Teachers' experiences with a new high school computer science class

What is it about?

In this article, we describe a new introductory high school computer science course. We present how the course was developed and how it is intended to engage all types of students. In this course, students work on a societal problem that they select. They create digital products related to this problem. Teachers who taught the course describe their experiences with the course, including their successes and challenges.

Featured Image

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The curriculum presented in this paper has a goal of engaging all types of students by allowing them to work on a societal problem that they select. All technical computer science content is presented as a way to work on this problem. Sample problems selected by students include mental health issues, drugs in school, police brutality, drunk driving, college student debt, obesity, unemployment, and families separated at the border. It is our hope that if a broader set of students becomes interested in computer science at this early, introductory level, they will be motivated to take more computer science courses in the future, and perhaps pursue computer science college degrees and careers. Key elements of the course design include a) an inquiry-driven, collaborative, project-based learning (PBL) approach, and b) the inclusion of culturally authentic practices that support students' voice, choice, and sense of critical agency. Please see Gale et al., 2002 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-022-00071-9) for more information on the curriculum and critical student agency. Educators, researchers, and others interested in the course can find more information here: https://www.scc.ceismc.gatech.edu/