AVID Code.org Computer Science Principles (CSP) - EDC-X738V

Course Description

Credit Validation for AVID/Code.org participants Only

CSP introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can impact the world. More than a traditional introduction to programming, it is a rigorous, engaging, and approachable course that explores many of the foundational ideas of computing so all students understand how these concepts are transforming the world we live in. The CSP course is a 9-day professional development sequence that prepares educators to teach a year-long course which can be taught as an introductory course and/or as an AP course. No prerequisites are required for teachers new to computer science, and the teachable curriculum is available at no cost for anyone, anywhere to teach. This curriculum includes daily lesson plans made up of inquiry-based activities, videos, assessments, and computing tools, allowing teachers to guide and learn alongside students as they discover core computing concepts. Holistically, the teachable content focuses on 10 modular units covering a broad range of computer science skills and applications. This content is recognized by the College Board as an endorsed provider of curriculum and professional development for AP® Computer Science Principles (AP CSP). Additionally, Every lesson plan and activity is tested by a diverse mix of classrooms around the country to make sure it’s appropriate and engaging for all students.

Learner Outcomes

• Explore how computers store complex information like numbers, text, images and sound and debate the impacts of digiting information
• Learn about how the internet works and discuss its impacts on politics, culture, and the economy
• Design an app while learning both fundamental programming concepts and collaborative software development processes
• Expand the types of apps you can create by adding the ability to store information, make decisions, and better organize code
• Build apps that use large amounts of information and pull in data from the web to create a wider variety of apps
• Design and analyze algorithms to understand how they work and why some are considered better than others
• Learn how to design clear and reusable code that you can share with a single classmate or the entire world
• Practice and complete the Create Performance Task (PT)
• Explore and visualize data sets from a wide variety of topics as you hunt for patterns and try to learn more about the world around you
• Research and debate current events at the intersection of data, public policy, law, ethics and societal impact

Course Details

Number of Units: 4.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for high school teachers, those who work teaching high school students in non-traditional educational environments; those who support or assist in teaching in high school educational environments; or pre-service educators seeking to teach high school students in the future. High school educators would directly benefit the most from the subject matter, though high school students themselves would indirectly derive the most benefit via being taught the CSP curriculum by a trained educator.