Strands

A central feature of ISDDE is participation in themed strands, in which small groups of designers work together on goals of their own choosing. For ISDDE 2019, strands will include continuation of prior strands:

• curriculum design, led by Lynne McClure
• teacher professional development, led by Susan McKenney and Patrick Callahan

But also add new strands in connection with the conference theme:

• computational thinking (see below), led by Lucy Rycroft-Smith and Cornelia Connolly
• leading design groups, led by Suzy Loper

In addition, a fifth strand will

• work towards a design challenge provided by a local educational institution: how to leverage innovative spaces for maximal effect?, led by Maggie Hannan and Tony Hall

Computational thinking

One important strand at the ISDDE 2019 Conference will be around computational thinking. In recent years, there has been a (re)surge of interest around this topic for at least the following reasons:

1. programming is a major career pathway
2. there are huge and persistent equity challenges within technology-related careers
3. programming and programming-related concepts/skills are becoming central to many areas of science and mathematics
4. teaching concepts and general skills has emerged as more important than particular programming languages

Across the globe, many strategies are being pursued. Now is a great time to come together to learn about common challenges and new design strategies.