If you haven’t heard, The Computer Science for All (CSforAll) project in Springfield, which began in the district last year, is moving full steam ahead. We’re in our second year of implementation now and it’s continuing to grow.  

As our world is changing, we want to make sure we are preparing our students for the future by strenghting thier problem solving and computational thinking skills. These skills are paramount for our students to be successful whether they are going to college or getting started in the workforce.  

To recap to our previous year, CSforAll Springfield is a four-year project which started during the 2018-2019 school year.  UMASS Amherst, in partnership with Springfield Public Schools (SPS), was awarded a $2 million National Science Foundation grant which aims to bring researchers and SPS teachers together for a common purpose – creating Kindergarten through 5^th grade lessons integrated with computer science standards that all teachers can use, even if they don’t have a computer science background. 

Last year, we had a group of our very own SPS teachers leading the work by coordinating many areas of the project.  From coordinating activities and guiding the lesson development, to conducting professional learning sessions and working with task teams, our coordinators worked tirelessly to make sure it covered all of the details.  We also brought together eight Kindergarten and eight third grade teachers who worked in pairs called design teams to develop lessons integrated with computer science standards.  At the same time, researchers worked with the coordinators and teachers to give feedback on the lessons and to see how teachers were collaborating.  

For the 2019-2020 school year, the project is even more exciting and intense.  The Kindergarten and third grade lessons already developed will be available to all Kindergarten and third grade teachers throughout the district.  Professional development and support by the coordinators will also be provided to help teachers learn more about computer science.  Researchers too will analyze data collected last year and preparing reports to share with all members of the group in addition to continuing with their research throughout the year. 

New this year is the addition of eight first grade and eight fourth grade teachers who signed up to be part of the lesson design team.  These teachers will develop lessons across content areas, integrating computer science standards.  Like the Kindergarten and third grade design team members, this group will also receive professional development, support from coordinators and researchers, and time to plan, deliver, and reflect on their lessons as they build them.

Next year will follow a plan similar to the 2019-2020 school year and we will soon be looking for a new group of teachers to sign up to develop second and fifth grade lessons with computer science standards weaved in.  If you would like to learn more, let us know at DLA support.  And stay tuned for more information about joining this important project to help all students become prepared for college and the workforce.  

This post was co-written with Denise Matuszcak from OITA