STEM/CS

STEM/CS

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, “STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education is an integrated, interdisciplinary, and student-centered approach to learning that encourages curiosity, creativity, artistic expression, collaboration, computational thinking, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and design thinking”. For more information on STEM in Pennsylvania, please visit PDE’s website below:

https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/STEM-Competition.aspx

IU1 offers a host of programs to support STEM and Computer Science through summer camps, Fab Labs, a Lending Library of physical coding tools, strategic planning for districts and workshops Links to more information on these programs follow:

Lending Library - Educators can enroll in professional development then borrow current digital  to use within their classroom, from robotics to screen printing.

 Lending Library | Curriculum and Instruction: https://www.iu1.org/departments/curriculum-and-instruction/lending-library

Summer Camps & Student Competitionshttps://sites.google.com/iu1.org/innovationanddesign/student-programs

Computer Science and Coding Workshops for Educators 

●     Code.org CS Fundamentals (K-5)

○     Computer science fosters creativity and teaches students critical thinking skills to become proactive learners, so elementary school is  the ideal time for students to be introduced to CS.  Code.org’s CS Fundamentals curriculum is completely FREE and is flexibly designed for teachers new to CS who want to offer accessible and equitable introductory CS courses to their students.  This full day professional development is facilitated by a Code.org, CS Fundamentals Certified Facilitator, Alyssa Moore.  During the session, teachers are provided a deep dive into the curriculum, explore various lessons pertaining to their particular grade level, and develop an implementation plan for bringing CS to their classroom.

Learn more at: https://code.org/educate/curriculum/elementary-school

●     Google CS First (grades 3-8)

○     Google developed CS First to provide teachers with everything they need to teach computer science.  This free curriculum is designed for students in grades 3-8  and includes engaging lessons for 1-hour and multi-day activities that make various cross-curricular connections.

                                    Learn more at: https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/s/en/home

●     CMU CS Academy (grades 9-12)

○     CMU CS Academy is a novel, world-class, online, interactive high school computer science curriculum that is entirely free.  The CS1 curriculum is designed for students in 8th or 9th grade with algebra readiness skills.  CMU developed this curriculum on the notion that learning about programming and CS should be fun and engaging!  This 2-day professional development series is facilitated by a CMU CS Academy Certified Trainer, Alyssa Moore.  These sessions will provide a deep dive into the curriculum, as well as cover topics that include: CS pedagogy, collaborating in a CS classroom, empowering student creativity, and differentiating CS instruction for students with disabilities.

Learn more at: https://academy.cs.cmu.edu/splash

SCRIPT  Training - The Strategic CSforALL Resource &  Implementation Planning Tool is a framework to guide educators through a series exercises to create a computer science education implementation plan for their students.

SCRIPT Program: https://www.csforall.org/projects_and_programs/script/

Aquaponics Collaborative- a consortium of schools implementing a variety of innovative educational aquaponics programs K-12: https://sites.google.com/iu1.org/sw-pa-aquaponics-collaborative/home

Fab Labs are places for learning and innovation using digital technologies and software. Please visit the link below for information on classes or scheduling a visit at your site.

https://www.iu1.org/departments/curriculum-and-instruction/fablab/index

Alyssa Moore
Curriculum Specialist
724-938-3241 ext. 239
alyssa.moore@iu1.org
 
Sarah D'Urzo
Coordinator of Innovation and Design
724-938-3241 ext. 260
sarah.durzo@iu1.org