Mold the students of today into the problem solvers and critical thinkers of tomorrow. This course provides a snapshot of the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science Frameworks Computational Thinking strand and its related standards. It will supply you with a variety of creative ways to weave these standards into your teaching. We will use a – “Learn It”, “Do It”, “Share It”, “Prove It’ – format each week to become familiar with the components of each strand. Elements of technology and social media are woven throughout the workshop to aid in integrating key computational thinking concepts into students’ daily lives.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: July 15, 2019
Course Details
| Audience | All |
| Level | Any |
| Instructor | Audra Kaplan |
| Dates | July 22, 2019 – August 22, 2019 |
| Earn | 15 PDPs (or option for 1 Credit) |
| Location | Online |
| MassCUE Member Cost | $150 |
| Non-Member Cost | $190 |
| Limit | 20 Participants |
| Prerequisites | none |
| Graduate Credit (Optional) | Pending |
Audra Kaplan
Google for Education Certified Trainer, Makey Makey Certified Trainer, Digital Learning Coach and Computer Science teacher for the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, and Co-President of CS Teachers Greater Boston chapter. Online graduate instructor for Ed Technology Specialists and Andrews University with a master’s degree from Lesley University in Educational Technology as well as a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Southern Connecticut State University. Conference presenter across New England and in New York. Prior to completing her degree and becoming a technology integrator, Audra has spent over 17 years in the classroom teaching ELL, ELA, Social Development, Science, Math, and Computer Technology classes. At Groton-Dunstable Ms. Kaplan works to integrate technology into student and staff learning across the district and teaching Digital Literacy and Computer Science at the middle school. Ms. Kaplan was recognized as one of 100 teachers nationally by NCWIT and the NSF because of her efforts to support Computer Science in Education. During the 100 Teachers Meeting in Washington DC in December of 2014, honorees were invited to the White House.
When away from school Ms. Kaplan enjoys spending time with her family, co leading a Girl Scout troop, learning new things, and exploring the world. Follow her on twitter @AudraKaplan.
Weekly Outline:
In this four-week online workshop, participants will deep dive into the Computational Thinking strand of the MA DLCS frameworks for grades 6-8. Each weekly session will follow a set format:
Learn It: Watch videos, digital resources, and review lesson plans that connect the concepts above to actual students in the classroom.
Do It: Create your own activity in the “Activity Factory” based upon the concepts above that can be used and applied in your educational realm.
Share It: Discuss your experiences for the week in a discussion group with your fellow participants. Reflect personally on your learning.
Prove It: Demonstrate your acquired knowledge for this session and show off what you learned in a weekly “Show and Tell”.
Week 1: Abstraction & Algorithms
Week 2: Data
Week 3: Programming & Development
Week 4: Modeling & Simulation
Project Description:
Those educators wishing to receive one credit from WSU will be creating a comprehensive portfolio of lesson plans in the area of computational thinking.
This course supports the following Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science standards:
6-8.CT.a Abstraction
6-8.CT.a.1- Describe how data is abstracted by listing attributes of everyday items to represent, order and compare those items (e.g., street address as an abstraction for locations; car make, model, and license plate number as an abstraction for cars).
6-8.CT.a.2 – Define a simple function that represents a more complex task/problem and can be reused to solve similar tasks/problems.
6-8.CT.a.3 – Use decomposition to define and apply a hierarchical classification scheme to a complex system, such as the human body, animal classification, or in computing.
6-8.CT.b Algorithms
6-8.CT.b.1- Design solutions that use repetition and conditionals.
6-8.CT.b.2 – Use logical reasoning to predict outputs given varying inputs.
6-8.CT.b.3 – Individually and collaboratively decompose a problem and create a sub-solution for each of its parts (e.g., video game, robot obstacle course, making dinner).
6-8.CT.b.4 – Recognize that more than one algorithm can solve a given problem.
6-8.CT.b.5 – Recognize that boundaries need to be taken into account for an algorithm to produce correct results.
6-8.CT.c Data
6-8.CT.c.1- Demonstrate that numbers can be represented in different base systems (e.g., binary, octal, and hexadecimal) and text can be represented in different ways (e.g., American Standard Code for Information Interchange [ASCII]).
6-8.CT.c.2 – Describe how computers store, manipulate, and transfer data types and files (e.g., integers, real numbers, Boolean Operators) in a binary system.
6-8.CT.c.3 – Create, modify, and use a database (e.g., define field formats, add new records, manipulate data), individually and collaboratively, to analyze data and propose solutions for a task/problem.
6-8.CT.c.4 – Perform a variety of operations such as sorting, filtering, and searching in a database to organize and display information in a variety of ways such as number formats (scientific notation and percentages), charts, tables, and graphs.
6-8.CT.c.5 – Select and use data-collection technology (e.g., probes, handheld devices, geographic mapping systems) to individually and collaboratively gather, view, organize, analyze, and report results for content-related problems.
6-8.CT.d Programming and Development
6-8.CT.d.1- Individually and collaboratively compare algorithms to solve a problem, based on a given criteria (e.g., time, resource, accessibility).
6-8.CT.d.2 – Use functions to hide the detail in a program.
6-8.CT.d.3 – Create a program, individually and collaboratively, that implements an algorithm to achieve a given goal.
6-8.CT.d.4 – Implement problem solutions using a programming language, including all of the following: looping behavior, conditional statements, expressions, variables, and functions.
6-8.CT.d.5 – Trace programs step-by-step in order to predict their behavior.
6-8.CT.d.6 – Use an iterative approach to development and debugging to understand the dimensions of a problem clearly.
6-8.CT.e Modeling and Simulation
6-8.CT.e.1- Create a model of a real-world system and explain why some details, features and behaviors were required in the model and why some could be ignored.
6-8.CT.e.2 – Use and modify simulations to analyze and illustrate a concept in depth (e.g., light rays/mechanical waves interaction with materials, genetic variation).
6-8.CT.e.3 – Select and use computer simulations, individually and collaboratively, to gather, view, analyze, and report results for content-related problems (e.g., migration, trade, cellular function).
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Computational Thinking for Middle School Educators- Creating Future Problem Solvers – MA DLCS Series July 22, 2019 – August 22, 2019
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