Computer Science Teacher

Insight into the computing classroom

Beverly Clarke

• Publisher: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781780173948
• eBook ISBN: 9781780173962
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Careers

Increased focus on computer science has recently brought about the new national curriculum in computing. This book explores the role of Computer Science Teacher in a secondary school environment. An overview of secondary school computing is covered, along with what the role encompasses, the attributes, knowledge and skills required to be a success and useful standards, tools, methods and techniques you can employ. Case studies and quotes from schools and current teachers are also included.

1 INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER SCIENCE

This chapter explores the background of the current computing national curriculum in England and discusses terminology used around the curriculum. Comparisons are made between the English national curriculum and that of the other parts of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). There is also comparison of the UK education systems.

AN EVOLVING SUBJECT

Computers! Digital! Technology! Apps! Online! Cyber! We hear these words all around us. This is a part of everyday terminology that did not exist a century ago. There are new words being added to dictionaries every year. We use a multitude of devices and software and we demand more from technology than ever before. With these demands comes a question. Who is teaching our young people to use and design appropriate technology for this digital age?

This is where the computer science teacher comes in. The computer science teacher is skilled in computing knowledge and understands the new national curriculum in England and the computing programme of study (published September 2013).

At this early stage, you may have noticed the words ‘computer science’ and ‘computing’. Before we go any further let’s clarify the difference between these terms.

WHAT IS COMPUTER SCIENCE?

Computer science can be described as ‘the scientific and practical study of computation’¹ and problem solving. In the computing programme of study, computer science is described as the ‘the core of computing’.

At the centre of computer science is computational thinking (CT) (algorithmic design, abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, pattern generalisation), which assists in problem solving, system design and artificial intelligence, all of which are of importance to the economy and for citizens to function. A computer science teacher will guide a pupil through the strands of CT and teach pupils to be digitally literate through theoretical and practical activity, thus equipping the pupil to be functional in this newly emerging world.

WHAT IS COMPUTING?

Computing is the collective name given in the curriculum to three areas, one of which is computer science. The three areas are:

• computer science (foundations);
• information and communication technology (ICT) (applications);
• digital literacy (implications).²

We’ve covered computer science already; let’s look at the other two.

ICT is where one is a user of systems at an application level, by manipulating images in software, manipulating data and sending emails, for example (up to 2012, England’s curriculum was an ICT curriculum).

Digital literacy looks at safe usage and navigation of the digital world.

Within a school, the computer science teacher is involved in teaching computing, and it is ‘computing’, as an umbrella term, to which the national curriculum now refers. On a school timetable, the subject will often be referred to as computing, although you will find that some schools use the terms ‘computer science’ and ‘computing’ interchangeably.

This book mainly focuses on the teacher of computer science, as computer science is the prominent addition to the English computing curriculum, but should also be a valuable resource for the computing teacher.

Computer science is the area of focus as it has not previously been taught and teachers need to upskill to teach this area. Additionally, the skills and knowledge gained through studying computer science, as the core of computing, enable pupils to learn how computer systems work, how they are designed and programmed; this is important as computer systems are becoming more and more integral to our lives.

THE COMPUTING CURRICULUM

Figure 1.1 compares ICT (the old curriculum) and computer science (the core of the current computing curriculum). Remember this is a fairly new subject on the curriculum, and it is important to be clear about the differences since at times, as a computer science teacher, you will be educating beyond the classroom, to other colleagues and into the community, such as at parents’ evening. Figure 1.1 is taken from the Computing At School (CAS), National Association of Advisors for Computers in Education (Naace), Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education (ITTE) Joint Statement, June 2012.³

Figure 1.1 Comparison of ICT and computer science

Information and communication technology

Computer science

The study of computers and how they are used

The study of how computer systems are built and work

Human need is central to the subject

Computation is central to the subject

Concerned with the design, development and evaluation of systems, with particular emphasis on the data, functional and usability requirements of end users

Concerned with algorithmic thinking and the ways in which a real world problem can be decomposed in order to construct a working solution

Focuses on building or programming a solution by a combination of currently available devices and software

Solves problems and develops new systems by writing new software and developing innovative and computational approaches

Emphasis on selecting, evaluating, designing and configuring appropriate software and devices. Programming is one method of creating desired outcomes

Emphasis on principles and techniques for building new software and designing new hardware. Programming and coding is a central technique to create outcomes

ICT supports, enhances and empowers human activity and informs future developments

Computation is a lens through which we can understand the natural world and the nature of thought itself in a new way

Trending towards the higher level study and application of ICT in a range of contexts, from academic to vocational

Trending towards the higher level academic study of computing and computer science

We will now examine the aims of the current National Curriculum in England, as described in the computing programme of study – Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 Aims of the National Curriculum in computing

The National Curriculum for Computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation;
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems;
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems;
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-of-study

Here you will notice the mention of computer science concepts, writing of programs, application of information technology and being a responsible user of technology. This is computing, the collective areas you will teach.

There is another reason why computer science is of such importance in the curriculum. Computer science is listed as a science in the Ebacc (English Baccalaureate). This is a performance measure against which secondary schools are measured and is used as a means to raise standards across all schools in England.⁴

If you are a primary teacher reader of this book, or are seeking to become one, you may well ask, how is this content relevant to me? The answer is simple: grades obtained at primary level, during the year 6 Standard Attainment Tests (SATs) or given by a primary teacher, are used alongside other data to generate progress and attainment predictions for pupils⁵ at the end of key stage 4. Thus, being aware of the importance that you play within the education system is essential. Additionally, many primary schools are increasingly having specialist single subject computer science staff. Even if you are not a single subject teacher in a primary school, the cross-curricular links and wider computing picture are very relevant. Chapter 3 looks at Progress 8 and Attainment 8 measures which chart a pupil’s journey from primary through to the end of secondary school which is useful for all teachers.

The origins of the computing curriculum

How did the new computing curriculum come about? What were the drivers?

In order to address these questions, one must look back to January 2012, where at the BETT Education Show, the Rt Hon. Michael Gove MP, then Education Secretary, gave a speech on ICT in the curriculum – Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3 Rt Hon. Michael Gove speech at the BETT Show, 2012

‘Almost every field of employment now depends on technology. From radio, to television, computers and the internet, each new technological advance has changed our world and changed us too. But there is one notable exception – Education has barely changed.’

‘The fundamental model of school education is still a teacher talking to a group of pupils. I...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• BCS, THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR IT
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Author
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Glossary
• Preface
• 1. INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER SCIENCE
• 2. THE ROLE OF THE COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER
• 3. STANDARDS, TOOLS, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
• 4. CAREER PROGRESSION AND RELATED ROLES
• 5. CASE STUDIES: SNAPSHOTS INTO LIFE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMPUTING TEACHING
• 6. CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX 1: SELF-ASSESSMENTS
• APPENDIX 2: SEATING PLAN
• APPENDIX 3: JOB ADVERTS
• Sunbury Manor School job application pack
• Bradley Stoke Community School job application pack
• APPENDIX 4: CLASS PROFILE FOR USE WITH LESSON AT INTERVIEW
• APPENDIX 5: PROGRESS GRID
• APPENDIX 6: LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
• APPENDIX 7: SUPPORTING MATERIAL FOR CASE STUDIES
• APPENDIX 8: SUPPORT FOR THE COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER (BOOKS, WEBSITES, TOOLS)
• For primary and secondary
• For secondary specifically
• For primary specifically
• Notes
• References
• Additional references
• Index
• Back Cover