Diverse learners, diverse courses, diverse projects: Learning from challenges in new directions
Several changes and reforms in teaching computer science have been proposed and championed as part of the CS10K initiative [1-4]. The CS Principles (CSP) project and the overarching CS10K initiative include a public/private partnership offering curricula, curricular frameworks, professional development, online support, and a community of practice to support individual and systemic reforms at scale. In this special session, we hear from those leading large CSP projects and from the teachers participating in these large projects. The session is designed to inform the education community of these efforts and to situate them in the context of understanding how a diversity of approaches to implementing the CSP framework is necessary to succeed with different and diverse student populations, schools, districts, and teachers. Knowledge of these approaches will help those teaching these students as they move from high school to college, bringing related but diverse experiences because of how each student is learning the material that is based on the same curricular framework. This framework is part of the CS Principles project, but the efforts we report on in this session realize the framework at different scales, in different populations, and with different pedagogical approaches. In this session the PIs on several CS Principles/CS10K initiatives will talk briefly and at a high-level about the projects they are leading, the approaches they are taking to scale their projects, and the curricula, pedagogy, and professional development they are employing to expand and enable teachers and students. Pilot teachers who are part of each of the projects will offer a different, on-the-ground perspective of how each approach is succeeding and the challenges faced from a teacher perspective. Outlining issues related to equity in the classroom, broadening participation, pedagogical approaches, and supporting diverse learners will be the responsibility of the leadership group from the CS Principles project. They will facilitate the discussion related to these diverse initiatives and call-on or represent pilot teachers from these different projects.
