New Report to improve how computer science is taught

Posted by on January 15, 2007

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

NEW REPORT TO IMPROVE HOW COMPUTER SCIENCE IS TAUGHT

A new report issued today by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) provides policymakers, educators, and business leaders with comprehensive strategies to ensure that computer science education plays a central role in the current national debate about America?s competitiveness in the global economy. This new report provides a checklist of steps to successfully implement a computer science education program. It also includes a “school-level reality check” for those responsible for implementing computer science education, and describes how to identify the intended outcomes of the curriculum. These tools help make the case for its importance to those who make scheduling and staffing decisions. “The New Educational Imperative: Improving High School Computer Science” gathers important findings about computer science education. For example: (1) Only 26 percent of U.S. schools require students to take computer science courses, even though computers pervade nearly every aspect of our lives; (2) Lack of time in students? schedules is cited as the reason for declining enrollment in high school courses; and (3) Computer science education is plagued by public misperceptions including a students? misunderstanding that it is all about playing video games and surfing the Internet.

http://csta.acm.org/Publications/Publications.html#dbottom