Program Goals and Measurements

Growth Mindset: A Driving Force

The East Union Board of Directors recognizes the need to refine district goals to meet the changing needs of our district and its students. Under the overarching objective of “Being a School of Choice in Our Region,” the Board’s goals currently read as follows:

• Revisit and set a new collective vision and mission

• Conduct a long-range needs assessment

• Provide the supports and opportunities necessary to ensure that East Union students are college, career, and life ready; therefore we will:

  • Support the unlimited needs and interests of our students,

  • Create environments and conditions where Habits of Mind are integral, and

  • Provide varied academic opportunities and partnerships that nurture students’ unique passions and future endeavors.

As the Board creates a new vision for its District; what a perfect time to create a forward-thinking Computer Science program that involves every teacher and every student in East Union Elementary! As a participant in the Computer Science is Elementary Model Network, the potential for learning, applying, and showcasing an exciting elementary curriculum would certainly attract the attention of families in surrounding areas...one more way to meet the goal of “Being a School of Choice.” Computer programming coursework would most assuredly involve the sixteen Habits of Mind, which include characteristics associated with strategic reasoning, problem solving, creativity, craftsmanship, and cooperation with all of the associated passions that motivate learning. Mastery of associated foundational skills is essential for success in a future where technology will never stop evolving.

East Union Elementary is dedicated to delivering high quality, effective instruction aligned with the Iowa Core Curriculum Standards in all subject areas. The Iowa Core Computer Standards are the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards. The five strands of these standards are guiding the measurable goals of the Computer Science is Elementary Initiative:

Strand 1: Computational Thinking

• Grades TK-2: The learner will recognize that software is created to control computer operations by completing age-appropriate projects that demonstrate understanding of ordering, sorting, and solving problems. (L1:3.CT 3 and 4)

• Grades 3-5: The learner will master computer programming skills, such as understanding instructions, data, and syntax that guide programming. (L1:6.CT 1, 2, and 3)

• Grades TK-5: The learner will understand connections between programming and careers. (L1:6.CT 6)

Strand 2: Collaboration

• Grades TK-2: The learner will work with peers, teachers, and others to use technology to gather information. (L1:3.CL 1 and 2)

• Grades 3-5: The learner will work collaboratively to use productivity technology (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software) to create programs and products that support creative thinking and problem solving. (L1:6.CL 1, 2, and 3)

Strand 3: Computing Practice and Programming

• Grades TK-2: The learner will construct sets of statements that can be acted out to accomplish a relevant task. (L1:3.CPP 4)

• Grades 3-5: The learner will use online programming resources to create projects that incorporate content area Core standards. (L1:6.CPP 5 and 6)

• Grades TK-5: The learner will identify a wide range of jobs that require knowledge of programming. (L1:3.CPP 5 and L1:6.CPP 9)

Strand 4: Computers and Communication Devices

• Grades TK-5: The learner will demonstrate age-appropriate proficiency with keyboarding. (L1:3.CD 1 and L1:6.CD 1)

Strand 5: Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts

• Grades TK-5: The learner will demonstrate age-appropriate understanding of ethical, responsible, and secure use of technology and information. (L1:3.CI 1 and 2 and L1:6.CI 1 and 2)

• Grades 3-5: The learner will evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and biases that occur in electronic information sources. (L1:6.CI 3)

Teachers from the school’s existing Technology Team, along with teachers from the TLC Teacher Leadership Team, are continuously researching and determining instructional resources, developing lessons, and creating assessments that measure acquisition of these goals. The goals may be integrated into existing content area curriculum unit maps, with accompanying resources and assessments. Goals are also being developed with Computer Science as its own subject area.

East Union Elementary has long-established academic goals for our students. The overarching goal reads as follows: “All students in transitional kindergarten through grade five will attain proficiency in fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics.” This goal supports the foundational needs of TK-5 students; without mastery of Core Literacy and Mathematics standards, students will struggle to be able to apply skills and understandings of concepts to create relevant solutions and projects. East Union Elementary uses a variety of assessments to drive instruction, create differentiated grouping, and measure the success of instruction. Teachers’ instructional practices are also observed and assessed through the Best Practices Teacher Leadership model using the Iowa Instructional Framework. These same practices will be applied to the Computer Science program; with accountability and continuous refinement, the ambitious goals of the program will have a greater chance of being attained.

Computer Science education involves reciprocity. Foundational academic skills are needed to solve problems and create projects; the solutions and creations will allow students to practice and strengthen the application of foundational skills.

Student achievement data is used daily to measure acquisition of standards and drive instruction. An indicator of “healthy instruction” occurs when at least 80% of the students attain benchmarks, proficiency, or growth goals in a given school-wide assessment. All teachers strive to ensure that this healthy indicator goal is attained, and data is tracked within and across school years to analyze the effectiveness of instruction and resources. FAST and I-Ready are two assessments used to measure achievement in reading and mathematics three times each year.

The Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) measures reading fluency and math foundational skills. Students who do not attain benchmarks during the fall, mid-year, and spring testing windows must be progress-monitored weekly to gauge growth. I-Ready is an online diagnostic assessment that measures mastery of Core standards in all domains of reading and math. Growth is also assessed, and the goal is for students to score within grade level ranges and meet expected growth gains by spring testing window. Students’ progress through individual learning paths of online tutorials is another growth indicator. Coupled with effective Core instruction, the integration of literacy and mathematics skills with a Computer Science curriculum would allow students to strengthen those skills with relevant, engaging activities. The impact on student achievement could be considerable!

The vision of creating programming projects that apply understanding of Core subject standards must include assessments of the projects themselves. The projects, assessments, and criteria for mastery are being developed by a team of teachers and the principal. These projects may be stand-alone as part of the Computer Science curriculum, or they may be integrated into the existing content area units. Keyboarding would be assessed as a separate skill, though mastery of keyboarding impacts success with other computer applications. Students would be assessed on mastery of benchmarks as determined by the selected program. Scores would be reported to parents on quarterly grade reports.

Assessing student engagement can be accomplished using the Teacher Leadership system of observation, feedback, and ongoing support. A project score may not reflect the passion for learning associated with engagement. As teachers enact lessons that challenge students’ thinking and problem-solving skills, students would become increasingly motivated to expand their own learning. “Motivation” is an Iowa Instructional Framework instructional indicator that may be used to assess engagement as colleagues observe lessons and measure the degree to which students display curiosity, inquiry, and exploration associated with motivation.

Another way to assess engagement involves seeking feedback from students using surveys. Teachers can analyze students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the lessons. Students will know their opinions have value as teachers use them to plan for future instruction. What a powerful way to impact a life-long love of learning!