[CS4HS] Proposal for a 5/6 study

[PC]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for this.  The VITTA Committee of Management has a 2012 Planning
Day meeting this weekend.  Are you comfortable with the idea that I table
the proposal as a draft for consideration?  I'm sure the proposal will be
one that will one that will promote valuable discussion both as Unit 5/6
proposal but also of computational thinking in the earlier curriculum.

Best wishes

Phil 


Phil Callil 
President and Conference Director 2012
Victorian IT Teachers Association (VITTA)
Australia's largest IT in Education organization
www.vitta.org.au  







 

On 30/11/11 11:54 AM, "Steven Bird" <sb at csse.unimelb.edu.au> wrote:

>Dear workshop participants,
>
>Thanks for making last week's CS4HS workshop a success!  The
>presentations and discussions were all really stimulating and
>productive.  As we reflected on the workshop today, we sensed a real
>consensus amongst this group that the present state of affairs with IT
>in the secondary curriculum is in need of renewal, and that we are on
>the cusp of something quite new and exciting.  There was unanimity in
>wanting to inject the curriculum with rigorous computational content,
>and we want to define challenging and meaningful standards for
>computational thinking in which the curriculum itself is the driver,
>rather than the technical prowess of particular teachers and students.
>
>We think that the workshop format is a good one, and propose a
>follow-up workshop early in first semester of 2012 to keep up the
>momentum.  In particular, we would like to explore the possibility of
>a unit 5 and 6 study in Computer Science, and are starting to talk
>with the VCAA senior management to seek their backing and lay out a
>consultative process that could lead to a new secondary curriculum of
>the kind we have been discussing.
>
>The proposal for a new study at the 5/6 level is based on the
>following considerations:
>
>* The Minister of Education's announcement (today), that he has "asked
>the VCAA to accelerate the development of a new VCE study that will
>provide students with the opportunity to conduct independent extended
>research and to work with our universities to investigate new forms of
>extension studies for our brightest students", and his challenge that:
>"ICT should be used to build the 21st century capabilities our
>students will require -- to go beyond given information, to give
>opportunities to use higher order thinking skills, real time analysis,
>and predictive and modelling activities" (Victoria as a Learning
>Community, State of Victoria 2011)
>
>* The need to avoid the politics of the national curriculum including
>uncertainties with the timeline (potentially 2016 before the
>implementation of a senior secondary curriculum).  We don't need to
>wait and see, but instead we can work directly with VCAA, and develop
>a 5/6 sequence starting now.
>
>* The likely university-level interest in delivering Computer Science
>content in the secondary curriculum, and displaying what kinds of
>aptitudes are desirable for tertiary IT degrees.  Done well, this
>offers to boost numbers in those degrees at the earliest stage
>possible, as opposed to innovations in the primary or junior secondary
>curriculum, or waiting for the implementation of the Australian
>Curriculum in this field.  This also leaves the 3/4 IT Applications
>subject in place, since it plays a valid role in helping students who
>go into business degrees.
>
>* The fact that Computer Science is a well-defined body of knowledge
>(unlike Digital Technology, or Computational Thinking), and that
>tertiary providers should be able to identify a semester of common
>content across their degrees.
>
>* The likely attractiveness of a 5/6 study in IT that offers
>accelerated pathways at university, and which students could do
>instead of an extra 3/4 study (e.g. one 3/4 study at year 11, three
>3/4 studies and one 5/6 study at year 12).
>
>* The opportunity for a 5/6 Computer Science study design to blaze a
>trail, serving as a model for the later content of a corresponding 3/4
>study.  In particular, the opportunity to address the stark gender gap
>by developing content that appeals to female students.
>
>If this idea meets with approval, we would seek to run another
>workshop early in first semester of 2012, focussing on this 5/6 study.
>
>In addition to this, we don't want to lose sight of the need for new
>input on computational thinking in the F-10 curriculum.  Two of our
>workshop participants will be at the ACARA meeting (National
>Technologies Forum) in Sydney next Monday, strongly promoting the need
>for computational thinking in the earlier curriculum.  We would like
>to wait and see what kind of traction this gets in ACARA, then
>possibly run a workshop on computational thinking in the F-10
>curriculum during second semester.
>
>Such a workshop could call for contributions of modules at two agreed
>levels (e.g. year 5 and year 9), designed to connect with the national
>curriculum in English, Maths, History, and Science.  In the workshop,
>we would hope to go beyond static content to demonstrations of what
>computational thinking actually looks like in the classroom.
>
>These are our initial ideas about how to keep the ball rolling in
>2012.  Please let us have your thoughts.
>
>Thanks,
>
>-Steven & Paula
>
>_______________________________________________
>http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe