June 6, 2004

COMPUTER SCIENCE COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION TEACHERS ASSOCIATION REPORT FOR ACM’s SIGSREPORT FOR ACM’s SIGS

John White

ACM CEO

October, 2004 John White 2

Crisis in High School CSCrisis in High School CS Shrinking pipeline Underrepresented populations No national curriculum standards States are decertifying CS teachers Teachers feel isolated and in need of community No opportunities for skills upgrading No strong voice that can educate administrators,

legislators, and congressional committees about issues affecting the growth of IT

18,000 high school computing teachers in US alone with no discipline-based representation

October, 2004 John White 3

The ACM K-12 Task ForceThe ACM K-12 Task Force

ACM formed the K-12 Task Force in 1999 to identify and address pressing needs within K-12 computer science education

The success of its projects built credibility with K-12 educators, but also underscored the complexity and depth of the challenges

It became clear that a national organization that would speak explicitly to K-12 CS education was required

October, 2004 John White 4

CSTA In GestationCSTA In Gestation In January 2004, ACM provided funding to begin

the organizational work for CSTA with the goal of being member-ready by January 2005

In September ACM Council voted to establish CSTA as a limited liability company of ACM

Many existing projects (from the K-12 Task Force) are being transitioned to the new organization

Both project-based and sustainability funding are being sought from multiple sources

October, 2004 John White 5

Current Status of CSTACurrent Status of CSTA Steering Committee:

– A Steering committee of CS educators from all levels has been formed and has met twice to begin the work of forming the association

Committees:– Standing committees have been formed and are already working

on major initiatives in essential areas including: membership, curriculum, research, and professional development

Bylaws:– By-laws have been drafted and have been accepted by ACM

Council

October, 2004 John White 6

Status of CSTA Status of CSTA continuedcontinued

Planning:– A draft five-year plan has been written

Presence:– Logo has been designed– Website has been designed

Promotion:– Several presentations have been held or are planned for major

educational conferences (NECC, SIGCSE, TCEA, MACUL)– Corporate funding kit has been developed– Several proposals are now under consideration by potential

corporate sponsors

October, 2004 John White 7

CSTA Mission StatementCSTA Mission Statement

The Computer Science Teachers Association is a membership organization that supports and promotes the teaching of computer science and other computing disciplines by providing opportunities for teachers and students to better understand the computing disciplines and to more successfully prepare themselves to teach and to learn.

October, 2004 John White 8

CSTA ScopeCSTA Scope

High schools (all aspects of computer science and the computing disciplines)

K-8 (introducing problem solving and algorithmic thinking)

College/university (improving transition and increasing mentorship opportunities)

Business and industry (pipeline and career issues)

October, 2004 John White 9

Ongoing ProjectsOngoing Projects

ACM K-12 Computer Science CurriculumJETTCSTA Research InitiativeCS & IT SymposiaPartnership Initiatives

October, 2004 John White 10

K-12 CS CURRICULUMK-12 CS CURRICULUM

Document in print after multiple feedback loops and endorsement by ACM’s Education Board

Major conference presentations (SIGCSE, NECC)

Articles published (Learning & Leading with Technology, AP Central)

Cooperative work on grants (NJIT, UNB)

October, 2004 John White 11

JETT JETT (Java Engagement for Teacher Training)(Java Engagement for Teacher Training)

By Christmas, there will have been over 40 Java workshops for local high school teachers hosted by university sites and involving College Board consultants, faculty, and ACM student chapters

A part time organizer manages site recruitment and promotion, registration, evaluation

A volunteer steering committee reviews every formal application

A comprehensive web page serves as a highly effective organizational and promotional tool

A new evaluation tool and process that will improve data collection is under development

October, 2004 John White 12

Research InitiativeResearch Initiative

CSTA is now conducting a national survey of high school CS educators focusing on key issues such as:– Curriculum standards– Teacher certification– Course availability– Enrollment patterns– Gender equity

October, 2004 John White 13

CS & IT Symposia CS & IT Symposia For the last five years this one-day symposium has been

presented in conjunction with a major educational computing conference

It provides professional development for 100 teachers each year, attracting the highest caliber of presenters and educators

It has been hosted in partnership by ACM and ISTE and funded by Microsoft for 4 years

In 2005 there will be two Symposia held in conjunction with SIGSCE and NECC

CSTA is also working with the SIGCSE conference committee

October, 2004 John White 14

Partnership ProjectsPartnership Projects CSTA is working with the following organizations:

– SIGCSE conference chairs to ensure that we can enrich all aspects of the teachers’ experience at SIGCSE

– College Board on the JETT project – NCWIT on gender equity initiatives– New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of

Nebraska on grant initiatives to develop curriculum materials

– ISTE on the CS & IT Symposia

October, 2004 John White 15

Funding Funding Discussions are underway with several corporations

but there are several challenges. Corporations:– do not provide sustainability funding– want to fund projects that support their own product or marketing

initiatives Several partnership and grant opportunities are

being explored but there are several challenges. Grant organizations:– Have little interest in supporting computer science education– Require significant staff time (research, writing) up front – Want organizations to prove sustainability beyond funding– Take a very long time to make a decision

October, 2004 John White 16

What Can the SIGS Do? What Can the SIGS Do?

Provide funding to help us sustain the emergence of CSTA

Help promote CSTA in SIG publications and at SIG events

October, 2004 John White 17

How Would This Benefit SIGS?How Would This Benefit SIGS? Everyone in ACM understands the importance of

supporting computer science education and supporting this organization will go a long way toward addressing essential educational issues

CSTA provides ACM with a chance to be the national voice of the discipline for high schools

Working with CSTA can provide greater visibility for the SIGS among an important audience

It will make you feel good