Australian Catholic University creates lasting success   through partnerships   

 

Challenge   

    About the organization  ● ● ●

http://www.acu.edu.au  Publicly funded university with seven  campuses and 32,000 students  Home of Australia’s largest teacher  training program and one of the only  training programs for computer  science teachers 

 

What they wanted to do  ●

● ●

Create professional development  resources for computer science  teachers-in-training in accordance  with ​Australia’s national technology  curriculum  Extend the impact of their program to  reach a global audience  Foster a strong community of  computer science teachers 

Today, an estimated ​75 percent​ of Australian jobs in fast-growing  industries, such as technology and healthcare, require skills in science,  technology, engineering and math (STEM). In response to this need, the  Australian government revamped its mandatory primary and secondary  school ​technology curriculum​ in 2015.  Mandated technology curricula are successful when educators are  prepared to teach concepts like ​computational thinking​ — the ability to  confidently and logically process complex, open-ended problems in the  classroom and in everyday life. Despite the need accelerated by the  Australian mandate, few universities offer training programs for teachers  to learn computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS).   Another related challenge is a lack of community for aspiring and existing  CS educators. Many primary and secondary schools only have one CS  teacher, who might have responsibilities in other subjects, too. It’s  therefore crucial to connect educators with their peers at other schools  so they can exchange lesson plans, trade ideas and discuss common  challenges. 

“Google's CS4HS funding allowed us to create  comprehensive CS professional development resources and  build an extremely valuable network of educators all moving  toward the same goal of improving the quality of computer  science education in Australian schools.” 

 

What they did  ● ●

Developed three free MOOCs to train  computer science teachers  Formed online and in-person  communities for computer science  teachers to exchange ideas, share  lesson plans and solve common  classroom challenges. 

What they accomplished  Trained thousands of computer science  teachers in Australia, helping them feel  more confident and excited to teach  computer science  

— Leanne Cameron, an Educational Studies lecturer at Australian  Catholic University   

Solution    ACU offers Australia’s largest pre-service teacher training program and  was early to recognize the need for better trained CS educators. In 2015,  the university applied for funding from Google’s ​CS4HS program​ to  develop a new compulsory course for all Bachelor of Education Primary 

MOOCs Developed  1.

2.

3.

CSER F-6 Digital Technologies:  Foundations​: Covers topics such as  data representation, digital systems,  information systems, algorithms and  programming, and visual programs  CSER F-6 Digital Technologies:  Extended​: Covers topics such as  algorithms and programming, as well  as connections to English and math  Years 7 & 8 Digital Technologies: Next  Steps​: Covers topics such as data and  visualization, maker spaces and apps 

     

School teachers. The open-source course trains teachers in Australia’s  new Digital Technologies Curriculum with a focus on CT and CS. In 2016,  ACU applied for CS4HS funding to develop a second course, which trains  secondary school teachers in the new curriculum and practice, and  includes a scalable online delivery module.  ACU leverages the expertise of fellow CS4HS recipients in Australia and  New Zealand to amplify their work. CS4HS funding allowed ACU to bring  Professor Tim Bell​,​ founder of​ ​CS Unplugged​, for hands-on workshops  with teachers in Australia. CS Unplugged provides free activities that  demonstrate effective ways of teaching CS and CT without a computer.  ACU also works with ​Adelaide University​, who developed ​MOOCs for K-8  teachers​ with local support from Google Australia, to create online  communities for teachers. The communities provide a space for both  pre-service teachers and those in the classroom to connect to share  practical activities, inspiration and encouragement. 

Benefits 

 

 

   

Achieving exponential scale 

 

By ​open-sourcing​ the ​pre-service training curriculum​, ACU gives other  universities a solid foundation upon which to create their own Bachelor  and Master of Education programs. Workshops and “​TeachMeets​”,  informal meetings organized by educators for educators, leverage the  work of partners like Adelaide University’s MOOCs and Tim Bell’s CS  Unplugged to help scale education and professional learning without  recreating workshop material and professional development resources.  

          Google CS4HS  CS4HS funding enables computer science  education experts to provide exemplary CS  professional development for teachers. The  funding focuses on three major growth  areas for teacher professional development  in computer science:  1.

2.

3.

Facilitating the development and  delivery of content that increases  teachers' knowledge of computer  science and computational thinking  Allowing educators to customize  learning content to meet local needs  and share best practices for engaging  all students  Building of communities of practice  that continue to support teacher  learning throughout the school year 

For more information on CS Professional  Development, visit ​www.cs4hs.com​ and  join our ​G+ Community​.

Many teachers who participate network with other educators, creating a  ripple effect of CS knowledge sharing. “Kathleen, who is a pre-service  teacher, attended one of our course meetups because she wanted to  learn basic technology skills,” says Leanne Cameron, an Educational  Studies lecturer at ACU. “Now, she leads workshops that support  teachers who are enrolled in the MOOC.” 

Creating a network of computer science teachers in Australia —  and beyond  ACU organizes networking and professional development events for  hundreds of teachers across Australia who are dedicated to improving CS  education in their local communities, and teachers often organize  meetups on their own and exchange ideas on social media. ​"I follow over  600 educators on Twitter, and browse hashtags like ​#​ozcschat​ or  #ictensw​ for ideas and articles. ​I also participate in ​#aussieED chats​,  formal discussions organized by a professional development  organization," says Kathleen O'Rourke, a pre-service teacher at Macquarie  University who recently completed ​CSER F-6 Digital Technologies:  Foundations​.  

Fostering a strong foundation in computational thinking   

ACU’s courses are designed to do more than teach a theoretical level of  CS: they teach educators how to foster CT skills. “A lot of students are  able to perform basic computer functions, but they don’t know how to 

 

apply computational thinking to real-world problems,” says Cameron.  Teachers are trained to help students develop this mindset.  

 

Developing real-life problem-solving skills  The courses include practical assignments, such as the ​CS Unplugged  activities. Teachers are encouraged to try different approaches to  learning — for example, experimenting with small robotics, circuitry and  other hands-on hardware. Early results from ACU’s evaluation process  show that teachers are more likely to use hands-on CS lesson plans in the  classroom after they try these activities themselves. Lecturers and guest  speakers emphasize that educators can be impactful in CS education  without being an expert. It’s much more important to employ a mindset of  computational thinking: be curious, take risks and try new things. 

         

 

                                             

 

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Australian Catholic University creates lasting success through ...

Steps​: Covers topics such as data and visualization, maker spaces and apps. Google CS4HS. CS4HS funding enables computer science education experts to provide exemplary CS professional development for teachers. The funding focuses on three major growth areas for teacher professional development in computer ...

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