STEM
U California San Diego Develops Sustainable Computer Science Classes for K-12
The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
at the University of California, San Diego is undertaking a three-year initiative to help three school districts in the region
keep their computer science courses up-to-date with rapid changes in
technology.
The initiative, called Computer Science —
Creating a Village for Educators (CS-CaVE), has received a $1 million grant
from the National Science Foundation to
address the disparity between rates of change in the technology industry and
K-12 computer science curricula. States conduct major revisions of their
curriculum standards approximately once each decade, whereas advances in the
computer science industry occur every few months or years. To address this
challenge, UC San Diego will work with Sweetwater Union High School
District, Vista Unified School
District and San
Diego Unified School District to "develop model 'villages' for introducing
and sustaining up-to-date computer science courses in their curriculum,"
according to information from the university.
Through the program, UC San Diego will provide the districts with timely
updates to course content and work with master teachers in the districts, who
can then share the information with other teachers in the district. According
to the university, CS-CaVE will use nationally proven curriculum, including one
developed through UC San Diego Computer Science Principles (CSP) pilot program
and activities from other proven programs, such as the "Hour of Code." The program will also provide
master teachers with in-person and virtual peer support.
The CS-CaVE program builds on UC San Diego's Computing Principles for All
Student's Success (ComPASS) program, which supported teachers who wanted to
teach computer science principles in their schools.
Further information about CS-CaVE can be found on the program's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.