The Reimagining CS Pathways: High School and Beyond project has the long-term goal of articulating a shared vision for introductory high school CS instruction that could be used to fill a high school graduation requirement as well as the alignment between that content and the two AP CS courses and college-level CS courses.

In the past four years, the proportion of US high schools offering at least one computer science (CS) course increased from one-third to one-half, and more growth is expected. Simultaneously, the field of computer science has shifted significantly and we have continued to learn more about what it means to teach computer science with equitable outcomes in mind. One challenge in CS education is ensuring that curriculum and pedagogy adapt to these shifting grounds; it is easy to imagine the frustration of a student who discovers that their high school CS instruction has left them poorly prepared for future opportunities to learn computer sciences.

The goal of Reimagining CS Pathways, an NSF-funded project, is to address this issue by improving alignment between various high school and post-seconday CS courses. We will convene representatives from K-12 ed, higher ed, and industry in the U.S. to develop community definitions of (1) what CS content is essential for all high school graduates and (2) pathways for continued CS learning.

Our research questions for this project are:

  1. What are the gaps between the anticipated shifts in CS education at postsecondary institutions over the next 5-7 years and the current state of high school CS education curriculum?
  2. How might the standards be constructed to build appropriate pathways that accurately reflect high school students’ thinking and learning?
  3. How can we measure the standards and resultant pathways to determine if they are usable by, and effective with, various states, districts and schools, particularly as they are implemented in realistic contexts?

Our primary objectives are:

  1. To make recommendations for revisions to CSTA K-12 Standards and AP CS courses.
  2. To clarify alignment of and develop model pathways for CS courses, including content that fulfills a high school graduation requirement, introductory postsecondary CS courses, and AP CS courses.

We will meet these objectives by facilitating the process with over three dozen people within the community, including members of the steering committee, the advisory board, and K-12 educators, faculty at postsecondary institutions, and industry. This will be accomplished with convenings, focus groups, and materials review by community members.

Team Members

Dr. Monica McGill
Bryan Twarek (PI)
Computer Science Teachers Association
Director of Education		 Dr. Monica McGill (Co-PI)
CSEdResearch.org
Founder & CEO		 Dr. Julie M. Smith
CSEdResearch.org
Senior Education Researcher

 

Advisory Board

Adrienne Decker
Associate Professor
University at Buffalo (SUNY)		 Deborah Seehorn
Past Chair
CSTA Board of Directors		 Delmar Wilson
Teacher
Miami Springs Senior High

 

Steering Committee

Tom Cortina
Education Board and Education Advisory Committee		 Jamila Cocchiola
Senior Curriculum Development Manager		 Leigh Ann Delyser
Executive Director		 Sarah Dunton
Director		 Crystal Furman
Director, AP Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

 

Collaborators

 

 

 

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This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2311746. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.