As a CS teacher, you’re constantly looking for ways to improve your practice but have limited time to do so, and it can be challenging to find quality PD on specific topics of interest. CSTA is pleased to provide a new way for members to gain knowledge and skills aligned to the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers.
Our online professional development (PD) courses provide a flexible, deep learning experience that you can complete at your own pace. Course content includes meaningful and interactive activities focused on application to your CS classroom — you’ll do a lot more than just read and watch. Plus, you will experience asynchronous collaboration with other CS educators as you both give and get feedback and exchange ideas.
Registration for the fall session (October 7- December 16) is now open. Because courses are self-paced, you can register at any point until two weeks before the end of the session. We now have two new new courses available. See links below to register for a specific course. Price for course varies based on length. All courses are free for CSTA+ members!
Current Offerings
See the current online PD courses available, all designed specifically for K-12 CS educators. Click to expand additional details.
Women in CS: Understanding the Impacts, Disparities and Their Voices
Description: This online computer science course is designed for educators seeking to create an inclusive and empowering learning environment that encourages and increases female student participation in STEM with a significant focus on computer science. Participants will explore the challenges, contributions, and impact women have had on computing, technology, and society. Participants will also explore strategies to engage female students in the field and gain practical tools to foster a more diverse and equitable computer science classroom while empowering individuals to enact change.
Audience: Grade 5-12 CS Teachers, Administrators, CS Specialists
Length: ~5 hours
Objectives
- Integrate and foster a supportive and inclusive classroom community of women interested in computing.
- Read and share stories about women who inspired them to pursue computer science.
- Create authentic connections with women in computing.
- Encourage and foster a more inclusive learning environment in computer science classrooms.
- Explore the challenges, barriers, biases, and disparities women have faced and continue to face in the tech industry by looking at data and historical statistics.
- Learn how to advocate for gender equality in the field and contribute to shaping the future of computing.
- Explore women’s historical and contemporary contributions and achievements in computer science, investigate practical strategies to engage female students in the field, and examine ways to foster a more diverse and equitable classroom.
- Share inspiring stories of past, current, and future women leaders in computer science.
- Promote women’s participation and leadership in technology-related fields to foster a supportive and inclusive community of women interested in computing.
- Empower computer science educators to enact change by developing strategies and setting goals to increase the participation of women in computer science classrooms.
- Ideate and develop strategies to promote gender diversity and inclusion in computer science classrooms.
- Ideate and develop strategies to promote gender diversity and inclusion in computer science classrooms.
CS Teacher Standards Alignment
- 1f. Analyze the Impacts of Computing Analyze how people influence computing through their behaviors, cultural norms, and social interactions and how computing impacts society positively and negatively.
- 2a. Examine issues of equity in CS and how systemic barriers and social and psychological factors contribute to inequitable CS access, engagement, and achievement among marginalized groups. Reflect on how issues of equity manifest in their own CS teaching context.
Add-Ons to Boost Equity and Inclusion for Your CS Curriculum
Description: This course explores ways to add elements to any curriculum to make it more inclusive. Participants will spend time analyzing their chosen curricula for elements of student voice, student choice, diversity, and equitable assessment. This course is not to discuss which CS curriculum may be more equitable or inclusive than the other. This course is for educators to develop a number of ways to infuse more equity and inclusion into the lessons they are already teaching.
Audience: Grade Pk-12 CS Teachers, Curriculum Providers, CS Specialists, Curriculum Decision Makers
Length: ~4 hours
Objectives
- Define why evaluating curriculum for equity is important
- Explore what is missing from CS curricula regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Explore why equity in CS curricula is important Learn how to use the “Equity tab” of the Teacher Accessibly, Equity, and Content (TEC) Rubric for Evaluating Computing Curricula
- Explore examples of student voice, student choice, diversity in perspective, and equitable assessment highlighted by education experts
- Develop a working definition of student voice, student choice, diversity in perspective, equitable assessment and how it translations to students in the classroom
- Generate an inventory of ways student voice, student choice, diversity in perspective, and equitable assessment can be included within a set curriculum
- Analyze chosen curriculum for the presence of student voice, student choice, diversity in perspective, and equitable assessment
- Explore scholarly articles and data to emphasize why diversity in perspective is important and it’s benefits
- Detail attributes and needs associated with an equitable assessment Identify the benefits of differentiated assessments
CS Teacher Standards Alignment
- 4a. Analyze CS curriculum
Analyze CS curricula for implementation in their classrooms in terms of CS standards alignment, accuracy, completeness of content, cultural relevance, and accessibility. - 4c. Design inclusive learning experiences
Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP), and other techniques to support all students in successfully accessing and engaging with content. - 4e. Plan projects that have personal meaning to students
Plan opportunities for students to create and share open-ended and personally meaningful projects. - 5b. Cultivate positive classroom climate
Cultivate a positive classroom climate that values and amplifies varied perspectives, abilities, approaches, and solutions. - 5e. Encourage student communication
Create and scaffold meaningful opportunities for students to discuss, read, and write about CS concepts and how they integrate CS practices.
Using Data to Improve Diverse CS Course Participation
Description: This course is designed to provide a foundational understanding of what systematic and/or structural barriers exist to keep underrepresented students out of computer science classrooms. Participants will examine data from various resources and learn about strategies that will help them create a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning environment for all students.
Audience: Grade 5-12 CS Teachers, Administrators, CS Specialists
Length: ~6 hours
Objectives
- Examine data and make informed-data-based decisions by creating and implementing a plan to improve access, engagement, and participation in CS classrooms;
- Identify the importance of diversity in computer science classrooms and the root causes of inequities in computer science education;
- Examine disparities of identity that limit which students have access to computer science, which students are in computer science classrooms, and which students should be in computer science classrooms;
- Examine identities that lead to inequities in computer science and limit which students have access to computer science, which students are in computer science classrooms, and which students should be in computer science classrooms;
- Empower individuals to enact change by developing culturally responsive teaching strategies and action plans that address inequities and increase the participation of marginalized students in CS classrooms.
CS Teacher Standards Alignment
- 2d. Use data for decision-making to improve equity- Create and implement a plan to improve access, engagement, and full participation in CS using classroom data to inform decision-making.
- 2a. Examine issues of equity in CS- Examine how systemic barriers and social and psychological factors contribute to inequitable access, engagement, and achievement in CS among marginalized groups. Reflect on how issues of equity manifest in their own CS teaching context.
Fostering a Sense of Belonging in Your CS Classroom
Description: This course explores critical elements of the classroom in order to create an environment that is welcoming for everyone. Elements include classroom population, instruction, classroom environment, and avoiding microaggressions. Participants will better understand their students’ sense of belonging in their classroom and develop plans to increase it.
Audience: K-12 CS educators
Length: ~4 hours
Objectives
- Identify strength and/or improvement areas regarding classroom culture.
- Explain why student recruiting for the CS course matters and what educators have done to recruit students to the CS course.
- Explain why it is important for students to be able to engage in learning activities that allow them to explore/share things that are important to them.
- Reflect on and identify steps to develop a more inclusive classroom design and layout.
- Define microaggressions and list examples.
- Identify actions that mitigate microaggressions within the CS classroom.
- Explore ways to integrate the 4 Principles of Education (Learning by Doing, Discussion, Interactive, and Interdisciplinary) and discuss their importance in student collaboration.
- Revise a previous lesson plan or project to improve students’ sense of belonging.
Teacher Standards Alignment
- 2b. Minimize threats to inclusion – Develop purposeful strategies to proactively challenge unconscious bias and minimize stereotype threat in CS.
- 3d. Commit to the mission of CS for all students – Develop a personal teaching philosophy reflecting that all students can and should learn CS.
- 5b. Cultivate a positive classroom climate – Cultivate a positive classroom climate that values and amplifies varied perspectives, abilities, approaches, and solutions.
Identity Inclusion for K-12 Computer Science Educators
Description: This course provides a foundational understanding of one’s self, the impact one has on others, and ways to foster safe and inclusive CS learning environments.
Audience: K-12 CS educators
Length: ~12 hours
Objectives
- Get to Know Yourself and How Your Intersectionality Translates to Privilege/Marginalization
- Articulate components of your identity and how different social settings influence how you represent yourself to others.
- Analyze intersectional data in CS education.
- Devise a plan to implement intersectionality practices that nurture all students’ learning experiences.
- Appraise your power/privilege using an interactive Wheel of Power.
- Explore the Race Construct and Examine the Cycle of Oppression
- Reflect on the history of the race construct.
- Compose a list of events for the next era of America’s history regarding race.
- Examine the cycle of oppression through the lens of teachers.
- Review strategies that CS educators use to facilitate critical conversations regarding bias within CS.
- Explore with classroom resources/lessons focused on how technology reinforces oppression.
- Reflect on Race Perspectives & Facilitate Safe Conversations
- Evaluate your comfort level in having conversations about race.
- Listen to diverse perspectives on race.
- Prepare for classroom conversations involving race.
- Examine intent versus impact and zero-indifference policy.
- Design classroom discussion norms that are inclusive and promote safe conversations.
- Predict challenges and devise plans to overcome potential struggles in covering critical topics with students.
- Combat Implicit Biases and Promote Inclusivity
- Assess your own implicit biases.
- Identify non-inclusive CS terminology
- Integrate inclusive language in your classroom.
- Devise an action plan to counteract self-identified biases and develop an inclusive classroom culture.
Teacher Standards Alignment
- 2b. Minimize threats to inclusion
Develop purposeful strategies to proactively challenge unconscious bias and minimize stereotype threat in CS. - 3c. Examine and counteract personal bias
Examine how their personal perspective, privilege, and power impact student success and classroom culture and continuously work to counteract biases.
Teaching Security: The Security Mindset
Description: This course helps high school teachers introduce important cybersecurity principles in their CS classrooms. It provides full lessons with hands-on, inquiry-based activities that allow students to explore for themselves how cybersecurity works.
Audience: High school CS educators
Length: ~4 hours
Objectives
- Prepare to teach lessons on threat modeling to introduce “the security mindset” and an overarching framework for cybersecurity.
- Engage students with a red team/blue team secret keeping brainstorming activity.
- Explore threat modeling as applied to a physical domain, like a house. Make connections to the cybersecurity domain.
- Learn and explain key cybersecurity vocabulary and ideas in more depth.
- Guide students in elaborating their knowledge through a threat modeling exercise using “security cards”.
- Experience an evaluation activity to interpret cybersecurity issues in the news.
- Preview additional lessons on key security concepts like authentication and social engineering.
CS Teacher Standards Alignment
- 1c. Model networks and the Internet
Model how computing devices connect via networks and the Internet to facilitate communication, and explain tradeoffs between usability and security. - 5a. Use inquiry to facilitate student learning
Use inquiry-based learning to enhance student understanding of CS content.
Upcoming Fall Session! Empowering CS: Resources for New Teachers
Description: This course is designed to provide new CS Educators with practical tips and tools creating effective resources, investigating funding, and finding community within the field.
Audience: New CS educators
Length: ~3 hours
Objectives
- Facilitate fostering collaboration, support, and resource-sharing to enhance teaching practices and professional growth.
- Facilitate the identification of and engagement with communities tailored to new Computer Science teachers.
- Facilitate the identification and acquisition of diverse funding resources to support classroom initiatives.
CS Teacher Standards Alignment
- 1a. Apply CS practices
Apply CS and computational thinking practices in flexible and appropriate ways. Practices include: Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, Collaborating Around Computing, Communicating About Computing, Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems, Developing and Using Abstractions, Creating Computational Artifacts, and Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts. - 1b. Apply knowledge of computing systems
Apply knowledge of how hardware and software function to input, process, store, and output information within computing systems by analyzing interactions, designing projects, and troubleshooting problems. - 1d. Use and analyze data
Collect, store, transform, and analyze digital data to better understand the world and make more accurate predictions. - 1e. Develop programs and interpret algorithms
Design, implement, debug, and review programs in an iterative process using appropriate CS tools and technologies. Interpret algorithms, and explain tradeoffs associated with different algorithms. - 1f. Analyze impacts of computing
Analyze how people influence computing through their behaviors, cultural norms, and social interactions, as well as how computing impacts society in both positive and negative ways. - 2e. Use accessible instructional materials
Evaluate tools and curricula and leverage resources to improve accessibility for all students. - 3a. Pursue targeted professional development
Develop and implement a plan for targeted professional development to continuously deepen their CS content and pedagogical knowledge and skills - 3b. Model continuous learning
Model willingness to learn from others and to continuously develop new skills. Demonstrate comfort in problem solving and perseverance when encountering new or challenging content. - 3e. Leverage community resources
Identify and connect resources in the local community and broader CS ecosystem to support student learning in CS. - 3f. Participate in CS professional learning communities (PLCs)
Participate in CS professional learning communities (PLCs) to collaborate with peers, celebrate successes, share lessons learned, and address challenges. - 4a. Analyze CS curriculum
Analyze CS curricula for implementation in their classrooms in terms of CS standards alignment, accuracy, completeness of content, cultural relevance, and accessibility. - 4b. Develop standards-aligned learning experiences
Design and adapt learning experiences that align to comprehensive K-12 CS standards. - 4d. Build connections between CS and other disciplines
Design learning experiences that make connections to other disciplines and real-world contexts. - 4e. Plan projects that have personal meaning to students
Plan opportunities for students to create and share open-ended and personally meaningful projects.
Additional Details
Cost
Varies by length ($39 – $99). Free for CSTA+ members!
Length & Pacing
Courses range from about 4 to 12 hours. See the course offerings above for an approximate number of hours suggested to complete each course.
Courses are self-paced. While we provide suggested pacing in each course, you could spend an hour per week, complete an entire course in a day, or do whatever works with your schedule.
Sessions
Courses will be offered in 10-week sessions:
- Summer: July 22, 2024 – Sept. 29, 2024
- Fall: Oct. 7, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024
- Winter: Jan. 6, 2024 – March 16, 2024
- Spring: April 7, 2024 – June 15, 2024
Course enrollment will remain open until two weeks prior to the end of each term.
Platform
CSTA courses are privately authored in Coursera (in collaboration with UC San Diego) and are currently not publicly searchable or accessible. CSTA members receive exclusive access to these courses.
Certificate
Learners will receive a signed digital certificate documenting the number of hours of professional learning after completing each course. Check with your school, district, or state whether you can count these hours towards continuing education requirements.
How to Get Started
Click the Register button in the course offerings menu above to enroll in a specific course. Since all courses are free for CSTA+ members, we recommend that you first upgrade your membership or join as CSTA+ member. And, if you are a CSTA+ member, please make sure you are signed into your account when registering.
CSTA will email course invitations to all registered participants on the first day of the session. If you registwered after the first day of the session, you will receive your course invitation within one week. Look out for an invitation message from CSTA Online PD on Coursera (no-reply@t.mail.coursera.org). Simply click the Join Group button in the message to join the course and get started. You will need to create a Coursera account if you do not already have one.
Enrollment Support
Please reach out to membership@csteachers.org if you do not see your invitation, need to use a different email address than is used for your CSTA membership, or have recently become a CSTA+ member. We’ll be happy to help!