How to Get Started with Computer Science Education

How to Get Started with Computer Science Education
Jared O'Leary
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In this episode I provide a framework for how districts and educators can get started with computer science education for free.

  • Today's episode is going to walk you

    through how to get started in computer

    science education whether you're a

    district or an individual before I dive

    into that I'm going to first explain

    what I see as a problem in professional

    development discuss why I'm qualified to

    talk about this process and why I'm

    doing this for the low price of just

    asking for you to share the free content

    that I create and if you prefer to just

    jump straight to the framework that I'm

    providing then you can use the

    timestamps in a description to do so so

    what's the problem that I hope to

    address in this particular episode CS

    educators are being asked to teach a

    subject area where they could very

    easily double triple or even quadruple

    their income compared to being a teacher

    they just simply leave the classroom and

    go into industry using the exact same

    Concepts and practices that they are

    teaching in the class they can make

    significantly more income with the

    extreme discrepancy and pay like this

    coupled with all the pressures and

    demands being put onto Educators lately

    coupled with the relatively new CS

    mandates across many different states in

    the United States all of these things

    combined have kind of exacerbated the

    shortage of computer science Educators

    in classrooms in the United States so to

    fill this Gap many districts are turning

    toward professional development

    providers to help prepare both certified

    or classified employees to teach

    computer science in their schools most

    of these Educators do not have a

    background in computer science now these

    PD opportunities that districts sign up

    for often cost tens or hundreds of

    thousands of dollars depending on the

    size of the district and if it's not a

    district that's signing up for it it's

    individual Educators who again get

    relatively low pay who are being asked

    to Fork out hundreds if not thousands of

    dollars to attend professional

    development on their own dime now there

    are some free opportunities for

    professional development but these often

    come with some kind of a catch the catch

    might be something as simple as hey

    we're going to provide this free

    professional development but if you want

    to use the platform we teach you on with

    your students you actually have to pay

    per student so in other words we're

    going to train you on this very specific

    platform and then in order to actually

    use that platform you actually have to

    pay for it now that's a pretty obvious

    catch that's right there now on the

    other end of the Continuum where you're

    getting free professional development

    and free curricula there are some less

    obvious catches there in terms of like

    corporate influence while corporate

    sponsors often mean well there is no

    such thing as a freelance lunch for

    example on other episodes I've mentioned

    that curriculum providers have had some

    funders asked to remove some Equity

    related lesson plans because the funders

    disagreed with the focus of that

    particular lesson and depending on the

    size of the organization and the amount

    of funding this could literally mean

    several million dollars so this often

    leads professional development

    organizations to do what's best for

    keeping their lights on rather than

    doing what's best for students and

    teachers or to be completely candid even

    making decisions that I would consider

    to be unethical now I've talked about

    this in other Publications and podcasts

    such as episode 134 which is titled

    reconceptualizing music making colon

    music technology and freedom in the age

    of neoliberalism now even though that

    episode mentions music in there I

    specifically talk about the corporate

    influence in education at large and in

    computer science education in particular

    so if you want to hear more about that

    you can listen to that particular

    episode so while sales people may

    promise you the moon the PD itself will

    often underperform in the long run

    because it doesn't provide a sustainable

    solution that actually focuses on what's

    best for the students and for the

    teachers so for example if a PD is

    training individual Educators what

    happens if that individual educator

    leaves district will computer science

    continue if so how especially if they're

    the only ones who know anything about

    computer science content knowledge now

    if an individual or District decides to

    learn from an individual educator they

    are often incentivized to do make some

    generic mass-produced content rather

    than bespoke content because it takes

    significantly less time to prepare for

    and deliver the same content to

    different districts and audiences and to

    create custom-made content for every

    single individual or District they are

    working with in addition many content

    creators who create ad supported content

    such as like YouTube content creators

    typically cater the content towards CS

    professionals rather than CS Educators

    because there's a bigger demand from an

    audience who is more able to support

    that content creator through sources

    like patreon merchandise courses Etc now

    when the content is actually designed

    for computer science Educators it's the

    kind of content that you'd get from

    attending a 100 level course on CS

    education rather than a deep dive into a

    topic at like The Graduate level now I

    say all this with confidence because I

    have a background that includes

    personally designing computer science

    curriculum that is used by thousands of

    teachers hundreds of thousands of

    students around the world I also led the

    development of more than 50 hours of

    professional development that had

    received several million dollars of

    funding from districts and partners I

    have a background working with every

    single grade kindergarten through

    doctoral students received multiple

    International Awards as both the teacher

    and a scholar have presented over a

    hundred times have over a dozen

    Publications blah blah blah blah you can

    check out my CV on my website if that

    kind of stuff interests you I'm just

    saying this for some context so you know

    that I actually have some experience in

    this and know what I'm talking about at

    least I think so but I tell you all this

    to say that all three of my degrees are

    in music education so it's not computer

    science or Computer Science Education so

    I've had to learn computer science

    concept practices skills pedagogies Etc

    outside of any degree program and

    today's episode is going to help you do

    the exact same thing for free now you

    might be wondering okay if I'm so fancy

    pantsy why am I giving away this

    information for free instead of charging

    for it like creating a course or

    something I don't know about you but I

    didn't go into education for the money I

    did it because it literally saved my

    life I wanted to spend the majority of

    my life helping other people rather than

    just focusing on I'm making money that's

    why I've been sharing free content on my

    website since 2003. over the past

    several months since I decided to go

    full time as an independent content

    creator I've actively turned down

    teaching positions in K-12 schools and

    universities because creating content

    online allows me to have a broader reach

    and a wider impact than face-to-face

    teaching ever can for example a single

    video on like Tick Tock or YouTube or

    something could reach millions of people

    and it's not limited by geography or

    time zones Etc nor does somebody

    actually have to pay for that content

    like you would for like a degree program

    I've also turned down other positions as

    a content creator for computer science

    curriculum professional development

    because again I want to do what's best

    for teachers and students not what is

    best for an organization long story

    short I'm here to help teachers and

    students and I want to do this at no

    cost to you the only thing that I ask is

    that you simply share the free content

    that I create and I do create a lot of

    it a bunch of computer science stuff a

    bunch of gaming stuff and a bunch of

    drumming content on my website all

    neatly organized if you're new to this

    podcast I can confidently say that the

    more than 116 hours of podcast episodes

    that I've created have more depth than

    most professional development and

    graduate courses you can take on

    Computer Science Education as the vast

    majority of time in professional

    development is actually spent just

    walking through lesson plans as a

    student which is something that I

    actually encourage you to do on your own

    for free speaking of something you can

    do on your own let's actually talk about

    how this is 100 something you can do on

    your own whether you're a district or an

    individual educator you can learn

    computer science Concepts and practices

    and you could also learn how to teach it

    I say this with confidence because there

    are thousands of teachers and hundreds

    of thousands of students who have

    learned how to teach computer science

    with the content that I've created not

    to mention all the content that I

    haven't created that other fantastic

    organizations have made like if you

    listen to the interviews on this podcast

    most of the guests have a background in

    something other than computer science it

    might be like music or physical

    education or English language arts

    mathematics science Etc so for

    kindergartner can learn how to code you

    too can learn how to code and teach

    coding or computer science at large so

    let's actually get into how you would do

    that so the first thing that I would

    recommend is to start by setting a

    vision so some questions you might

    consider are things like what are your

    goals for implementing computer science

    are you going to do it in your class are

    you going to do it in your school in

    your district will you treat coding or

    computer science as a literacy or are

    you just trying to hit the standards

    without taking away time from other

    subject areas what do you want your

    students to be able to know and do when

    they leave the program and what

    rationales do you align with on the Cs

    Visions framework now in the show notes

    for this podcast there are several

    different steps in here for this

    particular framework so if you go to the

    setting of vision step there is a

    section for podcasts in a section for

    resources if you click on either of them

    it will expand it and show you all the

    podcasts and resources I recommend for

    helping you set a vision so for example

    there are episodes that talks about CS

    for all's CS Visions framework which is

    a fantastic way for kind of like

    figuring out what kind of Direction you

    would like to head in are you going to

    focus on equity and social justice are

    you going to focus on coding as a

    literacy or Computer Sciences literacy

    are you going to focus on like future

    career Readiness Etc there's no right or

    wrong way to use these different visions

    that they outline in that particular

    framework so which one you use is kind

    of up to you and the other Educators

    that you work with as well as your

    community members so I highly recommend

    listening to those particular podcast

    episodes to help you to figure out what

    direction you'd like to go into and

    there are several different episodes in

    there for example there's an episode

    that talks about Kate Anders Erickson's

    notion of deliberate practice and

    developing expertise over an extended

    period of time this is often referred to

    as like the ten thousand dollar hour

    rule which is not actually a rule

    Because the actual number depends on the

    domain Etc but if you're trying to think

    about developing expertise in computer

    science from kindergarten all the way

    through 12th grade that is going to be

    very different than focusing on just

    developing expertise over the course of

    a semester or a unit so that particular

    episode kind of unpacks some things to

    consider when you are thinking long term

    or short term when you are developing

    computer science content another thing

    you can do with helping to set a vision

    is to join your local csta chapter

    there's an episode with Jason board that

    I highly recommend listening to that

    kind of talks about developing a

    community or joining a community so for

    example you could join a local C csta

    chapter or you could join csta National

    which would allow you to connect on the

    virtual community so you could post some

    questions to other CS Educators who may

    be further along this path than you are

    to be able to ask okay I'm thinking

    about heading in this Direction with the

    vision what other things should I

    consider or think about When developing

    a vision for our particular School

    District Etc after you've listed you've

    listed some of those episodes that kind

    of look interesting to you I then highly

    recommend opening up the resources

    section in under setting a vision and

    taking a look at the Cs Visions

    framework if you go through their little

    quiz on there it will help you to figure

    out what direction you as an individual

    might want to head in now if you are

    working on this from a district

    standpoint if each person on the

    committee that's like going to start

    implementing computer science takes this

    CS Visions framework it can lead to some

    interesting discussions because some of

    you might want to head in One Direction

    while other people might want to head

    into a different direction that's

    something that you'll want to reconcile

    and kind of like discuss in advance of

    actually developing a plan because if

    you don't know where you're going to go

    you're going to get lost in the weeds

    which there's actually been some

    scholarship that I've unpacked in other

    episodes that talk about that after you

    as an individual or as a district or

    whatever have set a plan for where you

    would like to head with Computer Science

    Education in your schools Community Etc

    I then highly recommend actually sitting

    down and developing a plan which is step

    two of this framework When developing

    any kind of a plan whether it's for your

    classroom or for your school or for your

    District you need to think long term and

    about worst case scenarios so for

    example what is the current state of

    computer science in your class or in

    your District in particular if you're

    thinking from a district standpoint I'd

    really recommend thinking about these

    strengths and challenges related to The

    District leadership teacher capacity and

    development technology infrastructure

    materials curriculum selection and

    content refinement community and

    partners now each one of these areas is

    actually unpacked in a workshop that is

    known as the script Workshop kind of

    helps you think through the strengths

    and challenges in each one of those

    areas I highly highly recommend that

    districts actually go through the script

    Workshop it is available for free at

    least it was last time that I checked it

    helps you set the vision which is the

    first step that I recommend but it also

    analyzes your strengths and your

    challenges and helps you to set three

    month six month and even long-term goals

    in each of the areas that you would like

    to improve when you are implementing

    computer science in your District it is

    the best way that I can recommend that

    you get started as a district regardless

    of how big or small your district is and

    what kind of like form of implementation

    you want to go through the script

    Workshop is a fantastic way to develop a

    plan for implementing computer science

    in your district and I do link to it

    under the resources section in section 2

    called develop a plan now some of the

    other questions that you might want to

    ask yourself is Will implementation be

    for those who want to sign up or

    mandated for all students regardless of

    which approach you end up taking how you

    make it more Equitable and more

    accessible now if it's for all students

    will it be a standalone or an integrated

    class like in my district it was

    mandated for all students but it took

    over the technology class so the

    technology class that like used to teach

    Microsoft Word office suite things like

    that it instead switched over to okay

    every single kid who is taking this

    class which is mandated K-8 is going to

    instead Focus 100 on learning how to

    program that's actually the way that I

    highly recommend doing it even though a

    lot of districts talk about integration

    I've got many different podcast episodes

    that unpack some of the problems with

    integration but to each their own what

    might work well for the schools in the

    districts that I worked with might not

    work well for you but if you are going

    to integrate it then you need to

    consider what subjects you're going to

    integrate it with and how often you're

    actually going to set aside time for it

    you also need to figure out what

    approach to integration you're going to

    use and if you're unsure what I'm

    talking about here listen to episode 123

    which is titled the subservient co-equal

    effective and social integration Styles

    and the implications for computer

    science but again there are several more

    episodes that unpack integration so if

    you want to Deep dive into that from

    somebody who's thought about this for

    several years check out those episodes

    on integration now going back to the

    episode that I mentioned previously

    which was episode 66 titled the role of

    deliberate practice in the acquisition

    of expert performance it's important for

    you to think of how are you going to

    develop expertise over an extended

    period of time is it going to be only

    for a month is it going to be for a year

    is it going to be for 13 years

    kindergarten through 12th grade whatever

    approach you end up taking you're going

    to want to consider how you're going to

    actually develop expertise in this

    literacy or domain over an extended

    period of time you'll also want to

    consider what resources and funding do

    you have to get started and what do you

    you need as well as considering

    questions like how you know if your

    implementation efforts are actually

    successful how do you define success

    what does it look like and how we

    document and communicate to various

    stakeholders the steps that you've taken

    the direction that you're heading and

    the challenges that you're currently

    working through to achieve the vision

    that you have created and then the

    biggest one that you can ask as a

    district is how you know if it's

    sustainable what's your backup plan of

    Cs teachers in your school league what

    about if the lead of the program in your

    District leaves or there are just

    general changes in administration like

    you have a new superintendent and

    they're not a huge fan of computer

    science but the current one is under

    Section 2 develop a plan there are

    several podcast episodes specifically

    for district administrators on how to

    get started with implementing computer

    science there are several episodes that

    are specifically related to standards

    discussions and discussions on

    integration and then there are resources

    that help guide administrators through

    this implementation process like csta

    has a document on guidance for K-12

    administrators that I highly recommend

    taking a look at but if you also want to

    see like a scope and sequence like what

    does this look like in a District

    kindergarten 12th grade like what kind

    of curricula and Concepts will they work

    through San Francisco has a K-12 scope

    and sequence that I've recommended for

    districts to take a look at it gives you

    an idea of like what does this look like

    over a 13-year period again I linked

    that one but the number one thing that I

    recommend going through is the script

    framework for any District that wants to

    get started with implementing or

    developing a plan for implementing all

    right so after you've set a vision and

    you have worked on developing a plan for

    your classroom your school your District

    Etc the third step that I recommend is

    reverse engineering Computer Science

    Education one of the things that I've

    noticed over the years is that a lot of

    professional development providers

    especially computer science professional

    development providers will walk you

    through a lesson plan as if you were a

    student then they might actually unpack

    what would you need to know to teach

    this particular lesson at the end of

    that and if the content was actually

    created by somebody with a background in

    education rather than just a team that

    has only a background in computer

    science is the PD facilitator might

    unpack well what are the different

    pedagogies philosophies research Etc

    that has kind have informed the approach

    that was modeled in that professional

    development session this approach is

    very valuable for a lot of attendees

    because they are in a safe space where

    there is a knowledgeable expert who can

    kind of help teachers who might get

    stuck however if the curricular content

    is designed with enough detail you can

    plans on your own either as a student or

    simply by reading through the lesson

    plans and after going through enough of

    the content you will learn not only

    computer science Concepts and practices

    but how to teach computer science so if

    you want to actually learn computer

    science I'd highly recommend taking this

    approach without actually forking over a

    bunch of money the number one thing that

    I recommend when anyone is getting

    started with computer science is to

    start with something you're interested

    in rather than starting with something

    that somebody else thinks that you

    should learn this could be something

    very broad it could be like CS knowledge

    in general or it could be very narrow

    tutorial on how to create something in a

    very specific language platform or a

    particular project after you've dipped

    your toes into content that you want to

    learn I then recommend exploring content

    that you think you're your students

    would like to learn So eventually you

    can learn how to teach it now if you're

    unsure of where to start you can check

    out the roadmap for professional

    learning which is linked in the

    resources section under the reverse

    engineering CS education step in the

    show notes which was developed by a team

    of people who are associated with csta

    but another thing that you could do if

    you're unsure of what direction hit to

    head into is to again just ask your

    local chapter or even the virtual

    community for csta now once you've

    figured out what you want to learn

    you're then going to need to think

    through well how do you want to learn

    that so you can take free courses online

    you could watch YouTube videos you could

    follow lesson plans as if you were a

    student you could observe other people

    teach like I had several different

    District administrators and teachers

    come into my classrooms when are still

    in the classroom to see what does a

    typical day look like you could audit a

    class set like your local University or

    Community College you could honestly

    read a manual or follow built-in

    tutorials for many different programming

    languages and platforms you can look at

    code and read the comments or Tinker

    with it like by bonifying it you could

    join discussion forums read blogs sign

    up for free University classes like in

    the show notes under the resources

    section I include links to several

    different like programs from like

    Harvard MIT Stanford Etc where they are

    literally giving away free computer

    science classes online so you can go

    through it at your own pace with zero

    cost to you but whenever you're going

    through any of the content area whatever

    form of media or medium you choose to

    participate in I highly recommend

    looking at things from many different

    perspectives again because there's more

    than 116 hours of podcast episodes for

    this podcast and there's over 75

    interviews that I'll provide unique

    different perspectives on computer

    science and computer science education I

    highly recommend going through the older

    podcast episodes to kind of get some

    different perspectives on things that

    you might learn and you can listen to

    the interviews you can listen to the

    solo episodes where I unpack scholarship

    Etc now the main downside for teaching

    yourself how to go through this is you

    don't have that expert in the room who

    can help you when you get stuck so what

    I recommend if you get stuck is you

    could get a mentor from somebody else in

    your PLC from your local csta chapter

    from csta's community board or even just

    by going on social media groups or even

    like a hashtag on Twitter and asking for

    some advice for some help to be able to

    like work through whatever problem

    you've got by collaboratively working

    through a problem or like some kind of a

    bug that you've got in your program this

    is a very useful process for educators

    to work through because they're going to

    be need to be able to model this with

    your students this is something that

    several guests and myself have

    recommended on the show is that you

    model debugging processes and like how

    you're working through problems in your

    programs in front of your students so

    that way you can help them to understand

    how they can do that themselves so even

    though it can be frustrating getting

    stuck like trying to figure out how to

    do something if you do this with another

    teacher in your school or in your

    District you can both kind of like work

    together to kind of figure out how to

    problem solve your way through this

    you're going to eventually do this with

    students whether you want to or not

    they're going to run into some kind of a

    bug where you're going to be like I

    don't know how to do that and then

    you're gonna have to model how you would

    actually try and solve that now if you

    have questions about pedagogy or some

    advice on how like how to implement or

    your sure how to approach a like a

    lesson or something like that you can

    actually ask me a question in the

    YouTube comments for any of the podcast

    episodes that are on my YouTube channel

    and I will likely answer that in a

    future episode I've already done this a

    lot in my drumming streams where people

    ask questions about technique and I will

    model it in the Stream like here's how

    you do this thing on the drums Etc and

    I'm happy to do this for the podcast as

    well so feel free to leave some comments

    on YouTube now while you're going

    through whatever content you end up

    deciding to go through I highly

    recommend reflecting regularly

    throughout that process note that if you

    were to actually read through computer

    science lesson plans from both the

    students and teachers perspective to get

    a sense of how to teach computer science

    this can be overwhelming for some

    Educators to focus on both the new

    content knowledge and the pedagogical

    knowledge so what I'll say for those of

    you who would prefer to just learn as a

    student you can go through most course

    content to understand the actual concept

    practices skills Etc related to computer

    science and then reverse engineer the

    pedagogies after the fact like after

    you've completed a project a unit a

    course Etc so for example you can use a

    frame work called the TPAC framework and

    you can use this to think through after

    the fact like what was the technological

    knowledge that I learned in this

    particular lesson or would need to know

    to teach this lesson what was the

    content knowledge I learned or would

    need to know to teach it and then what's

    the pedagogical knowledge I need to know

    to be able to teach this lesson so this

    again could be after you finished a

    project or a unit or whatever and

    there's a link in the show notes to TPAC

    if you want to read some more of the

    scholarship that's related to this and

    get some resources on it but basically

    think of it as a Venn diagram between

    the technological the pedagogical and

    content knowledge to figure out like how

    they overlap and diverge from each other

    to figure out what things you need to be

    able to understand in order to teach a

    particular lesson for the classes that

    you're working with another thing that

    you consider when you're going through

    these resources is to reflect on the

    kinds of questions that you were coming

    up with or that you have and whether or

    not you would know how to answer those

    questions if a student were to ask them

    if not perhaps you could explore them as

    New Paths for your own learning or your

    own journey in computer science

    education and under the podcast section

    in Section 3 reverse engineering at CS

    education there are several episodes

    that talk about different questioning

    techniques and questions that you can

    ask your students that you're working

    with so you can listen to that to kind

    of figure out some ideas of potential

    directions that you could head when

    working with students and with some of

    those questions you don't even need to

    know the answers to them you can just

    kind of pose them to students and then

    help them guide them towards a direction

    that you might not know the actual

    solution toward so listen to some of

    those episodes for more information on

    that so after you've gone through step

    one of setting a vision you've then

    developed a plan for step two and then

    for step three you are a reverse

    engineering Computer Science Education

    by acting as a student once you have

    gone through those three steps and spent

    some time whether it's like a week or

    months like kind of learning how to do

    computer science you can then go to step

    four which is teaching computer science

    you should have enough context now that

    you actually understand what you're

    talking about you're not just going to

    go into a blind link but I'd recommend

    starting small by teaching an

    introductory lesson on coding or

    computer science many Educators start

    with unplugged activities because they

    are quite frankly most familiar to the

    teachers and less scary because you

    don't have to teach a specific

    programming language however if you

    started by actually going through the

    curriculum as a student you can just

    jump straight into like programming

    right away on day one because you

    already have some context for it this is

    what I actually recommend doing and then

    taking the unplug lessons and using that

    to support the other understandings

    rather than to introduce the

    understandings and I talk about this in

    podcast episodes on situated language

    and learning like the one with Brian

    Brown but if we consider computer

    science to be like a language or

    literacy then we need to spend time

    Reading Writing listening to and

    speaking that language if you don't do

    all of those things and you'll have an

    incomplete or a decontextualized

    understanding of that domain which is

    why I'd recommend that you not just

    focus on unplug lessons yes you can use

    them to supplement and enhance the

    learning but really focus on

    contextualized learning or situated

    learning now there are a ton of

    different ways that you can actually

    teach computer science but my own

    personal preference is for interest

    driven project-based learning you'll

    find a ton of episodes that are related

    to that as well as episodes on how how

    to make your teaching more accessible

    more Equitable more inclusive now I'm

    glossing over this particular section

    very quickly because there's over 190

    episodes many of which talk about Equity

    accessibility inclusion Etc so I'd

    highly recommend actually just listening

    to some of the previous podcast episodes

    to get a sense of how you might actually

    teach Computer Science Education in

    addition in the show notes under the

    resources for section 4 teach CS I

    include Frameworks like the culturally

    responsive sustaining Computer Science

    Education framework inclusive teaching

    pedagogies resources for virtual

    teaching and then standards for computer

    science Educators all of those links

    include a ton of information that can

    help you with learning how to teach

    Computer Science Education after you

    have had some experience teaching

    computer science I highly recommend the

    next step which is step 5 reflect refine

    and share when you're reflecting think

    about what worked well and what could be

    improved for next time this could be for

    an individual lesson a project a unit a

    semester a year Etc think about the

    things that went really well that you

    like to continue to do and then think

    about the things that you might want to

    change or improve or enhance in the show

    notes there are multiple resources from

    csta on guidance for reflective teachers

    there's a self-reflection checklist Etc

    and then I know the capeport center is

    also working on some self-reflection

    resources as well that can help you to

    reflect after you've taught a lesson

    project unit Etc now in the show notes I

    also include a bunch of different

    podcasts to help you dive deeper into

    some of the concepts that you may have

    dabbled in when you were teaching

    computer science there's always more to

    learn so I'd highly recommend diving

    into the episodes that are listed there

    as you continue your cycle of learning

    implementing reflecting creating and

    repeating that process I highly

    recommend considering sharing some of

    the processes that you're working on by

    documenting the successes and failures

    you can do this through social media you

    can do this at conferences like csta's

    conference you can do it in a blog in a

    publication for researchers or

    practitioners you could do it in an

    online PLC a school newsletter staff

    meetings Etc there are many ways that

    you can share what you're working on

    this step in the process can help

    support other educators and maybe even

    prove their own understanding of both Cs

    and CS education might even encourage

    them or motivate them to want to

    actually get started like the person who

    took over the classes that I used to

    teach in the K-8 District that I was in

    was an Ela teacher and he got interested

    in computer science because I would

    share here are the things that I'm

    working on with your students and he's

    been teaching computer science ever

    since so if you share your own

    experiences with computer science

    Computer Science Education it might

    motivate some more people to actually

    join the field now as you continue this

    cycle you're going to refine your own

    understandings of both Cs and how to

    teach CS I would then highly recommend

    exploring new languages platforms

    curricular offerings Etc to get more of

    a multi-perspectable approach and to

    make it so that students can head in

    different directions along different

    paths so if you listen to the episodes

    on rhizomatic learning we kind of unpack

    how if you have a classroom of 30

    students they could be working on 30

    different projects heading in 30

    different directions simultaneously so

    in my own classroom we had the option of

    kids working with scratch which was one

    of the forms that was block based they

    could use text-based with Ruby which

    allowed them to code music in Sonic Pi

    they could use JavaScript in Khan

    Academy which allowed them to code some

    art and animation or they could use

    Swift with xcode which would allow them

    to create like iPad apps and whatnot

    with these four different platforms

    students could head in any direction

    they could focus on coding music coding

    games coding stories all sorts of things

    that were of interest to them I did not

    start with four languages and platforms

    on day one I started with one and

    eventually even like the next semester

    added a second one and then a third and

    then a fourth and I would have kept

    adding more if I was still in the

    classroom if you want to learn more

    about how I designed my classes check

    out the episode on Affinity spaces again

    with over 116 hours of free content and

    over 190 episodes I can confidently say

    that there are some topics that are

    going to be of interest to you if you go

    to the bottom of the show notes for this

    particular episode I include a tag cloud

    of podcast episodes the larger the word

    the more podcast episodes there are on

    it so if you click on one of the words

    like Equity there are 58 episodes that

    relate to equity and there are 33

    episodes that relate to integration and

    there are many more topics listed on

    there so check it out you can find those

    show notes by clicking the link in the

    app that you're listening to the song or

    by going to jaredoleery.com if you found

    this or other resources useful again the

    only thing that I ask is that you share

    it either with an individual or you can

    even share it on social media widely it

    just helps spread the word about the

    free content that I create and again if

    you have questions feel free to leave

    the questions in the YouTube comments

    I'm happy to respond to them in an

    upcoming episode or by simply replying

    to the comment itself thank you so much

    for listening to this episode stay tuned

    for another episode next week until then

    I hope you're all staying safe and are

    having a wonderful week

Resources/Links Relevant to This Episode

1. Setting a vision

2. Develop a plan

3. Reverse engineer CS education

    • Lifelong Kindergarten with Mitch Resnick

      • In this interview with Mitch Resnick, we discuss misconceptions people have around the four P’s (Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play) in Mitch’s book, encouraging depth of understanding while playing, what has surprised Mitch during his career, encouraging online communication and collaboration without creating artificial engagement, what Mitch wishes we’d see more of and discuss in CS education, our pet peeves with unplugged activities and computational thinking, accounting for survivorship bias with Scratch, expanding our focus on equity and inclusion to include both the “who” and the “how,” the importance of experimenting and learning through play, and much more.

    • Talking About [Computer Science]: Better Questions? Better Discussions!

      • In this episode I unpack Allsup and Baxter’s (2004) publication titled “Talking about music: Better questions? Better discussions!” which is a short article that discusses open, guided, and closed questions, as well as a framework for encouraging critical thinking through questions. Although this article is published in a music education journal, I discuss potential implications for computer science educators.

    • Thinking through a Lesson: Successfully Implementing High-level Tasks

      • In this episode I unpack Smith, Bill, and Hughes’ (2008) publication titled “Thinking through a lesson: Successfully implementing high-level tasks,” which provides a heuristic that can be used to prepare for a lesson.

    • Using Questions That Guide Mathematical Thinking to Think Computationally

      • In this episode I discuss some example questions we can ask to encourage kids to think deeper about computer science and computational thinking by unpacking two papers on using guiding questions in mathematics education. The first paper paper by Way (2014) is titled “Using questioning to stimulate mathematical thinking” and the second paper by Pennant (2018) is titled “Developing a classroom culture that supports a problem-solving approach to mathematics.”

    • All other episodes

4. Teach CS

    • Accessibility and Inclusion in CS Education with Maya Israel

      • In this interview with Maya Israel, we discuss Maya’s shift from special education into CS education, the importance of universal design for learning (UDL) in CS classes, understanding the spectrum of accessibility for students with a diverse set of needs, the current status of accessibility and inclusion within the field of CS education, problematize deficit framings of students with disabilities, and so much more.

    • Applications of Affinity Space Characteristics in [Computer Science] Education

      • In this episode I unpack my (2020) publication titled “Applications of affinity space characteristics in music education,” which has twelve characteristics of informal learning spaces that I will discuss in relation to computer science education.

    • Connecting with and Listening to Students with Dominick Sanders

      • In this interview with Dominick Sanders, we discuss the importance of connecting with and listening to students, the impact of being a positive role model for kids, considering equity for individuals and across the entire state of South Carolina, what Dominick learned through their experience with Xposure STEM, Dominick’s plan for improving CS in South Carolina, Dominick’s experience with CSTA’s Equity Fellowship, how Dominick continues to learn and grow as a CS educator, thinking through intersectionality in relation to representation, and so much more.

    • Critical Response Process

      • In this episode I talk about how you can use Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process to encourage feedback and dialogue among students around the projects they create.

    • Culturally Responsive-sustaining Computer Science Education: A Framework

      • In this episode I unpack the Kapor Center’s (2021) publication titled “Culturally responsive-sustaining computer science education: A framework,” which describes multiple courses of action for six core components of culturally responsive-sustaining CS education.

    • Decolonizing Education through SEL and PBL with Matinga Ragatz

      • In this interview with Matinga Ragatz, we discuss Matinga’s journey into education, creating environments where kids can learn through struggle, the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL), how schools promote individualism and exceptionalism, the intersections of project-based learning and SEL, decolonizing education, the importance of shared values in education, and so much more.

    • Exploring (Dis)Ability and Connecting with the Arts with Jesse Rathgeber

      • In this interview with Jesse Rathgeber, we discuss what educators should know about (dis)ability culture and research, person-first language vs identity-first language, suggestions for combating ableism through anti-ableist practices, how the arts and CS can come together and learn from each other (great for sharing with arts educators who might be interested in CS), and much more.

    • Fostering Student Engagement with Bob Irving

      • In this interview with Bob Irving, we discuss our emphasis on creative coding/computing for leisure, fostering engagement with coding/CS, improving pedagogy over time, and much more.

    • How Do You Encourage Critical Thinking and Dialogue?

      • In this episode I discuss an approach I’ve used for encouraging critical thinking and dialogue through individualized feedback and group discussion.

    • How to Setup Your Computer Lab

      • In this episode I provide some suggestions for setting up your computer lab and talk about their impacts on teaching and learning computer science.

    • James Fester on What Works with PBL

      • In this interview with James Fester, we discuss using informal learning approaches within formal learning spaces, what makes a learning experience engaging, how James’ experience in the National Parks Service’s Teacher Ranger Teacher program informed how he taught in the classroom, unpacking nuances of project-based learning, debunking common misconceptions of PBL, and so much more.

    • Lessons Learned from (In)Formal CS Education with Grant Smith

      • In this interview with Grant Smith, we discuss the importance of continuing to learn from other educators, what informal and formal learning spaces can learn from each other, how COVID has impacted Grant’s teaching philosophy, our preferences for in-person or virtual professional development and classroom instruction, lessons learned from entrepreneurial adventures in CS education, learning by jumping in and trying new things, heuristic-based learning, and so much more.

    • Planning K-8 Computer Science through the UDL Framework

      • In this episode I unpack Israel, Lash, Bergeron, and Ray’s publication titled “Planning K-8 computer science through the UDL framework,” which discusses the potential for using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in CS classes.

    • Project-based Learning in Computer Science with Justin Cannady

      • In this interview with Justin Cannady, we discuss project-based learning in CS, encouraging debugging and working through failure as students and teachers, considerations for integrating CS, lessons learned working on NMSI’s CS AlignEd, and much more.

    • Should I Say “Disabled People” or “People with Disabilities”?

      • In this episode I unpack Sharif, McCall, and Bolante’s (2022) publication titled “Should I say “disabled people” or “people with disabilities”? Language preferences of disabled people between identity- and person-first language,” which summarizes findings from a survey on participant preferences for language around disability and an analysis on language in conference abstracts.

    • Trans Voices Speak: Suggestions from Trans Educators about Working with Trans Students

      • In this episode I unpack Cayari et al.’s (2021) publication titled “Trans voices speak: Suggestions from trans educators about working with trans students,” which provides five suggestions from Trans educations on working with Trans students.

    • More episodes related to accessibility

    • More episodes related to equity

    • More episodes related to inclusion

    • More episodes related to interest-driven learning

    • More episodes related to pedagogy

    • More episodes related to project-based learning

    • All other episodes

    • Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science Education: A Framework

      • “Recognizing the need for a research-driven framework to design and implement equitable and culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogy within computer science classrooms, we have developed The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining CS Framework for K-12 computer science education. The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining CS Framework builds upon decades of theory and research on culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy across disciplines and was developed in partnership with researchers, practitioners, teachers, students, and other education advocates”

    • Inclusive Teaching Pedagogies

      • “Inclusive teaching involves three interrelated pedagogies:

        • culturally responsive / relevant pedagogy (CRP): a pedagogical framework that appreciates, integrates, and prioritizes the lived experiences of diverse identity groups (racial, ethnic, ability, and sexual orientation) within the context of teaching and learning

        • translanguaging: a theory from bilingual education that describes what people (but especially bi/multilinguals) do when they use all of their language and communication resources to make meaning, learn, and express themselves

        • universal design for learning (UDL): an instructional planning approach designed to give all students an equal opportunity to learn by removing barriers that prevent students from fully engaging in their classroom communities”

    • Resources for Virtual Teaching

      • “Teaching CS is already difficult, and teaching during a pandemic is even more challenging, especially because many teachers have had to adjust to a virtual or hybrid classroom. CSTA has curated resources to support you in this transition. These resources are organized into four sections, and we are also pleased to share the recordings and resources from the 35 sessions of the Virtual Teaching Summit held on September 12, 2020 (a CSTA+ member benefit).”

    • Standards for CS teachers

      • “These Standards are designed to provide clear guidance around effective and equitable CS instruction in support of rigorous CS education for all K-12 students. The purpose is to:

        • explain what CS teachers should know and be able to do in the classroom,

        • provide aspirational goals to guide teachers’ professional learning and to continuously develop their teaching practice from novice to master CS teacher, and

        • establish benchmarks for professional development (PD) providers as they craft CS PD experiences.”

5. Reflect, refine, and share

    • Assessment Considerations: A Simple Heuristic

      • In this episode I read and unpack my (2019) publication titled “Assessment Considerations: A Simple Heuristic,” which is intended to serve as a heuristic for creating or selecting an assessment.

    • A Revaluation of Computational Thinking in K–12 Education: Moving Toward Computational Literacies

      • In this episode I unpack Kafai and Proctor’s (2021) publication titled “A revaluation of computational thinking in K–12 education: Moving toward computational literacies,” which summarizes three key framings of computational thinking and proposes computational literacies in place of computational thinking.

    • Depression, Suicide, and Computer Science Education

      • In honor of national suicide prevention week, in this week’s episode I read a paper I wrote on the topic of depression, suicide, and computer science education. This paper is formatted into the following sections: 1) A vignette on my own experiences coping with depression and suicide; 2) Statistics on depression and suicide as it relates to various populations computer science educators work with; 3) A vignette of a computer science educator helping a student through depression and suicidal thoughts; 4) Risk factors and warning signs; 5) Suggestions for providing support; 6) A vignette from a computer science educator's perspective on a student who committed suicide; and 7) Closing thoughts.

    • Fostering Intersectional Identities through Rhizomatic Learning

      • In this episode, Jon Stapleton and I read our (2022) publication titled “Fostering intersectional identities through rhizomatic learning,” which uses mapping as a metaphor for individualized learning.

    • Individualized Learning Without Grades with Sofía De Jesús

    • Intersections of Cultural Capital with Kimberly Scott

      • In this interview with Kimberly Scott, we discuss some of the problems with discourse around grit, students as techno-social change agents, teaching with culturally responsive approaches in communities that are hostile toward culturally responsive pedagogies, unpacking discourse and Discourse, considering both present and future identities when teaching, potential disconnects between theory and practice with intersectional work, comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comforted, and so much more.

    • On "Methodolatry" and [Computer Science] Teaching as Critical and Reflective Praxis

      • In this episode I unpack Regelski’s (2002) publication titled “On ‘methodolatry’ and music teaching as critical and reflective praxis,” which problematizes the lack of philosophy, theory, and professional praxis in music education. Although this article is published in a music education journal, I discuss potential implications for computer science educators.

    • Re-examining Inequalities in Computer Science Participation from a Bourdieusian Sociological Perspective

      • In this episode I unpack Kallia and Cutts’ (2021) publication titled “Re-examining inequalities in computer science participation from a Bourdieusian sociological perspective,” which uses Bourdieu’s discussions of capital, habitus, and field to analyze 147 publications on CS interventions.

    • Rethinking the Roles of Assessment in [Computer Science] Education

      • In this episode I unpack Scott’s (2012) publication titled “Rethinking the roles of assessment in music education,” which summarizes three roles of assessment (assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning) that I discuss in relation to computer science education.

    • Rhizomatic Learning with Catherine Bornhorst, Jon Stapleton, and Katie Henry

      • In this panel discussion with Catherine Bornhorst, Jon Stapleton, and Katie Henry, we discuss what rhizomatic learning is and looks like in formalized educational spaces, affordances and constraints of rhizomatic learning, how to support individual students within a group setting, standards and rhizomatic learning, why few people know and use rhizomatic learning approaches, how to advocate for and learn more about rhizomatic learning, and much more.

    • Situated Language and Learning with Bryan Brown

      • In this interview Bryan Brown, we discuss the importance of language in education. In particular, we discuss the role of language in teaching and learning, discursive identity, situated language and learning, the importance of representation in education, the role of language on stress, how smartphones and virtual communication platforms (e.g., Zoom) could change learning, and many other topics relevant to CS education and learning.

    • The Shire as Metaphor for Systemic Racism with Joyce McCall

      • In this interview with Joyce McCall, we unpack and problematize some of the issues around race and racism in relation to education. In particular, we discuss the importance of allies not only showing up to support marginalized or oppressed groups, but staying when conversations get uncomfortable; the Shire from the Lord of the Rings as a metaphor for hegemony and systemic racism; as well as a variety of theories such as critical race theory, double consciousness, cultural capital; and much more.

    • More episodes related to assessment

    • More episodes related to rhizomatic learning

    • All other episodes

    • Coding TAP Crosswalk Document

      • The purpose of the document is to provide a "crosswalk" between classroom learning and facilitating with the TAP evaluation rubric. The "crosswalk" provides an explanation or translation of what to expect within a coding classroom as it relates to TAP discourse. A document like this could be constructed by teachers and administrators to help translate what a typical CS classroom looks like for administrators who are unfamiliar with CS classes.

    • CSTA Virtual Community

    • Guidance for reflective teachers

      • “Effective CS teachers continuously develop their knowledge, practice, and professional identity to keep pace with the rapidly evolving discipline. They are reflective practitioners who self-examine their pedagogy, teaching strategies, strengths, and areas that need improvement or revision. This self-reflection helps teachers develop changes in attitudes and awareness, which lead to their professional growth and ability to support their students. Below are four actions that CS teachers can take to support their ongoing professional learning.”

    • Self-reflection checklist

      • “The checklist (rubric) has been developed as a tool to assist CS teachers in reflecting on their own progress toward meeting the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers. Teachers may complete the checklist on their own, in partnership with a school or district instructional coach or administrator, as part of a teacher preparation program, or as part of a professional development opportunity. The self-reflection checklist can be used in conjunction with the Roadmap for Professional Learning to plan targeted professional learning opportunities.”

    • Volunteer with CSTA

      • Over the years I’ve volunteered as the treasurer for the AZ chapter, served on the PD committee, PD provider committee, awards committee, been a conference reviewer, proctored conference sessions, etc. Why? Because I want to help serve the community and I believe in CSTA as an organization. You too can volunteer with CSTA using the link above.

    • What my coding classes looked like

      • A playlist with videos from my K-8 classes.

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