Partner involvement

The school (assistant) principals met with CS4MS+ teams to establish each school’s needs, and then to receive our report of what we accomplished. Additionally, they facilitated our ability to conduct classroom observations, meet with teachers, and to implement classroom activities. They were very accommodating and excited to continue our partnerships the next fall. The teachers were very welcoming, in varying degrees, as well. In most instances, the teachers were very receptive to the help we were offering. The principals and teachers provided validation of our progress.

CS4MS+ team at Burris Laboratory School

Partner benefits

By providing a well-developed CS resource to our partners, they are better prepared to provide CS learning opportunities to the youth of our community. In particular, we hope that underrepresented minorities and females will participate in the implemented modules to promote their involvement in CS throughout their life, thus increasing the diversity within the CS field. Further, many middle schools have only recently started exploring how they can meet the new Indiana academic standards for CS. The resources curated by CS4MS+ teams, and the partner interactions with them will assist in this process.

In particular, CS4MS+ curated and provided our partners a document designed to explain the Indiana academic standards for CS in plain English, and which provides many alternative activities which can be utilized to teach each standard. The principals reported the resources were very useful, especially to new teachers. This has allowed our partner schools to implement more CS activities into their curriculum, and hopefully, to perform better on standardized testing.

CS4MS+ teams have spent many hours in the classroom over the project life. This has included preparing lessons and presenting them to the students, as well as simply being present to help the teacher answer questions. Many of the teachers report they continue to use activities CS4MS+ teams presented.

Community Impact

Through the products and activities of CS4MS+, many hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of Muncie and surrounding area students have been exposed to more CS concepts and activities than before our participation. Short term, it should improve the students’ performance on CS-related standardized testing questions. Long term, this potentially broadens the students’ view of future professions, perhaps opening more doors for underrepresented minorities and females, and helping all students to see CS as a possible area of interest, which can lead to well-paying jobs.