Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 13—Getting Experience in Computer Science Education. This chap-
ter deals with the first field teaching experiences that the students enrolled in the
MTCS course gain before becoming computer science teachers. The importance
of these first teaching experiences stems from the recognition that one significant
way to acquire pedagogical-disciplinary knowledge involves activities performed
in teaching situations that provide opportunities for teacher's reflective processes.
This chapter describes three frameworks in which the prospective computer science
teachers gain this first teaching experience: The practicum, which takes place in
high school, after one or two semesters of learning the MTCS course, CS teacher
training within the professional development school (PDS) collaboration frame-
work, and a tutoring framework that can be integrated in the MTCS course.
Chapter 14—Design of a Methods of Teaching Computer Science course. This
chapter describes how to design a MTCS course within an academic computer sci-
ence teacher preparation program, and suggests two possible syllabi for this course.
It is emphasized, however, that different approaches and frameworks can be applied
when one designs the MTCS course. In the first part of this chapter, we propose
four possible perspectives on the MTCS course: the NCATE standards, merger of
computer science with pedagogy, Shulman's model of teachers' knowledge, and
research findings. The second part of the chapter describes two full course syllabi
for the MTCS course. We also present the approach which offers computer science
students an additional profession—computer science teachers.
Chapter 15—High School Computer Science Teacher Preparation Programs.
This chapter broadens the perspective on high school computer science teacher
preparation programs. First, it describes a model for high school computer science
education that one of its components is computer science teacher preparation pro-
grams. The model consists of five key elements—a well-defined curriculum, a re-
quirement of a mandatory formal computer science teaching license, teacher prep-
aration programs, national center for computer science teachers, and research in
computer science education—as well as interconnections between these elements.
Then, the focus is placed on the teacher preparation programs component of the
model, describing a workshop targeted at computer scientists and computer science
curriculum developers who wish to launch computer science teacher preparation
programs at their universities but lack knowledge about the actual construction of
such programs.
1.5
How to Use the Guide?
As mentioned, this guide can be used by several populations involved in computer
science education. We now present these different usages.
1.5.1
Instructors of the MTCS Course
When this guide is used as a textbook for the MTCS course, it serves, in fact, as
a teaching guide. In this case, the instructor of the MTCS course can use a two-
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