DSC members will develop a shared understanding of specific high priority equity gaps to be addressed through CS pathway development, clear leadership roles and talking points to communicate to key district stakeholders about CS Discoveries, high priority change practices to test that support establishment of a CS pathway, and identification and alignment of systemic supports and standards alignment for 8th grade CS pathway offerings.
- Review MA Innovation Pathway Criteria and High Quality College and Career Pathways. After reading, complete the survey provided at this link.
- Review the “High School Curricula and Tools” section of the DL&CS Curriculum Guide for MA Districts (pp 63-86). Choose 3 curricular for 8th and 9th grade that you think may be promising to implement in your district as a follow-up to CS Discoveries, and be prepared to share why you think they are a good fit for your district context.
Goal: explore district-appropriate 8th and 9th grade CS scaffolding experiences that will equitably prepare students for the AP CS Principles course and exam.
- Participants review the existing CS course offerings in the district by grade level and identify overlaps and gaps in CS offerings.
- Identify possible additional course offerings that would help to develop a coherent CS pathway using the DL&CS Curriculum Guide for MA Districts to identify possibilities.
- Come to agreement on possible course offerings and next steps for implementing them.
Goal: participants choose high-impact change practices they would like to explore further
- Review the two high-quality guiding principles that the DSC has identified as highest priority and the change practices associated with them.
- In two breakout groups, one for each guiding principle, discuss:
- What key structures and processes seem to be essential to this change practice?
- Do you or anyone in your district have experience with this practice? What have you learned from these experiences?
- How does this change practice promote or support equity?
- Is this a promising practice to explore for our district? What more would you like to learn about it?
