TEA

Computer programming once had much better gender balance than it does today.
What went wrong?

 

STEM 2019 Listening Tour

The TEA is excited to announce that the College and Career and Military Preparation (CCMP) Division will be conducting a statewide listening tour to inform the development of a new state plan required for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), and the development of statewide frameworks for STEM education and Work-based Learning (WBL). Starting in December, the team will gather information and feedback from stakeholders across the state on the major components of Perkins V, as well as current challenges and areas of success around implementing and expanding high-quality STEM and Work-based Learning to all students in Texas.

Purpose: To gather information and feedback from stakeholders across the state on the major components of Perkins V, as well as current challenges and areas of success around implementing and expanding high-quality STEM and Work-based Learning to all students in Texas.

Feedback:   Recording of the meeting – found nothing I did not already know.  TEA needs an Inspection Framework.  That is quality control of the implementation process, not more data collection.  Read more at the bottom of my post on training that applies their goals already.  Sure hope gathering all this data finally results in a change in the classrooms.

Why attend background info:

How do you spell purple?

I wrote AJ when a CS friend from the Lubbock area wrote me to say his voice was not heard.  Result was the coordinator Michelle Sedberry, College, Career, and Military Prep Strategy and Resource Team, set up a one hour interview with Lewis Fleming.  To continue the conversation I wrote Michelle to see if she would be on the panel I am doing along with national CS leader Joe Kmoch for the WeTeachCS Summit:

Building the Computational Mindset in STEM Education to scale Computer Science For All

To integrate the foundational CS skills of pattern recognition, decomposition, abstraction and algorithms and the computational thinking dispositions/practices in K-12, please join us as we brainstorm action plans with educational decision makers and you the leaders of CS.  Are you finding roadblocks to scale CS for All? How do you promote STEM integrated thinking through CT/CS? Do other teachers help build the mindset to prepare students; try coding and creating apps? You will be given the opportunity to brainstorm solutions to your unique classroom, school or district. Together is better in dealing with the politics of CS Education.

Michele said:

“Your session looks very interesting and is coming together nicely.  I do not have permission from the Data Governance Board to share our Listening Tour questions outside of the face-to-face sessions we are holding at the Service Center and select conferences which were outlined in our proposal.  These questions are being used for research purposes and cannot be distributed outside of the original intent for which they were designed and outlined in our proposal to the DGB.

Unfortunately, I cannot agree to be on the panel because this is not my area of expertise in the Agency.  I cannot represent a Division I do not work for.  Again, I would encourage you to reach out to the Curriculum Division and see if they would be interested in serving on the panel as one of your experts or provide guidance for questions you might ask in this session.  The Computer Science courses and decisions made about these courses are handled in the Curriculum Division and would be a better fit for the conference.”

Abstract for 2009 WEPAN Presentation Computing Connections: “Elementary School Computer Science: From Bee Bots to Crystal Rain Forests in Houston ISD”

Computer Science is the core technology that can bridge the digital divide to engage full participation in STEM fields by underrepresented groups.  My mission is to focus on elementary educational institutional transformation to change the academic four of Math, Science, English and Social Studies into the connected three disciplines of Technology, Humanities and Science.

Specialists who integrate CS into the classroom are needed.  This will expand the expertise of classroom teachers by having master CS teachers as mentors.  Until there are specialists to coordinate and run after school programs and classroom activities, the problem of under-represented minorities in Engineering and CS will continue. Mentors need opportunities to dialog and receive feedback on their practices.  We need a formal way to have our practice assessed and areas for improvement determined.

Women in Engineering Proactive Network WEPAN National Conference June 2009, http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.wepan.org/resource/resmgr/Conference-Change-Forum/2009_Conference_Program.pdf – Presentation as a NGCP Grant Fellow:

What went wrong? – What can we do today to make “it” right?

“It” is Computer Science and Computational Thinking.

Resource Connections

Book List:

Mindstorms Seymour Papert
No Fear Coding Heidi Williams
Solving the Equation AAUW
Where the Girls Are AAUW
Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing Jane Margolis/Allan Fisher
Code Girls Liza Mundy
Why So Few AAUW
Together is Better Simon Sinek
Stuck in the Shallow End:  Education, Race, and Computing Jane Margolis