Project GUTS

With support from the Google CS4HS program, SFI’s Learning Lab is offering a free online course for high school teachers called “Computer Science Principles - Aligned Integration of Modeling and Simulation” (CSP-AIMS). 

The course prepares teachers to integrate computer modeling and simulation into AP CS Principles courses and builds the community of teachers who are offering their students rich computational thinking (CT) experiences through modeling and simulation.

CSP-AIMS provides six weeks of free online instruction to educators who are interested in embedding modeling and simulation within College Board’s AP CS Principles. The course will begin the week of November 2, 2015 and run six consecutive weeks, ending on December 11, 2015. Course materials will be posted weekly.

During the workshop, teachers will learn how to implement a four-week computer modeling and simulation module within an AP CS Principles course. The module will address the AP CS Principles Big Ideas 1-4 and demonstrate how modeling and simulation can be used to address the 2014-2015 Performance Tasks Create/Programming and Explore/Impact. All lesson resources are aligned to the AP CS Principles, CSTA K-12 CS Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Course takers are expected to have familiarity with the AP CS Principles course framework and prior exposure to introductory computer science concepts and programming constructs is assumed. The course was designed as professional development for high school computer science teachers and thus teaching approaches and best practices to increase student learning will be included. 

Additionally, university faculty, school administrators, and others may benefit from gaining an understanding of modern scientific practice using computer models and simulation in the context of scientific inquiry. (You will need a Google account to access the course. Visit https://accounts.google.com/SignUp to set up an account if you don’t already have one.)

CSP-AIMS lesson materials leverage the existing University of New Mexico CS590 “Learning and Teaching Computer Science for All” professional development course in modeling and simulation and the UNM CS108 “Computer Science for All” course that were developed with funding from the National Science Foundation CE21 CS10K program.

Register for the course here.

For questions, please write to SFILearningLab@gmail.com