COMPUTER SCIENCE

For the Computer Science is Elementary initiative, we will fuse computer science foundational skills with existing curricular content, technology tools, concepts, and resources in grades PreK-4th in year one and add in 5th & 6th grade in year two.  We want to make authentic learning so intrinsically engaging they don’t want to leave school. This initiative will further strengthen our charge to purposefully construct lessons that bring STEM concepts into our learning spaces. This will help every child develop essential skills such as logic, cause and effect, reasoning, problem solving, critical thinking, and executive functions as well as allow ample room for creativity and collaboration. These are all skills teachers, employers, and parents know need more fostering.

 

Bringing Computer Science into our elementary classrooms will strengthen our Iowa Core Standards, CS Standards, and foster growth in the Iowa Core 21st Century Technology Literacy Concepts and Skills. Computer Science is an important subject that all students should be exposed to throughout their career as a learner because it teaches resilience, sparks curiosity, engages and develops students’ abilities to solve problems while learning through failures.

Our Computer Science curriculum infusion will include an emphasis on both unplugged and plugged concepts and activities centered around computer programming (the process of writing and maintaining the source code of a computer). Learning programming empowers kids. It addresses multi-disciplinary standards in language learning, mathematics, science, and even the arts. Additionally, students immersed into computer science supports social/emotional learning (SEL). Coding puts children in control of the computer and through experimentation builds mastery in sequencing skills, counting, problem solving, logical thinking, cause and effect, and critical thinking. We want our students to be code literate so they can develop grit, a growth mindset, embrace “failing forward” and be engaged contributors and active creators in our digital society.