By Kim Jones, CEO, Curriki
In a blog titled “Computational Thinking: Free Professional Development Resources” posted last month, we discussed the concept of computational thinking, its definition and the benefits of teaching computational thinking to students. In essence, Computational Thinking (CT) means solving problems and designing systems by drawing on concepts developed in the field of computer science. Importantly, CT can be used to solve problems in any subject area.
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) have created a Computational Thinking Task Force and have produced materials to support computational thinking in K-12 education.
You can find their operational definition of CT here. You can download their document “Computational Thinking Teacher Resources” here. These illustrate CT methods in conjunction with material for other subject areas. And their Leadership Toolkit for CT is located here.
Free professional development training
And from Curriki, the Open Educational Resources Library and Community, we offer a self-paced professional development course for K-12 teachers interested in learning how to infuse Computational Thinking into their classes. The course was developed with support from AT&T.
• The CT professional development course is free and available on the Curriki website: library.curriki.org/oer/Computational-Thinking-Resources.
• The course has been created primarily for teachers at the middle school and high school levels, all K-12 educators will benefit from taking the course.
• Any teacher can take the course, including homeschool teachers.
• The self-paced online course provides teachers with a comprehension of CT and with the tools they need to get started right away.
• The course provides flexible professional development opportunities for educators who can work at their own pace and time frame.
• Teachers will examine the components of CT and explore how to introduce CT skills to their students.
• The concepts of CT may be applied to current curricula, project-based learning (PBL) projects, and STEM classes.
• CT can be used to solve problems in any area or field.
• Problem solving through CT is such a critically important skill it is directly or indirectly addressed by several sets of educational standards including:
o Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards
o Next Generation Science Standards
• AT&T generously funded the development of this course.
We encourage you to take benefit of this free professional development course in Computational Thinking from Curriki.
