DSC members will develop a shared understanding of the PACE project including understanding the project’s purpose approach, and requirements, clarity on DSC district leadership roles for computer science, and establish a common vision for a district computer science pathway.
- Read the CS Landscape Overview and be prepared to share:
- one fact that resonated with you/stood out to you, and
- one fact that raises questions for you.
- Review the CS Visioning Activity Cards and select your top 5 reasons for a strong computer science pathway in your district.
Handouts for the meeting: CS Landscape, PACE Overview, and CS Discoveries
Overview of the CS Landscape
- CS Landscape Overview
- Overview of the historic CS landscape nationally and in MA (slides)
- What facts stand out to you/resonate with you and why?
- What facts raise questions for you?
The PACE Approach
- PACE Project Overview
- PACE slides
- What excites or interests you about this project?
- What questions or concerns do you have?
- What do you see as your role in this project?
- Education for What?
- The definition of Computer Science in the MA Frameworks for Digital Literacy and Computer Science comes from the Model Curriculum for K-12 CS at the national level: “Computer Science is the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, hardware and software designs, applications, and their impact on society.”
- CS is not just about programming, nor is it only about using devices or applications. It revolves around what makes those devices and applications work and how we are affected by those phenomena.
- CS Visions Framework
- Impact area review
- You each individually selected your own top 5 impact areas prior to the meeting. Take a look at everyone’s impact areas to begin to work toward consensus on the district’s top three impact areas in CS:
- What do you notice?
- What surprises you?
- What impact areas are most important to your district?
- Whittle it down to your top three impact areas and discuss as a group
- Even though someone chooses a different card, you may be the same color
- Crafting a vision statement
- Using the rationales for education and the impact areas that are top priority for the DSC, craft a vision statement for CS that will guide your district.
- Each person write a statement with the sentence stem “We believe in CS because…” in your shared Google doc.
- Group common statements together and have a discussion of how to combine everyone’s thinking.
- You each individually selected your own top 5 impact areas prior to the meeting. Take a look at everyone’s impact areas to begin to work toward consensus on the district’s top three impact areas in CS:
- Impact area review
- Code.org registration
- Complete Code.org registration and get access to CS Discoveries
- View this overview video (2:32) about CS Discoveries. As you are viewing, consider:
- What Meeting 1 questions does this video answer for you?
- What new questions does this video raise for you, if any?
- What parts of this video do you think would be most important for teachers in your district to see or understand?
- Complete the PACE District Landscape Survey
