Supporting Middle School Computer Science Teachers Using Standards-Aligned Educative Resources

• In Event: Seeking Equity and Excellence Through Technology and Computer Science Education

Abstract

The rapid expansion of K-12 CS education has made it critical to support CS teachers with the necessary resources and training to strengthen their understanding of CS concepts and instructional practices. This paper presents a set of educative resources designed to support CS teachers’ understanding of five middle-grade “Algorithms and Programming” standards. The resources decompose standards into granular learning targets, provide examples using three different programming languages, and showcase common student challenges. We grounded our work in systematic literature reviews of CS teaching challenges and validated our approach through a focus group exploring teachers’ awareness and use of CS standards and instructional and assessment practices. These resources and associated PD can act as important supplements to existing curriculum-specific CS PD.

Authors

• Satabdi Basu, SRI International

• Daisy Wise Rutstein, edCount, LLC

• Carol Tate, SRI International

• Hui Yang, SRI International

• Arif Rachmatullah, SRI International

• Christopher Ortiz, SRI International

• Eliese Rulifson