1 / 34

The ACM Education Policy Committee and Issues in Computer Science Education

The ACM Education Policy Committee and Issues in Computer Science Education. John White ACM Chief Executive Officer September 25, 2009. Outline. ACM ACM Educational Activities Rationale for and focus of ACM Education Policy Committee Key data underlying the Education Policy Committee

albert
Download Presentation

The ACM Education Policy Committee and Issues in Computer Science Education

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The ACM Education Policy CommitteeandIssues in Computer Science Education John White ACM Chief Executive Officer September 25, 2009

  2. Outline • ACM • ACM Educational Activities • Rationale for and focus of ACM Education Policy Committee • Key data underlying the Education Policy Committee • Key issues in K-12 education and K-12 computing education • What the ACM Education Policy Committee is doing • Final thoughts

  3. ACM • ACM is growing in almost every dimension: membership, publications, conferences, international reach, influence • Some specifics • Approaching 100,000 members • 45 periodicals in computing • 170+ conferences, symposia, and workshops each year • The Digital Library is at over 2,500 institutions worldwide • Our revitalized monthly flagship, Communications of the ACM, is rapidly becoming a must-read publication in our field • International initiatives are getting real traction in Europe and India. China is being re-started • ACM is shaping and influencing public policy • USACM – technology policy • ACM EPC – education policy • Satisfaction among ACM members is up significantly

  4. ACM Educational Activities • Educational subunits and focus • ACM Education Board • Focus: higher education • Curriculum • Accreditation • ACM SIGCSE • Focus: higher education • All aspects related to the teaching of computing and computer science • AP computer science • ACM SIGITE • Focus: higher education • Teaching, curriculum, and accreditation issues in Information Technology education

  5. ACM Educational Activities (cont.) • Subunits and focus (cont.) • Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) • Focus: high school and middle school computer science • A membership organization that supports and promotes the teaching of computer science • Provides opportunities for K-12 teachers and students to better understand the computing disciplines and to more successfully prepare themselves to teach and learn • Curriculum standards, certification standards, teaching resources, advocacy • AP computer science • ACM Education Council • All groups within ACM with an interest in computing and computer science education • ACM Education Policy Committee • Focus: policy issues that impact computing and computer science education

  6. ACM Educational Activities - Summary • Subunits focused on education • ACM Education Board • ACM SIGCSE • ACM SIGITE • Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) • ACM Education Council • ACM Education Policy Committee

  7. ACM Education Policy Committee

  8. ACM Education Policy Committee • Established by ACM Council in July 2007 • Members • Bobby Schnabel (Chair), Indiana University • Stacey Armstrong, AP Computer Science Teacher Cypress Woods HS • Fred Chang, University of Texas • Joanna Goode, University of Oregon • Susan Rodger, Duke University • J Strother Moore, University of Texas • Mark Stehlik, Carnegie Mellon University • Chris Stephenson, Computer Science Teachers Association • Bob Campbell, The City University of New York • Ex officio • Eugene Spafford, Purdue University (Chair, USACM) • John White, ACM CEO • Cameron Wilson, ACM Director of Public Policy

  9. ACM Education Policy Committee • Organizations represented on the ACM EPC • CSTA • NCWIT • SIGCSE • Two-year colleges • CRA • High school computer science teachers • AP computer science community • This reach enables the ACM EPC to • Speak/advocate on behalf of the community with a single voice • Right now the ACM EPC is the public policy advocacy group for computing

  10. Emergence of the ACM EPC • Context • A confluence of several factors and reports raising concerns about the ability of the US to stay globally competitive • Increased focused on the need to invest in science/math education • Serious concern that computing and computer science would be left behind or misunderstood in discussions focused on investment in STEM education • ACM Council • Created the ACM Education Policy Committee to bring the computing community (as we think of it) to the education policy “table” • Reports to the ACM Executive Committee • Empowered to speak on behalf of ACM on education policy issues

  11. Mission and Focus of the ACM EPC • Mission “… focus on public policy issues in science and math education relevant to computing and computer science. The purpose of the Committee is to develop policy positions and educate policy makers -- with the goal of improving the opportunities for quality education in computing and computer science.” • Where to focus? • The topic of the first EPC meeting in July 2007 • Issues • Advocacy vs. resource development • US vs. international • K-12 vs. higher education • …

  12. Broadening Participation? Yes ACM EPC Focus Program Development Advocacy US World K-12 Higher Ed. Federal States C-STEM STEM Ed Tech/Gen. Tech Computer Science Tech Lit./Fluency

  13. Issues that Shaped this Focus • Demand • Supply • Image, interest, and diversity

  14. Positions Underpinning ACM EPC • Computer science is a distinct discipline • Rigorous/real computer science can and should exist at the high-school/middle-school level • Thousands of examples of real computer science in high school • Frequently embodied in teaching AP computer science • Computer science in K-12 is under attack and disappearing • Doesn’t count • Few state standards (curriculum and certification) • Not in the core of NCLB focus and thus increasingly under-resourced • Teachers are often not well-trained and have little access to professional development and educational resources • If there is national focus on, and national investment in, STEM, we must ensure rigorous/real computer science is included

  15. Issues In K-12 Education • Education Policy Landscape: • Decentralized, but with heavy federal influence • States: • Standards and Assessments: • Example: State of Virginia’s six grade mathematics standard is that students should be able to “... identify, represent, order, and compare integers.” • Graduation Credits: • State of Texas requires four years of math to graduate high school • AP CS counts as a fourth-year math credit • Federal: • No Child Left Behind • Required testing in reading, math and science • Heavy emphasis on teacher prep programs and requirements

  16. Issues In K-12 Education • Focus on the “core” • No Child Left Behind started the trend with testing for reading, math and science • 46 states now moving toward harmonizing a “common core” of standards and assessments • First reading and math • Then science • Resources are dedicated toward the core classes because assessments are often linked to funding

  17. Issues in K-12 Computing Education • Where does CS sit? • Often in the “T” of the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) rubric • Problems with this: • Confusion over technology in education, technology literacy and CS as an academic subject • Technology classes are very broad • Technology focused on vocational education -- don’t attract college-bound students • Curriculum problems -- what is called computing in the “T” can often be focused on the use of technology (word processing/spreadsheets) • Most likely an elective credit for students • CS is not part of the core

  18. Issues in K-12 Computing Education • Teacher certification is a mess; major CSTA study found: • Many states have no requirements at all so anyone can teach computer science • Most people (teachers and administrators) don’t know what the requirements are in their own states • Some states have requirements that have absolutely no connection to computer science content or teaching • Some states have requirements that are impossible to meet (requiring teachers to have taught courses that do not exist) • Teacher preparation programs are not preparing computer science teachers because they are designed to prepare teachers for professional certification

  19. STEM Education Reform • A national and state imperative • President Obama called attention during National Academies Speech • Secretary of Education endorsed a report from Carnegie Foundation calling for national alignment of math and science standards • NSB report calling for curriculum alignment in STEM • Major political forces gathering to work on the issue: • National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers Association leading 46 states toward a “common core” in reading, math, and science

  20. Surfacing the C in STEM • Need to elevate the discussion of why teaching CS at K-12 is critical • Why? • Gain a deeper knowledge of the fundamentals of computing, which—as computing becomes ubiquitous—is a critical foundational knowledge that will serve students well throughout their lives • Exposure to a field that drives innovation and in which job prospects remain strong despite the current extraordinary economic challenges • Gain critical knowledge and skills proven to bolster students’ success in higher education academic pursuits

  21. Recommended Grade Level K-8 9 or 10 10 or 11 11 or 12 Level I –Foundations of Computer Science Level II– Computer Science In the Modern World Level III– Computer Science as Analysis and Design Level IV– Topics in Computer Science Surfacing the C in STEM • What is computing education? • Many ways to teach it, but you need a common framework to fit into education standards • ACM Model Curriculum:

  22. What the ACM Education Policy Committee is Doing

  23. ACM EPC’s Goals • Educate decision makers that computer science curriculum is focused on conceptual knowledge such as algorithmic thinking. • Get rigorous computer science classes to count toward a student’s core graduation requirements in math or science areas. • Expand professional development and recruitment opportunities for CS teachers. • Ensure that federal education research programs have an appropriate focus on computer science. • Strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and ensure computing is part of these discussions. • Advocate for programs to improve the current diversity of the computing workforce.

  24. What ACM EPC Is Doing • Building the case • Sorting out the facts • Educating national leaders • Reaching out to national groups and industry • Building bridges between the computing community and federal agencies

  25. Building the Case • ACM and CSTA created a model curriculum framework K-12 computing and computer science. This model is is what we point to when defining “rigorous” computing education • Combining this work with well known arguments from the community (innovation, jobs, productivity) creates the case for why CS education is important • These arguments were the foundation of a document ACM sent to the Obama Administration laying out the issues CS education faces and recommendations for action

  26. Sorting Out the Facts • Sorting out the facts: • We know some basics about K-12 CS education • ~ 7,300 members of CSTA with potentially 36,000 more “CS” teachers • ~ 20,000 students took AP CS in 2008 (compared to almost 300,000 for AP calculus). • Difficult to get good data about what is going on at the high school level • No national picture exists of how states view CS education • To develop this national picture, we are reviewing each state’s learning standards and how they compare against ACM’s model curriculum

  27. Educating National Leaders • Educating National Leaders: • Met and continue to meet with Congressional staff • Met and continue to meet with Administration staff • Met and continue to meet with the National Governor’s Association • A resolution will be introduced in the House to designate a National Computer Science Education week (December 7th – Grace Murray Hopper’s Birthday) • Held an event on Capitol Hill highlighting work that Jane Margolis is doing in the LA school district to increase the diversity of students exposed to a new, rigorous computer science course … and getting University of California admissions to count it

  28. Reaching Out to National Groups and Industry • National advocacy groups play an important role in education reform by trying to establish national models for education reform: • Achieve.org, a group of business interests and governors, has established a national voluntary framework of requirements for high school students called the Advanced Diploma Project • We were able to get them to count AP CS as a mathematics credit in this framework. • Working with Partnership for 21st Century skills on CS standards, which is another such group • Engaged CCSSO, NGA, which are leading the effort to establish a common core across 46 states • Initiated discussions with Google, NCWIT and others about starting a national advocacy coalition • Engaged with NCTM to get their support for rigorous/real computer science to count as a legitimate mathematics elective (especially where 4 years of math is required)

  29. Reaching Out to National Groups and Industry • National advocacy groups play an important role in education reform by trying to establish national models for education reform: • Achieve.org, a group of business interests and governors, has established a national voluntary framework of requirements for high school students called the Advanced Diploma Project • We were able to get them to count AP CS as a mathematics credit in this framework. • Working with Partnership for 21st Century skills on CS standards, which is another such group • Engaged CCSSO, NGA, which are leading the effort to establish a common core across 46 states • Initiated discussions with Google, NCWIT and others about starting a national advocacy coalition • Engaged with NCTM to get their support for rigorous/real computer science to count as a legitimate mathematics elective (especially where 4 years of math is required)

  30. Building bridges between the computing community and federal agencies • Outreach within our community to inform it about our goals through talks like this one and at SIGCSE.But we need to do more to bring the community into key education programs in the federal government. • Working with the NITRD program to get it focused on CS education reform • We know that Congress has shown strong support for certain key programs within NSF’s Education and Human Resources division -- programs where K-12 CS either does poorly or is nonexistent. • We need to know more about the professional development needs of computing teachers and gaps in our understanding of effective computing education. Thus, we are working with NSF on ideas to catalyze more high-quality proposals on research in computing education from the CS community.

  31. Some Next Steps • Building a more detailed federal legislative strategy • Intervening and engaging with states where there are issues/opportunities • Seeking more partners in this effort • Catalyzing the community to go after CS education research funding and infrastructure support: • Targets for this are NSF EHR programs (such as the Math/Science partnerships) and Dept. of Ed. ARRA funds • Reaching out to the university community about including CS as one of their admission requirements • Following the AP reform efforts and helping gain wider acceptance • Continuing to elevate this dialog to the national level in the media and with national education leaders

  32. Summary • Surfacing the C in STEM • Ensuring rigorous computer science at the K-12 level is explicitly considered in STEM policy discussions, priorities, and investment, and that computer science is fully featured in higher education priorities and investment • Ensuring rigorous computer science counts • Working with coalitions and organizations (Achieve, 21st Century, NGA) to have rigorous computer science count toward core graduation requirements • Working at the state level to have rigorous computer science count • Actively supporting AP CS reform to help produce a model of a “national standard” for rigorous K-12 computer science • Want to help ensure that rigorous computer science counts in university admission requirements

  33. More … • ACM is a society of increasing stature and significance • We are engaging computing education at multiple levels • EPC is speaking/representing the community on education policy issues • We are starting to engage with others about a national advocacy coalition on computing education policy issues • “Computing in the Core” • About: • Computing in the Core is a non-partisan advocacy coalition of associations, corporations, scientific societies, and non-profits dedicated toward furthering computer science education in K-12. • Mission Statement: • Computing in the Core will raise the national profile of computer science education in K-12 and work toward its inclusion in the K-12 education landscape. It will engage federal and state policy makers, schools, teachers, education groups, the public and the media to meet this goal.

  34. Finally … • From my position as ACM CEO • Impressed with the progress of the EPC • Impressed with the make up of the EPC and its engagement of other organizations • On education policy issues regarding STEM education and computing, I believe we are speaking as a community with one voice through the EPC • Impressed with the wide range of educational issues ACM is engaging • Ed Board, Ed Council, SIGCSE, SIGITE, other SIGs, CSTA • Concern: • Is there sufficient oversight and orchestration of this within ACM? • Right now, this ultimately sits at the level of the ACM Executive Committee

More Related