Computer Science Education in Middle School and High School

The first full week of December is ACM’s CSEdWeek – and our chapter always has a special education-related program to celebrate. This month’s meeting will discuss computer science curriculum for middle school and high school students.

Kathy Effner will talk about her experiences building a high school Computer Science curriculum. She started seven years ago, when her school had only one AP CSA class of 14 students. Today, her school is running seven classes, including robotics, two AP classes, and 2 of the 3 courses needed for CCNA certification (CISCO Certified Network Administrator). She is also the advisor for two FTC robotics teams that have been running for six years. The goal of her program is to offer as many quality CS courses as possible, because she believes that their students need the experience no matter what career path they choose. She is also working to build and implement courses that can be taught by teachers who have little or no experience with the concepts.

Judd Pittman will talk about Pennsylvania’s PAsmart Initiative, an innovative education and workforce strategy for STEM and Computer Science. The conversation will focus on policy and program efforts, including a new certification program in Computer Science for teachers in grades 7-12. Judd is the Special Consultant to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education on STEM, where he has helped to build internal and external coalitions like the CSinPA Initiative and the STEM Ecosystems Initiative that support innovative STEM and Computer Science programs and policy.

Speaker(s): Kathy Effner, Judd Pittman

Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/282461