SRVUSD’s Computer Science Classes Lead the Way
Ilana Israel Samuels | December 9, 2022
Ilana Israel Samuels | December 9, 2022
In honor of Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) taking place December 5-11, we are highlighting SRVUSD’s Computer Science classes and pathways available at all of our high schools!
The Computer Science courses available to our students are a part of the robust Career Technical Education (CTE) course offerings at the high schools. The Curriculum Coordinator who oversees CTE, Lauren Falkner, shared with us that the CTE classes available to SRVUSD students “exemplify our commitment to deep learning and innovation as we support students to follow their passion, help them develop skills that will prepare them to succeed in future careers, and instill a love for learning that we know will extend beyond the classroom.”
Lauren elaborated that CTE combines rigorous academic classes with industry-specific knowledge and skills to prepare students for diverse opportunities after graduating high school. These courses not only prepare students for direct entry into different careers, they provide the “skills that all students need to be competitive in their future endeavors, both in the subject area they study and beyond,” continued Lauren. In the state of California, CTE courses fall under one of 15 different industry sectors, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Our eight staff members teaching in the multiple ICT pathways across the high schools engage in many learning activities that exemplify deep learning. They ensure that students are able to think critically and build a more complex and deep understanding of the content through a variety of activities. Cal High teacher Anh Nguyen told us that currently in one of her Computer Science classes “students have learned one of the strengths/features of the Java programming language: object-oriented programming. The technical requirement is that students are to demonstrate their understanding and skills in object-oriented programming to make a Greeting Card: write the code for a category once, and produce many items in that category at different locations and different sizes.” She continued by sharing that students have the freedom to be as creative as possible. Ahn instills passion in her students by giving them projects that they seem to be interested in, such as making games. She inspires them by sharing stories of successful former students, who were able to get internships and/or jobs at the end of high school or after their first year in college with reputable companies such as Amazon and Sales Force.
Another Computer Science teacher shared with us that many students express excitement for deep learning by dedicating extra time to their projects. Students are known to build apps to a much higher level than expected, such as adding screens, layers, graphical designs or layers or multiple conditions. This teacher described that they see students feeling empowered when they also fix and debug their mistakes, which is a normal part of the process. This empowerment is even more evident when they pass their knowledge on to others, and they often extend their deep learning by helping their peers.
Some of our Computer Science teachers attend trainings such as those provided through Code.org as a way to deepen their own learning and be able to pass on new updates and trends in the industry to their students. With work-based learning opportunities - such as coding camps and hack-a-thons; and trainings such as artificial intelligence, Stanford and UC Berkeley coding camps; and events and Congressional App Challenges, students in SRVUSD have vast opportunities to be motivated to keep learning and build their expertise and passion.
CSEdWeek was founded as a call to action to raise awareness about the need to elevate computer science education at all levels and to underscore the critical role of computing in all careers. SRVUSD’s Director of Technology, Kelly Hilton, explained that “as a district, we are committed to driving innovation through building our capacity to provide state-of-the-art opportunities for all students.” She explained that “through technology upgrades and resources such as our district innovation centers, launched through a generous donation from the SRVEF, our staff are able to guide students to be innovative problem solvers.” This is one of the many ways in which SRVUSD furthers our commitment to our Strategic Directions.
We invite you to learn more about SRVUSD’s CTE courses and pathways, and hope you encourage your student to take Computer Science or another one of these amazing CTE classes at their high school!