From: Diane Levitt, Cornell Tech Sr. Director of K12 Education (06/03/16)
PS/IS 217 has been admitted into the NYC Dept. of Education's Elementary School Computer Science Pilot! Over 115 schools applied for approximately 10 slots.
As the elementary component of CS For All's Software Engineering Program (SEP), the curriculum is known as SEP Jr. According to the DOE:
The goals of the program are to increase the number of elementary school students, particularly from traditionally underrepresented groups, who learn computer science, and to develop students’ computational thinking and problem solving skills in real-world contexts...SEP Jr. will help schools to introduce technology as a tool for creative expression and problem solving through the use of tablets, computers and robots. SEP Jr. will introduce students to fundamental CS topics that will prepare them for the transition to more advanced computing in middle and high school while developing skills that are useful across subject areas, such as collaboration and persistence.
SEP Jr. is the DOE's first major elementary school program in CS For All, the mayor's 10-year public/private partnership to integrate computing education at all schools. Cornell Tech could not be prouder of PS/IS 217 for winning a spot in the pilot.
Learn more: http://cs4all.nyc/academic-programs/software-engineering-program-jr/
PS/IS 217 has been admitted into the NYC Dept. of Education's Elementary School Computer Science Pilot! Over 115 schools applied for approximately 10 slots.
As the elementary component of CS For All's Software Engineering Program (SEP), the curriculum is known as SEP Jr. According to the DOE:
The goals of the program are to increase the number of elementary school students, particularly from traditionally underrepresented groups, who learn computer science, and to develop students’ computational thinking and problem solving skills in real-world contexts...SEP Jr. will help schools to introduce technology as a tool for creative expression and problem solving through the use of tablets, computers and robots. SEP Jr. will introduce students to fundamental CS topics that will prepare them for the transition to more advanced computing in middle and high school while developing skills that are useful across subject areas, such as collaboration and persistence.
SEP Jr. is the DOE's first major elementary school program in CS For All, the mayor's 10-year public/private partnership to integrate computing education at all schools. Cornell Tech could not be prouder of PS/IS 217 for winning a spot in the pilot.
Learn more: http://cs4all.nyc/academic-programs/software-engineering-program-jr/
About SEPjr - Software Engineering Program, Junior
SEPjr. is a high-quality computer science pilot program for K to 5 students that balances rigorous and meaningful direct instruction with open-ended creative computing. Teachers and students engage in foundational computer science concepts through teacher-directed lessons and the application of computer science through open-ended creative computing platforms, such as Scratch, robotics and maker education. The SEPjr. curriculum aligns with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards.
The first cohort of the pilot includes teams of 3-7 teachers from 11 schools across the five boroughs. The teacher teams consists of one lead teacher per grade level or grade band (K-2 and 3-5) and a collaborating technology teacher where available. Teachers are provided extensive professional development to prepare them to offer a scope and sequence to engage all grades while giving them the flexibility to focus on a grade band implementation. Additionally, administrators plays an active role in supporting the implementation of SEPjr. and of computer science as a core academic subject in his/her school.
SEPjr. is a high-quality computer science pilot program for K to 5 students that balances rigorous and meaningful direct instruction with open-ended creative computing. Teachers and students engage in foundational computer science concepts through teacher-directed lessons and the application of computer science through open-ended creative computing platforms, such as Scratch, robotics and maker education. The SEPjr. curriculum aligns with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards.
The first cohort of the pilot includes teams of 3-7 teachers from 11 schools across the five boroughs. The teacher teams consists of one lead teacher per grade level or grade band (K-2 and 3-5) and a collaborating technology teacher where available. Teachers are provided extensive professional development to prepare them to offer a scope and sequence to engage all grades while giving them the flexibility to focus on a grade band implementation. Additionally, administrators plays an active role in supporting the implementation of SEPjr. and of computer science as a core academic subject in his/her school.
SEPjr at 217:
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The four primary units of SEPjr at 217:
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217 Software Engineering Curriculum |
The Software Engineering Program curriculum is designed to create a comprehensive yearlong implementation of computer science for elementary schools. Comprising of four primary units — Computer Science Fundamentals, Robots, Project Based Learning and Physical Computing — students will use a variety of content and activities to build a greater understanding of computational concepts and practices. Three additional units allow students to explore computer science through other content areas, community building and more advanced concepts.
Students in grades K-2 will:
- construct and test problem solutions
- create a design document to illustrate thoughts, ideas, and stories in sequential order
- construct step-by-step instructions to accomplish a task / evaluation
- practice responsible digital citizenship by using technology appropriately
- form a basic understanding of how information is saved and shared
- use logical reasoning to predict the behavior of simple programs
- recognize common uses of computer science in the community and world at large
- understand the impacts of technology in their everyday lives
Students in grades 3-5 will:
- use teamwork and collaboration to solve problems
- understand that computer programming is an iterative process
- understand the impacts of computing on society
- gather, manipulate, and evaluate data to explore a real-world problem
- build and/or program with physical computing devices
- understand technology networks and how they work