Welcome to the brand new Computer Science department!
For FABLAB and Quest this semester, Ms. Wilkens and I are asking: Whose Computer Science Department is it, anyway? To answer, we’re handing the reins to students in grades 5-8 to plan two of our biggest events of the year: The Haunted Library and the 12 Days of Tech-Mas.
At our first department meetings this week we went over department norms, then dove right into the CS Department Philosophy Statement. What’s great, what’s confusing, what needs to go? We knew we had a great group when they proposed changes to the document that we’d never even thought of. Their feedback was awesome – and they helped us to make permanent updates to the document, which helps to guide our department’s curriculum and purpose with grades K-12.
Then we went hands on, to explore some of the tech tools we’ll have available for the event. What are these tools? How do they work? What can they do? How can we use them to haunt the library? The meeting’s exit ticket was a post-it filled with their best ideas, which we’ll explore more at our next meeting.
The longer I teach, the more I learn: Learning is the most fun and engaging when it’s student-driven. I can’t wait to see what the new CS department comes up with, now that they’re in charge! Stay tuned!
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