Standard 13: Students demonstrate STEM content knowledge representative of STEM literacy outcomes that prepare them for the next level of learning and work.
Planning and data are vital parts of directing the curriculum in the Computer Science department. As a whole group K-12, Computer Science teachers are constantly reviewing content and results to make decisions about the future of curriculum.
Concept 1: School/program has identified learning standards and aligned sources of student performance data for each of the STEM disciplines, as well as content areas included in the institution’s integrated model (STEAM, STREAM, etc)
Before we started looking at Computer Science standards and where they should fall in the sequence, we came up with a list of computer science skills and competencies that all computer science students should leave with. Then, we tried to broadly define where the skills would be taught.
Vertical Alignment Crosswalks
Next, we identified courses that would be taught throughout the system. Next, we tried to develop a plan to address when and where the computer science skills and competencies would fall. The documents below show the course sequence K-12 and specific skills that will be taught throughout.
Unit Planning
Unit planning is important to develop a day to day plan to teach content. Teachers at each school is largely responsible for developing their own plans, however, we communicate frequently to update each other on what is going well and what needs work. Below you will find links to Unit Plans developed by Computer Science teachers throughout the school system. Sample Communication
Concept 2: Trend data indicate student growth and mastery of learning standards and expectations associated with frameworks adopted by the school/program for all STEM disciplines, as well as content areas included in the institution's integrated model (STEAM, STREAM)
The Computer Science department uses data at all levels to determine growth and areas for remediation. Unit data is used to look at pretest and post test data to determine the progression of student knowledge.
Unit Data
Unit data takes a few different forms based on how the class is going. We use pretest data to determine what the students already know. Then we can see growth or no growth on the post tests. Sometimes, a simple report to determine the percentage of students passing is very useful for quick quizzes. However, if a large percentage of students didn't pass a quiz, we will run a report to determine the trouble spots based on questions that were missed often. That way, teachers can remediate knowledge with students and even redesign lessons and assignments to be more effective. The final way we use data is for large assessments like Exams and Benchmarks. We will run a label report to help determine weaknesses and strengths based on labels assigned to each type of question. This is a vital report for teachers because it allows us to pinpoint exact lessons that students need remediation on.
End of pathway Data
Each student that complete 3 courses in the pathway will take the Microsoft Technology Associate Certification exam. We do a 3-week crash course to prepare students for this exam. First, students will take a pretest to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each student. Next, we learn lessons from 6 different units. Each unit will have its own pretest and post test to keep track of student progress. A final practice exam will reveal final adjustments that need to be made with student knowledge. I also keep a table that I call the Danger Zone. That allows me to keep track of each students weaknesses for each unit. We will have small group lessons and remediation until every student is out of the danger zone. Our pathway usually has a pass rate over 85%, which is over the State and National pass rates for that exam.
Milestone Data
Milestones give us data at a larger scale and helps us focus on ways to help students. Over the last few years, our whole system has been working to raise literacy in all classes. This data has provided focused strategies for teachers to use.