Dive Brief:
- TeachCS, a new application-only teaching platform backed by private sector philanthropy, aims to train high school educators who have little to no computer science background but want to teach the subject.
- Through a pilot, educators will be able to receive professional development funding for one of the following three areas: Exploring Computer Science (ECS), AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP), or Bootstrap.
- Launching in 2016, the initiative is open to all public high school teachers, who can apply for the tuition-free "fellowships" in order to up their competency — but it does come with the requirement that participating schools commit to creating and sustaining a computer science program for at least three years.
Dive Insight:
The approach of TeachCS to further computer science education is unique in that it's described as something akin to professional education or teachers backed by private philanthropy, instead of districts. Lucy Sanders, CEO and co-founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and a member of TeachCS's board of directors, told eSchoolNews that the program will help increase diversity in tech. It's also supposed to prepare teachers for a new AP Computer Science Principles course that is reportedly set to launch in fall 2016.
Because the TeachCS initiative takes a more holistic approach by tackling two important parts of successful computer science implementation — teacher training and curriculum design — it may just help to reverse the downward American trend of less and less comp sci being taught in high schools. A 2010 report "Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K-12 Computer Science in the Digital Age," found the number of high schools offering introductory computer science courses declined 17% between 2005-09
