CS Discoveries

Program Goals

The goals of the Computer Science Discoveries (CSD) grant is to:

• Provide teacher professional development in Code.org’s CSD curriculum

• Have teachers prepared to implement CSD in the fall of 2022

• Provide ongoing support and professional learning during the school year

• Spread awareness of middle school computer science standards

Program Information

Code.org’s Computer Science Discoveries (CSD) is a blend of online and "unplugged" non-computer activities to teach students computational thinking, problem-solving, programming concepts, and digital citizenship. Students will create their own games, art, and digital stories that they can share. The Computer Science Discoveries course is flexibly designed for teachers new to CS who want to offer accessible and equitable introductory CS courses to their students. The Professional Learning Program is designed to support in-service teachers to implement the curriculum and prioritizes computer science for all students. CSD is aligned with Iowa’s middle school computer science standards and therefore recommended as a middle school curriculum in our state.

Commitments

For participating teachers, we require the following commitments:

• Attend a virtual, half day CSTA Standards for Computer Science Teachers Workshop.

• Attend a five-day, summer workshop in 2022. There are virtual and face to face dates to choose from.

• Attend academic year workshops during the 2022-23 school year to support their implementation (typically held on weekends)

• Teach the course in the 2022–23 school year.

• To complete self-assessment using readiness scale for implementation

Stipend

Participants who complete the professional development will receive stipends at $20/hour or $160/day for 9.5 days of professional development. Participants who attend all 9.5 days of professional development will be awarded $1520 in stipends.

Credit Options

Participants can choose to use part of their stipend to earn two licensure renewal or two graduate credits for participating in the workshop and completing assignments for an additional cost to the participant. More information will be available during the workshop.

1. Register for ONE of the virtual CSTA Standards for Computer Science Teachers Workshop sessions below. Click here to register.

   • • Thursday, June 16th 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

     • Thursday, June 16th 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

2. Register for CS Discoveries by completing the Code.org application here. This should only take teachers about 20 minutes. Please fill out an application no later than April 30th, 2022. CS Discoveries sessions are available below:

   • • Virtually, June 20th - 24th

     • Face to face in Ames, July 18th - 22nd

3. Next, administrators will receive a 5 minute survey to approve their teacher's application and confirm that the course will be offered next year. The survey link will be sent in an automated email from Code.org.

4. Once NewBoCo confirms that you are covered by funding through the grant, the summer workshop registration link will be sent to you.

5. Once you have registered through the link, you will claim your spot and will receive details about the summer workshop.

If your plans to participate change at any point prior to the summer workshop, please let the K-12 Education Team at NewBoCo (k12@newbo.co) & Corey Rogers (crogers@gwaea.org) know so we can update your information and make sure your district does not lose a spot.

Teacher stipends will be disbursed through NewBoCo. Please contact the K-12 Education Team at NewBoCo (k12@newbo.co) with questions.