1 / 15

Computing At School: Advocating for Curriculum Change in the UK

This article discusses the growth and mission of Computing At School (CAS), a community of teachers, industry professionals, and academics, who are advocating for computer science to be taught in schools. CAS believes that computer science is a rigorous subject that every child should learn, and they have been influential in shaping national policy and supporting teachers on the ground. The article also explores the recent curriculum change in England and the rapid growth of CAS. It concludes with questions for discussion about participating in CAS and the benefits for teachers.

chavezc
Download Presentation

Computing At School: Advocating for Curriculum Change in the UK

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. Computing At School (CAS) & curriculum change in the UKDr Sue SentanceNational Academic Coordinator, Computing At School24th October 2014

  2. … started in 2008 with 5 members … in 2014 almost at 10,000 members … There is no THEM, only US!

  3. Simply a group of individuals, concerned about the state of computing education in our schools • Including: • Teachers • Industry (eg. Google, Microsoft)‏ • University academics (incl. CPHC, UKCRC)‏ • Members of exam board (eg. AQA)‏ • Members of professional societies (eg. BCS)‏ • Parents • Local educational advisers • Teacher trainers • Varied backgrounds, with common concerns

  4. CAS believes that … Computer science is a proper, rigorous school subject discipline, on a par with mathematics or chemistry, that every child should learn from primary school onwards. NB. It is not about computers, nor is it about programming

  5. The role of CAS? Influencing national policy Computing: a curriculumfor schools Directly support teachers “on the ground”

  6. The Royal Society recommendations– from ICT to Computing

  7. Curriculum change (in England) • Computer Science at heart of new curriculum • Schoolchildren from age 5 to be taught computer science • Still includes digital literacy as major component • September 2013 Final Programme of Study for Computing published – effective from 1st September 2014

  8. New national curriculum for Computing

  9. CAS Membership

  10. CAS Regional Hubs

  11. Peer-to-peer support

  12. Master teachers • Run low-cost training events for teachers • Speak at events • Visit teachers in schools • Active members of CAS Community

  13. Summary Computing At School started as a vehicle for advocacy to promote CS in school. CAS is a true “community of practice” Curriculum change has happened (in England) and growth is very rapid! CAS : “There is no THEM, only US” Our professional development model (NoE) is holistic – a local, peer-to-peer, face-to-face model… empowering enthusiastic teachers

  14. Questions for discussion CAS teachers will be asked to volunteer to test the materials. Questions they will ask… • What level of commitment is needed from the participating teachers? • What level of skill/background will they (teachers) need to have to participate in the project? • At what age group (students) are the materials to be aimed? • What are the benefits for the participating teachers?

More Related