Dr. Srishti Srivastava, assistant professor of computer science at USI, co-led a coding workshop for EVSC elementary school teachers this summer in partnership with the Southwest Indiana STEM center (SwiSTEM) and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education. The workshop taught teachers fundamentals of computer science, and the basics of computer programming and coding.
There were discussions on computer science fundamentals and the importance of introducing computer science in K-5. In addition to familiarizing the participants with the building blocks of computer science and a programmatic way of thinking, Dr. Srivastava also talked about how the teachers could implement the concepts using interactive, engaging, game-based learning in K-5 classrooms.
Two of the main resources were CS unplugged, which is a web-based resource for unplugged activities to teach computer science fundamentals without actually using a computer, and Tynker, which is an easy-to-use interactive coding platform that uses Scratch language features.
Using the knowledge provided by the workshop, participants showcased their new skills in final presentations to the group on how they plan to implement coding and computer science fundamentals in their elementary school curriculum and classroom activities.
The workshop was organized by Ms. Allison Grabert, Director of the SwiSTEM Center at USI, and Ms. Paige Walling, Services Coordinator at the SwiSTEM Center. The teaching material and the workshop curriculum was developed and presented by Dr. Srishti Srivastava. Ms. Allison Allred, student worker at the SwiSTEM center, also attended and helped with the workshop as a student volunteer.
Published August 2, 2019