these norms can be found in our Professional Learning K-12 Norms One-Pager. This document isn’t necessary to distribute to participants, but can help to provide context for you as you review group norms.
(2 mins) Norms
💷 Remind the group of the K-12 Professional Learning norms that were established during the Summer Workshop.
- Be present.
- Make space and take space.
- Seek to understand.
- Take risks.
- Expect and accept non-closure.
Reconnect (20 minutes)
(3 mins) Equity Framework Review
Goal: Refresh your participants’ memories, and encourage them to think concretely about the lessons they’ve done so far and what’s coming soon.
💷 Remind participants of the equity cycle, and that the work is ongoing throughout the year to bring access, diversity, and inclusion to their classrooms and schools. Share that during AYW1, they will be asking to reflect on and update their conceptualization of their identity to continue Understanding Self.
💷 On your own, reflect on the following and be ready to share with someone else:
- How would you describe your classroom culture at the moment? What do you like? What do you want to change?
- How would you describe your role in cultivating your classroom culture?
- Which parts of your identity are most relevant when interacting with your students in your CS classroom?
Facilitator Tip
While discussions are happening, one facilitator should read over the post-its on the wall from when participants entered the room, while the other should circulate. Listen for participants’ thoughts and topics to discuss in the whole-group share out. Likely example topics include assessments, facilitating discovery without telling students the “right” answer”, learning material along with your students, etc.
(10 mins) Speed Networking
💷 Have participants “speed network” their responses to the three prompts above. They should be looking for advice, ideas, questions, or issues.
Note: Speed dating means getting up and talking to someone new about your thoughts. We recommend doing 3 rounds of 3 minutes each, where participants check in with someone new for each round.
(7 mins) Table share out
💷 Have teachers head back to their tables and share out their questions to the following prompts:
- What did you hear as you shared out during speed networking?
- What themes were reoccurring?
After tables have a chance to catch up and share, facilitators should circle the room to predict what questions will likely be raised in the share out next. Facilitators should also listen for larger themes that they want to pull out in the share out if no participants raise topics.
Share Out (15 minutes)
Facilitator Tip
Consider having one facilitator run the discussion while the other takes notes in a google doc that is open to all participants (so they have the notes after the fact).
Facilitators open the floor to the whole group for questions, concerns, or celebrations. The goal is to pull out widely-held questions and to check in with groups on the following:
- 💷 How would you describe your classroom culture at the moment? What do you like? What do you want to change?
- How would you describe your role in cultivating your classroom culture?
- Which parts of your identity are most relevant when interacting with your students in your CS classroom?
Note: These prompts should match what was in the reflection and speed networking. If you changed them due to different implementation styles, change the prompts here as well.*
If this session starts to run long, suggest that the remaining questions go on post-it notes to the question parking lot.