CSTA National Standards
and their Impact on the Future of
K-12 Computer Education
Rutgers University
August 21, 2012
Anita Verno, Bergen Community College, NJ averno@bergen.edu
Brian Fuschetto, Lyndhurst High School, NJ brian_fuschetto@lyndhurst.k12.nj.us
Presenters
Anita Verno
Associate Professor, Information Technology
CSTA Advisory Council
Northern NJ CSTA College Representative
Associate Member ACM CCECC
Certified Teacher NJ
Textbook Author
Brian Fuschetto
Lyndhurst High School, Business &
Technology Instructor
Northern NJ CSTA President
Bergen Community College, Adjunct
Professor, Information Technology
Rules for Engagement
• Please Do!
• Questions accepted at any time
• Answers
• may be available
• Now
• Later in the discussion
• Some great questions may need research
Topics & Objectives
• Understand some of the K-12 issues relating to computing
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education and the need for standards
Introduce the origins and development of the K-12
Standards Project
Proposed Course Levels and Standards Breakdown
The Standards Framework
Cross-walk to the CTE Common Core Standards
Some Things to Look At…
Uniting Forces – Spreading the Word - CSTA
Get Involved…
Instruction Could be this
Or this
Yawn
Dull
Boring
Let’s Make it
Interesting and Exciting
Model Curriculum for K-12 CS
• Publications
• 2003
• 2006: revised forward
• New developments
ACM Model Curriculum for
K-12 CS, 2nd Edition, 2006
K-12 Computer Science Standards, Revised 2011
Electronic version still currently available:
http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/CurrResources.html
How Has the Curriculum Been Used?
• Curriculum Design
• Curriculum Review / Modification
• Improving Instruction
• Advocacy
• Planning Resource
• Reference
• Teacher Certification
Using the Model Curriculum
• GA curriculum standards, Business and CS
• NH competencies for vocational programming
• CS standards for elementary/H.S. (Diocese, FL)
• Resource in writing state curriculum
• National curriculum for South African schools
• Advocate a national CS curriculum in Taiwan
• Topics guidelines for 2-year college core classes
• Increase problem solving in K-12 Math curriculum
• Outreach activities for K-8 students
• Develop the competencies and skill sets for the FL
Teacher Certification Examination in K-12 CS
2011 CSTA Standards Task Force
• Deborah Seehorn
North Carolina Department
of Public Instruction, Chair
• Stephen Carey
Brunswick School
Department
• Brian Fuschetto
Lyndhurst High School
• Irene Lee
Santa Fe Institute
• Daniel Moix
Ouachita Technical College
• Dianne O’Grady-Cuniff
Howard High School
• Chris Stephenson
Computer Science Teachers
Association
• Anita Verno
Bergen Community College
The Standards Project
• Review of the 2006 Model Curriculum
• Still a very powerful and useful document
• Minor modifications to specific content
• Course level approach is still a valid option
The Standards Project
Why Standards Instead of Another Model
• Many states have a computer education requirement at
the K-12 grade level
• General computer knowledge and skills have been
moving…
• Traditional HS courses are now elementary and middle school
• Keyboarding, General Computers, Office Programs, etc.
• Trends in the High School Curriculum
• An Elective Environment
• Focus on Standards and Assessment
• Computer Teachers – Certification
• The National Standards Movement
• Accountability, Accountability, Accountability…
The Standards Project
Standards Are Organized into Levels
The Standards Project
Developing the Strands
The Standards Project
Developing & Aligning the Standards
• Review of Current National and International Standards
• State Curriculums
• Advanced Placement CS Principles / CS A
• NETS (ISTE)
• European CS Standards Project
• CSTA 2006 Model Curriculum
• K-12 programs and course syllabi
• Entry level college programs and syllabi
The Standards Project
Review & Publication
• In April 2011, the first draft of the publication was released
for professional review
• Majority of feedback was very positive
• Negative feedback was in the form of very specific paradigms and
or terminology individuals felt needed to be added/removed
• June – August 2011:
• Made modifications to standards based on feedback
• Second draft release for professional review – September
2011
• Finalization of publication – September to October 2011
• Finalized Print Version released – November 2011
The CTE Common Core Standards
• 45 States have adopted the Common Core Curriculum
• Only mention of Computer Science in the Mathematics Standards
is a reference to the AP Computer Science A course as an
advanced elective
• Computer references in Standards:
• Mathematics Standards refer to the use of calculators and algebraic
spreadsheet applications
• English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science,
and Technical Subjects Standards refer to assistive technology for
special needs students
• Computer Science and Information Technology has truly been
underrepresented in the Common Core at this point
• The Science Standards have not been developed yet
The CTE Common Core Standards
• The National Association of State Directors of Career and
Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)
• The Common Career Technical Core – June 2012
• State-led initiative, with 42 states, the District of Columbia and
Palau participating in the development stage.
• Business and industry representatives, educators and others
helped guide the development of the CCTC from beginning to end
to ensure CTE students will have the knowledge and skills to thrive
in a global economy
The CTE Common Core Standards
• 12 Principles of Career Ready Practice
• Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee
• Collaboration
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
• Apply appropriate academic and technical skills
• Computational Thinking
• Computing Practice & Programming
• Attend to personal health and financial well being
• Computing Practice & Programming
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
• Communicate clearly, effectively, and with reason
• Collaboration
• Computers and Communication Devices
• Consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of decisions
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
The CTE Common Core Standards
• Demonstrate creativity and innovation
• All 5 Strands
• Employ valid and reliable research strategies
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
• Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them
• Computational Thinking
• Computing Practice and Programming
• Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management
• Collaboration
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
• Plan education and career path aligned to personal goals
• Computing Practice & Programming
The CTE Common Core Standards
• Use technology to enhance productivity
• All Strands
• Work productively in teams while using cultural/global competence
• Collaboration
• Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts
The CTE Common Core Standards
• In addition, there are more specific standards in the
Information Technology Career Cluster (IT) and its
respective pathways
• Information Support & Services Career Pathway
• Network Systems Career Pathway
• Programming & Software Development Career Pathway
• Web & Digital Communications Career Pathway
• Our National CS Standards align to all of these standards
• See Crosswalk PDF file
Some Things To Look At
• Some particularly nice additions to the 2011 Standards
Document that are worth looking at include:
• Section 5.3.C (Topics in Computer Science) – Page 22
• Section 8 (Activities) – Page 27
• K-12 Standards Scaffolding Charts – Page 55
Who is the CSTA?
• The Computer Science Teachers Association is a
membership organization that supports and promotes the
teaching of computer science and other computing
disciplines. CSTA provides opportunities for K-12 teachers
and students to better understand the computing
disciplines and to more successfully prepare themselves
to teach and learn.
CSTA Local Chapters
• A CSTA chapter is a local branch of CSTA designed to
facilitate discussion of local issues, provision of member
services at the local level, and to promote CSTA
membership on the national level.
• Provide professional development opportunities for K – 12
computing teachers.
• Provide awareness and advocacy for Computer Science
Education at the local, state, and national levels.
• Membership
• K – 12 computing teachers
• 2- and 4- year college professors
CSTA Regional Chapters
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Arizona
Arkansas
California (4)
Canada-Alberta
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
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Kentucky
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York (Long
Island, Western
NY, Lower Hudson
Valley)
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas (2)
Utah
Virginia (2)
Washington
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CSTA Chapter Activities include
• Computer contests for Middle School/
HS students
• Programming
• Web Technologies
• Robotics
• Gaming
• Professional Development Workshops
• Greenfoot (Java)
• Scratch
• CS Principles Course Modules
• Gaming
• Cryptography
• Robotics
• App Inventor
• Android
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CSTA Chapter Activities include
• Developing Careers Resources
• Posters
• Brochures
• Videos
• Lesson Plans
• Newsletters
• Conferences
• Workshops
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CSTA Chapter Activities include
• Activities to encourage computing
• Girls Have 'IT' Day
• Career Day
• CS Ed Week
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CSTA Why Should I Join???
• Membership Benefits:
• Access to virtual binders on key topics such as Careers, Equity,
Teaching Strategies, and Computational Thinking
• Access to research on computer science education
• CSTA Advocate Blog featuring Announcements, Breaking News,
and Points of Interest
• Online access to Crossroads, ACM's magazine for college
students
• TechNews, ACM's tri-weekly online IT news digest
• MemberNet, ACM's bimonthly online newsletter with the latest
CSTA and ACM news
• Access to the Career Resource Centre, ACM's source for career
articles, job board, and career assessment tools
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CSTA Why Should I Join???
• Membership Benefits:
• Listing of regular meeting times/activities on the CSTA Chapters
Webpage
• An avenue to meet and work with K-12 computing teachers
• CSTA Voice bi-monthly publication
• Free classroom posters and career resource materials for
students
• Preferred registration for the CSTA annual conference (CS&IT)
• Access to professional development videos and podcasts
• Access to reports on key topics such as teacher certification,
national standards, and equity
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Summary
• What can YOU do?
• Be aware that the problem begins in elementary school
• Open a dialogue with a local school (college faculty) or your school
administration (teachers)
• Provide / take advantage of professional development opportunities
for teachers
• Join Forces and Become an Advocate
• We are not going to be represented if we don’t speak up for ourselves
• Partner up!
• Making distinctions between CS and IT only hurts ourselves
• There is power in numbers
Summary
• Join CSTA… It’s FREE! 
• Stay up to date on CS “happenings” in K-12
• Volunteer to assist on a project
• Help start / support a local CSTA chapter
Anita Verno
Bergen Community College
averno@bergen.edu
Questions?
Brian Fuschetto
Lyndhurst High School, NJ
brian_fuschetto@lyndhurst.k12.nj.us
bfuschetto@bergen.edu