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IIT Boeing Scholars Academy: Bringing computer science to all students in Chicago

Boeing Scholars Academy, part of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), has a year-round STEM program for Chicago high school students, as well as teacher development programs. They are trying to figure out how to do more in Chicago where there are race, class and neighborhood divisions.

Type of School

Afterschool Program

Grade Level

9-12

Location

Chicago, IL

Project Team

Jerry
Doyle

Ross
Ludwig

Renee
Albrecht-Mallinger

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Define

A clear, human-centered and open-ended design challenge

Design Challenge

How might we help teachers respond to the Chicago Public Schools computer science (CS) mandate — the requirement that in three years, all high schools will offer a computer science course as a part of their core curriculum — so that they feel prepared, confident, and empowered?

Project Pitch

The Boeing Scholars Academy - in collaboration with our Bronzeville and Chicago-based learning partners - will be helping teachers respond to the Chicago Public School mandate that all high schools will offer a computer science curriculum within the next three-years. We launch this initiative so that teachers will feel empowered, confident, prepared and proactive. We seek to bridge the out-of-school time STEM related resources with in-school learning.

Explore

A new understanding of your design challenge

Key Observation

"You can constantly create something - channel new stuff. It's constantly evolving." Teachers' emotional, physical, social, identity, and communication needs have some common themes: when they need to teach a lesson, answer a question, or seek help, they want to be close to the solution. Classrooms require systems and routines to run smoothly. Teachers want to build strong content knowledge before they start teaching computer science.

Exploration Plan

To understand our challenge, we engaged people at who engage with technology and learning in different capacities - those who run technology & computer science camps, professors, community leaders, and friends & colleagues. We also interviewed and observed teachers who teach computer science.

Reflect

A clear direction for solving for your design challenge

Design Principles

Must be real, relevant, and valuable
Must be reasonable for teachers and students
Must work in a high school classroom
Must fit within the framework of Rahm's proposal

Insights

There's interest in teaching computer science with a project-based approach. Teachers with little programming experience are excited & nervous, but they will be more comfortable if they have training, access to resources with enough time to learn to use them & a supportive community of fellow teachers - preferably in the same building as others teaching the same content. There's no one-size-fits-all solution - while some teachers "embrace the chaos," others stick to traditional approaches.

Imagine

An exciting idea that will positively impact people's experiences

Concept Summary

STE[A]M + Pop Up CS would be an easily replicable activity requiring minimal resources that could possibly be facilitated by volunteers and set up in a public place where anyone who happens to come by could get just a little taste of CS. This kind of activity would generate interest and excitement about Computer Science for people of all ages and backgrounds. We are currently testing these activities, as well as CS lesson plans, in the classroom.

The New Experience

To help teachers respond, we need to decide how best to reach students. One of the biggest concerns of potential CS teachers was not knowing what to teach or how to teach it. If we can develop, pilot, and publish a curriculum that works in a high school classroom but is flexible enough to extend to grade school and extracurricular settings, teachers might feel better prepared to to teach a computer science course.

Play

A prototype of your idea that has been tested and validated

Design Prototype

Solution Evolution

Because Jerry, Ross, and I can't usually co-locate, we took divergent paths through the Play phase of TD4Ed. We worked on Pop Up CS prototypes, teacher and trainer professional development, extracurricular applications, and classroom instruction. We had a "Eureka" moment: We spotted an opportunity to run an elective course with two teachers, and saw Pop Up CS was the perfect opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning to diverse audience in a summative, project-based assessment.

Transform

A meaningful solution and new problem-solving approach

Next Steps

We're designing a small-scale pilot CS course that we can share with other educators, both in and out of school. We see this as an opportunity to set the tone for computer science education in Chicago - a real, relevant, and valuable experience that engages students, teachers, and the community at large.

Project Link

https://vimeo.com/thebif/review/104722420/4c9b1034bb

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