A presentation by Hal Speed (TACSE) and Carol Fletcher (Center for STEM Education) in October 2015 at the TASA conference.

1. The K-12 Computer
Science Imperative
TASA TASB
2 October 2015
@HalSpeed @TACSEd
@drfletcher88 @trcollaborative

2. Texas Required High School Curriculum
 English language arts (5)
 Mathematics (5)
 Science (6)
 Social Studies (5)
 Physical Education (2)
 Fine Arts (8)
 Career and Technical Education (12)
 Language Other than English (3)
 Speech (1)…
2

3. 74.3(b)(2)(I) Tech App Curriculum Requirement – every district must offer, and
74.3(b)(4) each student must have the opportunity to participate in the following:
Computer Science I
AP Computer Scienceor
At least two (2) of the following:
• Computer Science III
• Digital Art and Animation
• Digital Communications in the 21st
Century
• Digital Design and Media
Production
• Digital Forensics
• Digital Video and Audio Design
• Discrete Mathematics for
Computer Science
• Fundamentals of Computer Science
• Game Programming and Design
• Independent Study in
Evolving/Emerging Technologies
• Independent Study in Technology
Applications
• Mobile Application Development
• Robotics Programming and Design
• 3-D Modeling and Animation
• Web Communications
• Web Design
• Web Game Development
Computer Science II
…and Technology Applications (4)
3 Source: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html

4. Index of Changing Work Tasks in the U.S. Economy 1960-2009
4 Source: http://content.thridway.org/publications/714/Dancing-With-Robots.pdf
IndexValue:1960=50

5. 5
Muscle to Machine Mind to Machine

6. TACSE Objectives
6
“Traditional” CS
Students
Everyone Else,
the
“Digitally Illiterate”
Digital Jobs
Everyone Becomes
“Literate” in the
Digital Society
1B
1A
Teach every
student the
foundational
understanding of
computer science
Increase
the number
of students
pursuing digital
careers

7. 7
Computer Science

8. 8
Computer Programming

9. 9
Software Implementation

10. 10

11. 11

12. 12 Source: Code.org

13. 13

14. 14

15. What Happened to Women in Computer Science?
15

16. 16 http://www.gallup.com/poll/184637/parents-students-computer-science-education-school.aspx

17. 17
http://csedu.gallup.com/home.aspx

18. Texas Computer Science Task Force
Met on Oct 8, 2014 at Austin
Chamber of Commerce
15 people representing CS
teachers, edtech business,
higher ed, TCEA, CTAT,
Code.org, College Board, ISD
leaders and policymakers
Built consensus around key
barriers and recommendations
Building the Texas
Computer Science Pipeline
Strategic Recommendations
for Success
Carol L. Fletcher, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
http://www.thetrc.org/computer-science-resources/
18

19. Texas Computer Science Task Force
19 Source: Carol Fletcher, Building the Texas Computer Science Pipeline
Provide weighted funding
for HS CS courses equal
to CTE courses
RECOMMENDATION #2

20. Texas Teacher Certification: Computer Science 8-12
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015*
Annual New Net Total
20
Source: https://secure.sbec.state.tx.us/Reports/prodrpts/rpt_edu_tchr_prod_counts.asp
* Sept 2014-Apr 2015, all other years Sept-Aug

21. Texas Teacher Certification: Computer Science 8-12
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015*
Annual New Net Total
21
Source: https://secure.sbec.state.tx.us/Reports/prodrpts/rpt_edu_tchr_prod_counts.asp
* Sept 2014-Apr 2015, all other years Sept-Aug

22. CS Offerings in Texas is Improving
Based on data obtained from Teacher FTE Counts
and Course Enrollment Reports
2013-14 2014-15
PEIMS # Course FTEs Student
Enrollment
FTEs Student
Enrollment
03580200 Computer
Science I
68.47 9,132 96.61 13,935
03580300 Computer
Science II
13.14 879 13.85 889
A3580100 AP Computer
Science A
51.54 5,572 55.28 6,322
TOTAL 133.15 15,583 165.74 21,146
Source: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/adhocrpt/adfte.html22

23. Computer Science is the Fastest Growing AP
Course of the 2010s
23 Source: Code.org, College Board

24. Professional Development Opportunities
 Sign up for CS Network to get the latest PD Opportunities for Texas
teachers @ http://www.thetrc.org/computer-science-resources/
 Central Texas Computer Science Collaborative
24

25. UT Austin sponsored Training Events
Date Event
October 12-13, 2015 Teach CS – prep session for teachers who are challenging the Grades 8-12 CS
teacher certification exam in Texas.
Spring, 2016 Keep Calm and Java On - Online training through Oracle Academy in Java. FREE
February 24-25, 2016 CS Primer – App Inventor, AP CS Principles, Resources for teaching CS, Developing
4-year course sequences
June 6-9, 2016 CS Summit
July 25-28, 2016 College Board AP Institute in partnership with TCU– Computer Science A
25
All TRC event details and registration found at www.thetrc.org/trc-events-2015-16/

26. Recommended Online Courses
 EdX – Beauty and Joy of Computing – training in AP CS Principles from
Berkeley University.
 EdX – MyCS - Harvey Mudd College’s online CS curriculum is designed
for classrooms ranging from middle to early high school.
 The University of Alabama – CS4HS – MOOC training in AP CS
Principles.
 Coming Soon: Teach CS – online course to prepare teachers for the
Texas CS certification exam.
26

27. Exploring Computer Science
 Human Computer Interaction
 Introduction to the concepts of computing
 Problem Solving
 Computational thinking
 Web Design
 Web page design
 Introduction to Programming
 Design programming solutions to a variety of problems
 Computer and Data Analysis
 Use computers to translate, process and visualize data
 Robotics
 Build and program a robot
exploringcs.org
27

28. AP CS Principles – 2016-2017
 Computational Thinking
Practices
1. Connecting Computing
2. Creating Computational
Artifacts
3. Abstracting
4. Analyzing Problems and
Artifacts
5. Communicating
6. Collaborating
apcsprinciples.org
 Big Ideas
1. Creativity
2. Abstraction
3. Data and Information
4. Algorithms
5. Programming
6. The Internet
7. Global Impact
28

29. AP Computer Science A AP Computer Science Principles
Curriculum is focused on object-oriented
programming and problem solving
Curriculum is built around fundamentals of
computing including problem solving, working
with data, understanding the internet, cyber
security, and programming
Java is the designated programming language Teachers choose the programming language(s)
Encourages skill development among students
considering a career in computer science and
other STEM fields
Encourages a broader participation in the
study of computer science and other STEM
fields
AP assessment experience
• Multiple-choice and free-response questions
(written exam)
AP assessment experience:
• Two performance tasks students complete
during the course to demonstrate the skills
they have developed (digital artifacts)
• Multiple-choice questions (written exam)
29

30. AP CSP Curricula
30
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~engage/
https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-computer-science
http://mobile-csp.org/
https://code.org/educate/csp
http://bjc.berkeley.edu/

31. TEA PEIMS Course 9 10 11 12 Prerequisite Certificates
03580140 Fundamentals of CS X X X X Proficiency in Tech Apps CS, Comp Info Sys
03580200 CS I X X X X Algebra I CS, Comp Info Sys
03580300 CS II X X Algebra I & either CS I or Fundamentals CS CS, Comp Info Sys
03580350 CS III X X CS II or AP CS CS, Comp Info Sys
03580380 Game Programming & Design X X X X Algebra I CS, Comp Info Sys, Tech App
03580390 Mobile App Development X X X X Proficiency in Tech Apps CS, Comp Info Sys, Tech App
03580820 Web Design X X X X None Tech App
03580830 Web Game Development X X Web Design (recommended) Tech App
13027600 Computer Programming X X X Keyboarding proficiency Any bus or office edu, CS, …
13027700 Advanced Computer Programming X X Computer Programming Any bus or office edu, CS, …
13027900 Web Technologies X X X Keyboarding proficiency and Prin IT or BIM Any bus or office edu, TA, …
N1300993 Video Game Design I, II, III X X X Art I, Digital Interactive Media or Animation
N1303768 CS and Software Engineering X X X X None
TBD CS Applications X X X CS and Software Engineering
A3580100 AP CS A X X X CS I or Algebra II
TBD AP CS Principles X X X X Algebra I
I3580200 IB Computer Science (SL) X X CS I or Algebra II
I3580300 IB Computer Science (HL) X X CS I or Algebra II
Certificates source: http://tea.texas.gov/Texas_Educators/Certification/ Source: https://www.austinisd.org/academics/ssig
31

32. CS High School Pathway Idea
Fundamentals of Computer Science
(e.g. Exploring Computer Science curriculum)
Java
Programming
• CS and/or
Computer
Programming
• AP CS A
AP Computer Science Principles (coming in 2016, optional)
Mobile App
Development
Web Design/
Technology
Game Design/
Development
Robotics
32

33. 33

34. texascomputerscience.weebly.com thetrc.org/computer-science-resources
34

35. TACSE Statewide Meeting
 October 14th, 6:00-9:00pm
 Embassy Suites – Houston Downtown
35
http://www.thetrc.org/tacse-statewide-meeting-fall-2015/
Dwayne Bohac
Texas State Representative,
District 138
Paula Harris
School Board Trustee in Houston ISD
Director of Community Affairs at Schlumberger
Donna Bahorich
Chair of the Texas State Board
of Education

36. Computer Science Education Week
7-13 December 2015
www.hourofcode.com

37. Thank You
37