CSS295: K-12 Computing Education (2cr, CR/NR)

Java code sample

Course description:

Kelvin's version: Experience the joy of giving, helping, and teaching! In addition ... the credits counts towards CSS electives, and it looks great on resume!

Kelvin's learning: Learn about myself, about what I value, what I should value, and re-discovery that I wanted to make the world a better place ... I almost forgot. We need diversity, we need to find and embrace diversity.

Official version: Collaboration with community partners to develop computing education opportunities for K-12 students. This course focuses on developing professional values and higher level thinking among computing students by connecting them to K-12 students as instructors and mentors. Through this course you will gain a better understanding of how people develop the cognitive skills necessary to be successful in their profession. In addition, you will develop a clearer sense of your own connection to the wider community and become a more well-rounded and mature professionals. Expected learning outcomes, after this course you will be able to:

• Design curricula for teaching programming concepts tailored for K-12 students.
• Apply classroom management skills that can focus K-12 students on computing tasks.
• Assess their classroom teaching.
• Practice strategies for supporting students with diverse background and technical preparation

What you will do (approx.):

• Weeks 1 to 3: Learn to teach to diverse audience.
• Meeting time: Wed 1:15 to 3:15.
• Where: On UWB Campus.
• What: Learn: working with diversity, classroom management, curriculum composition, Scratch.
• Homework: Practice Scratch, non-technical readings (about diversity, classroom management, and curriculum composition).
• Weeks 4 to 9: Field testing of what you learn: Teach!
• NOTE Meeting time: to be defined each quarter. ← !!NOTE!!
• NOTE Where: At partners’ site. ← !!NOTE!!
• You'd have to arrange your own travel (this quarter, we car pool).
• What: Take what you have learned and put together, go teach mid/late teens how to build their own simple game!
• Homework: Write/read reflections of your experiences, ask for/help your friends with potential problems via on-line discussion board.
• Yes, it is true, for Weeks 4 to 9, there will be _NO_ meeting on campus during regular class meeting times.
• Week 10: Reflect, synthesize, debrief.
• Meeting time: Wed 1:15 to 3:15.
• Where: On UWB Campus.
• What: Final debriefing, reflection, synthesize knowledge gained.
• Homework: A short final paper on experience.
• This is a CR/NR class. No grade point.
• Requirrements: Commitment!
• You are responsible as a teacher!! Not able to wake up is not an excuse!

Past Examples:

This is what your peers have done in the past 1+ years. It is expected this coming year, kids we work with will be slightly older, but materials (games you design) are going to be similar.

Example games: design by CSS students, learned and build by teens:

 

Student in actions: CSS students teaching teens at community partner sites: (Fall 2015)

 

Student in actions: CSS students teaching teens at community partner sites: (Spring 2014)

Questions?

email your questions to Professor Kelvin Sung (ksung at uw.edu).