Computer Science is an important part of MA curriculum and needs to be incorporated into every District. Computer Science is designing and developing computing systems to solve problems. This includes setting a set of ideas and principles. Teaching students CS is important because these skills help students learn language on how to instruct a computer to perform functions. Students should be comfortable using technology in the classroom and being able to understand the language that goes along with it.

Coding especially is important because it helps improve students' problem solving skills. According to the article, “Why Teaching Kids How to Code Is Important,” “This technique doesn't only teach children how to solve problems in IT, it can also be applied to develop new creative ways of thinking in their professional or personal lives.” Coding benefits all students in the long run when they become citizens.

Computer science can be a fun way to incorporate new technology into the classroom! Computer science is just as important as STEM and language arts in the classroom. Computer science needs to be supported by everyone in the school including students, teachers, administration and the principle! This can be difficult in some school districts due to the lack of resources but doing some research and coming up with a plan can be a start!

Here is an example of a plan for the current school district I work in...

• I currently work in the Wrentham School District and I think CS should be incorporated more into the schools curriculum. The kindergarten classrooms have classroom computers and iPads, grades 1-3 have ChromeBooks and iPads are available in the classroom. This gives the teachers and the students easy access and engagement in computer science. For the training on how to use the programs, I think this could be dedicated to a PD day. I think from the list of technology resources, teachers could pick the technology they are most interested in and then take the PD on it. This would then give the students more encouragement to incorporate CS in their classrooms. For example, with code.org they have Minecraft on the website. Many students have experience with Minecraft and this might be an interesting way for students to be engaged and learn something new from their teacher that they might not already know.

• For the Wrentham School District, I would have them focus on Kibo Robot Kits. This training can be done in person or remotely according to the Curriculum Guide which is essential during the pandemic. These robots are designed to be assembled and disassembled with students in the classroom. Using the specific sequencing and coding with these blocks, the students are able to design where and what their robot does. This program is more on the expensive side so if it is not manageable then the school should focus on Museum of Science, Boston. I think adding this into the school would interesting especially because they are created right here in MA. The Museum of Science is creating lessons that focus on encoding music and sounds to compose a new song. This would be interesting and allow teachers to differentiate instruction in the classroom by giving students a choice on what they would like to create.

• I think incorporating KIBO robots in the curriculum, especially Kindergarten would benefit the students and the teachers. KIBO could be used up until second grade where students would be experts at using it then they could move onto using Code.org or Scratch Jr that seems to be a little more advanced and difficult to understand. These programs will help improve their problem solving skills and be more creative. Overall. These CS technology resources would benefit the Wrentham School District.

Resources:

Envato. (2020, September 24). Why Teaching Kids How to Code Is Important. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://envato.com/blog/teaching-kids-code-important/

Click here to find the computer science curriculum framework in MA!