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1. CSAwesome: AP CSA curriculum and professional development (practical report)

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3421590.3421593  

   Ericson, Barbara; Hoffman, Beryl; Rosato, Jennifer (October 2020, Proceedings of the 15th Workshop on Primary and Secondary Computing Education)

   null (Ed.)

   CSAwesome is a new approved curriculum and professional development (PD) provider for the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) A high school course. AP courses are taken by secondary (typically ages 14-19) students for college placement and/or credit. CSAwesome's free curriculum and teacher resources were developed in 2019 by adapting the CSA Java Review ebook on the open-source Runestone platform. The goals of CSAwesome are to broaden participation in the AP CSA course and to support new-to-CS students and teachers as they transition from the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) course to the AP CSA course by using inclusive teaching practices and curriculum design. The AP CSP course is equivalent to a first course for non-majors at the college level, while the AP CSA course is equivalent to a first course for majors. Currently, AP CSA attracts a much less diverse student body than AP CSP. This new curriculum supports student engagement and scaffolded learning through an interactive ebook with embedded executable and modifiable code (Active Code), a variety of practice types with immediate feedback, and adaptable mixed-up code (Parsons) problems. Collaborative learning is encouraged through pair programming and groupwork. Our pilot Professional Development (PD) incorporates inclusive teaching strategies and active recruitment with the goal of broadening participation in CSA. This paper presents the design of the CSAwesome curriculum and teacher professional development and initial results from the curriculum use and pilot PD during the first year of CSAwesome. 

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2. CSAwesome: A Free Curriculum and Ebook for Advanced Placement Computer Science A (CS1 in Java)

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432504  

   Hoffman, Beryl; Ericson, Barbara (March 2021, Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   null (Ed.)

   This hands-on online workshop will introduce high school and college instructors to CSAwesome, a free Java curriculum and ebook at course.csawesome.org for the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) A course. This course is equivalent to a college-level CS1 course in Java. CSAwesome is an official College Board approved curriculum and professional development provider and has been widely adopted by AP high school teachers. The free ebook on the Runestone platform includes executable Java code examples and a variety of practice problems with immediate feedback: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, write-code, mixed-up code (Parsons), and clickable code. It also includes coding challenges and support for pair programming. The curriculum is designed to help transition students from AP Computer Science Principles, which is equivalent to a CS0 course. Teacher lesson plans and resources are freely available. During this workshop, participants will register for the free ebook and work through example activities using object-oriented programming. If possible, participants will be divided into breakout groups according to their Java expertise. Participants will also learn how to create a custom course on the Runestone platform, create and grade assignments, use the instructor's dashboard to view student progress, contribute to the question bank, and use an interleaved spaced practice tool. We will also discuss online/hybrid teaching and engagement strategies. 

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3. Beyond CS Principles: Bringing the Frontiers of Computing to K12

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3439542  

   Lédeczi, Ákos; Grover, Shuchi; Catete, Veronica; Broll, Brian (March 2021, SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science)

   null (Ed.)

   The AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) high school course introduces students to computer science and programming. What should motivated students study after successful completion of AP CSP? The AP CSA class teaches Java programming and it has traditionally not attracted students from underrepresented groups. We are working on an alternative, projects-based course that will teach cutting edge CS concepts, such as distributed computing, computer networking, cybersecurity, the internet of things and machine learning, in a hands-on, accessible manner. Such an approach enables students to work on problems that interest them making computing more relevant and the curriculum more engaging. We utilize NetsBlox, a collaborative, block-based programming environment that extends Snap! with a few carefully selected abstractions that open up the vast array of resources freely available on the internet for student programs. Moreover, the tool enables students to work together on the same project remotely similarly to how Google Docs operate. This demonstration will introduce the environment and highlight its utility in creating distributed applications such as a shared whiteboard app and projects that access public domain scientific data sources and visualize them in various ways using online services such as Google Maps or charting. More information is available at https://netsblox.org. 

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4. Developing Empathy and Persistence through Professional Development in New to CSA Teachers

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3446871.3469793  

   Broneak, Cassandra; Rosato, Jennifer (August 2021, ICER 2021: Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research)

   null (Ed.)

   To meet the rising demand for computer science (CS) courses, K-12 educators need to be prepared to teach introductory concepts and skills in courses such as Computer Science Principles (CSP), which takes a breadth-first approach to CS and includes topics beyond programming such as data, impacts of computing, and networks. Educators are now also being asked to teach more advanced concepts in courses such as the College Board's Advanced Placement Computer Science A (CSA) course, which focuses on advanced programming using Java and includes topics such as objects, inheritance, arrays, and recursion. Traditional CSA curricula have not used content or pedagogy designed to engage a broad range of learners and support their success. Unlike CSP, which is attracting more underrepresented students to computing as it was designed, CSA continues to enroll mostly male, white, and Asian students [College Board 2019, Ericson 2020, Sax 2020]. In order to expand CS education opportunities, it is crucial that students have an engaging experience in CSA similar to CSP. Well-designed differentiated professional development (PD) that focuses on content and pedagogy is necessary to meet individual teacher needs, to successfully build teacher skills and confidence to teach CSA, and to improve engagement with students [Darling-Hammond 2017]. It is critical that as more CS opportunities and courses are developed, teachers remain engaged with their own learning in order to build their content knowledge and refine their teaching practice [CSTA 2020]. CSAwesome, developed and piloted in 2019, offers a College Board endorsed AP CSA curriculum and PD focused on supporting the transition of teachers and students from CSP to CSA. This poster presents preliminary findings aimed at exploring the supports and challenges new-to-CSA high school level educators face when transitioning from teaching an introductory, breadth-first course such as CSP to teaching the more challenging, programming-focused CSA course. Five teachers who completed the online CSAwesome summer 2020 PD completed interviews in spring 2021. The project employed an inductive coding scheme to analyze interview transcriptions and qualitative notes from teachers about their experiences learning, teaching, and implementing CSP and CSA curricula. Initial findings suggest that teachers’ experience in the CSAwesome PD may improve their confidence in teaching CSA, ability to effectively use inclusive teaching practices, ability to empathize with their students, problem-solving skills, and motivation to persist when faced with challenges and difficulties. Teachers noted how the CSAwesome PD provided them with a student perspective and increased feelings of empathy. Participants spoke about the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on their own learning, student learning, and teaching style. Teachers enter the PD with many different backgrounds, CS experience levels, and strengths, however, new-to-CSA teachers require further PD on content and pedagogy to transition between CSP and CSA. Initial results suggest that the CSAwesome PD may have an impact on long-term teacher development as new-to-CSA teachers who participated indicated a positive impact on their teaching practices, ideologies, and pedagogies. 

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5. Engaging Black Female Students in a Year-Long Preparatory Experience for AP CS Principles

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432560  

   Escobar, Martha; Gray, Jeff; Haynie, Kathleen; Qazi, Mohammed A.; Rawajfih, Yasmeen; McClendon, Pamela; Tucker, Donnita; Johnson, Wendy (March 2021, Proceedings of ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE’21))

   null (Ed.)

   In 2020, over 116,000 students took the Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) Exam. Although Black female students have participated in AP CSP at higher rates than for the AP CSA course, their representation is still disproportionately lower than the school population of Black females. In this Experience Report, we present the early results of an NSF-sponsored effort that provides an AP CSP preparatory experience and CS career awareness to Black female students from rural, urban, and suburban communities in the state of Alabama. At the project’s core is a peer-learning community (PLC) facilitated by Black female teachers with deep knowledge of AP CSP. An intensive summer experience prepares students for the AP CSP course through culturally-responsive, project-based learning experiences designed to connect advanced computing concepts to the students’ personal lives and career aspirations. Interactions and support continue throughout the academic year to facilitate AP exam readiness. Online interactions among the PLC members serve to mitigate the barriers that young women of color typically encounter when pursuing CS education, increasing their persistence and success in CS. We examined whether students’ project participation enhances self-efficacy and perceived competency in CS, increases positive attitudes, awareness, and desire to pursue CS studies and careers, and mitigates perceived socio-cultural barriers to pursue studies and careers in CS. Our initial findings include AP CSP examination qualifying rates (87.5%) that exceed the 2019 national/statewide rates for all subgroups (including Alabama White male students), increased perceptions of Black females as belonging in CS, and gains in computing self-efficacy throughout the academic year. 

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