Hingham Public Schools is implementing a strategic, multi-year Implementation plan to ensure that all students receive access to a rigorous course of study in Digital Literacy and Computer Science.
There are two implementation tracks: Standalone Instruction and CS Immersion.
2016-2017
Stand-Alone Instruction
Elementary Research and Development (COMPLETED)
All students in the district’s elementary program were receiving direct instruction in technology literacy as a part of the core elementary program, along with other specialist classes such as Art, Music, Spanish, etc.. The district’s Elementary Instructional Technology Teachers spent the year unpacking and analyzing the DLCS Curriculum Frameworks. The teachers defined the essential learning outcomes for students in grades K-5 and then transformed these essential outcomes into curriculum maps, outlining the units of study for each grade. Further, the teachers began small-scale piloting of tools and materials to implement the program.
2017-2018
Stand-Alone Instruction
K-5 Roll-Out – Phase 1 (COMPLETED)
This year all students in the district’s elementary program will receive direct instruction in the new Computer Science curriculum as a part of the core elementary program. School schedules and printed materials were revised to reflect this change and the title of the Instructional Technology Teachers were revised to Elementary Computer Science Teachers. During the fall term, elementary students will receive direct instruction in digital literacy, while computer science lessons will begin implementation in January, 2018.
Students in grades K-1 will be working with Beebots
Students in grades 2-3 will be working with Osmo Coding & Coding Jam
Students in grades 4-5 will be working with Dash & Dot
6-8 Research and Development; 9-12 Review (COMPLETED)
Unlike the elementary program, the secondary program does not offer direct instruction in computer science, with the exception of a formal unit of study in Grade 6 STEM. Enrichment offerings include HMS Robotics and HMS Coding Club. Research and development is underway at Hingham Middle School to review the schedule to determine the most effective way to ensure that all middle school students receive instruction in Digital Literacy and Computer Science.
Hingham High School has revised its Program of Study and is running a Computer Applications course. This course is under review to ensure alignment with the DLCS Curriculum Framework. Other elective offerings including Introduction to Computer Programming and a Tech Squad course. Students may also take AP Computer Science through Virtual High School. Enrichment offerings include HHS Robotics and HHS Coding Club. A robotics elective offering will also be offered in 2018-2019.
CS Immersion
K-12 Research and Development (COMPLETED)
As the district began to contemplate the implementation of the DLCS Curriculum Frameworks, it became clear that effective implementation required innovative thinking to ensure that the learning outcomes articulated in the document were delivered to our students in a meaningful and strategic way. Only offering instruction in these frameworks during “specials” or through “exploratory” courses would not be enough to form a solid foundation for our students. According the DLCS framework “much of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions central to digital literacy and computer science, such as computational thinking, also apply to other subjects, including, but not limited to, science, technology and engineering and mathematics” Given the overlap of these curriculum frameworks to the frameworks in other academic disciplines, a true opportunity for all students to better apply and learn digital literacy and computer science emerged…Computer Science Immersion.
Hingham Public Schools is borrowing from a known instructional model in bilingual education: “language immersion”. In “language immersion” two languages are used in the delivery of content and demonstration of learning across academic disciplines. While computer science is not a language, the instructional model where students use two modes of communication for learning and demonstration of knowledge is key to our strategic implementation of the DLCS Curriculum framework. It is our vision that students will applying principles and knowledge from DLCS to “show us what they know” in new and creative ways, applying knowledge across content areas.
The district is preparing to recruit the first pilot cohort of “Innovation Fellows” who will serve as the pilot group of general educators to take the first step into making our vision of CS Immersion a reality. These teachers are being recruited according to the follow recruitment design:
Elementary:
1 Teacher per grade, per elementary school
1 Teacher per specialist area (music, spanish, art, PE, Library)
Total Cohort Membership: 29 teachers
Middle:
1 Team of Teachers, per grade
1 Teacher per specialist area (music, Foreign Language, Family & Consumer Science, etc)
Total Middle School Cohort Membership: 13-18
High School:
Total High School Cohort: 8-16
Our Innovation Fellows will receive intensive Professional Development through stand-alone sessions and embedded coaching through a variety of partners (potential partnerships being explored include: Tufts Center for Engineering Education Outreach, MIT/Harvard ScratchEd, Code.org).
2018-2019
Stand-Alone Instruction
K-5 Roll-Out – Phase 2 (COMPLETED)
This year we will continue with our plan to ensure that all students in the district’s elementary program receive direct instruction in the new Computer Science curriculum as a part of the core elementary program. We will expand those tools used in grades K-5 (specific tools and grades are under development).
6-8 Roll-Out (COMPLETED)
This year the district hopes to expand Grade 6 STEM program into a Grade 7-8 STEM elective, which will include a unit on computer app development, as a part of the core program. School schedules and printed materials will be revised to reflect these changes, as well as provide an overview of the middle school program.
Hingham High School will pilot the revised and renamed Computer Science course.
9-12 Roll-Out (COMPLETED)
This year all students in the district’s high school program will receive direct instruction in the new Computer Science curriculum as a part of a department/s elective program. School schedules and printed materials will revised to reflect these changes, as well as provide an overview of the high school program.
CS Immersion
Pilot Roll-Out: Phase 1 (COMPLETED)
This year the district plans to pilot immersive opportunities for students in grades K-12. A cohort of “Innovation Fellows” will be actively working to incorporate the DLCS standards into units and lessons across all content areas. Teachers will receive rigorous professional development and embedded coaching to ensure instructional materials are developed, deployed, and evaluated for effectiveness. Student learning will be core in all pilot classrooms and parents will be invited to parent-specific workshops to understand the ways the DLCS standards are being implemented in these classrooms.
Recruiting for Year 2 Innovation Fellows will begin in the spring of 2019.
2019-2020
Stand-Alone Instruction
9-12 Roll-Out (COMPLETED)
This year all students in the district’s high school program be offered the opportunity to take elective courses in Computer Science, with the ultimate goal of offering Advanced Placement Computer Science on-site at HHS. School schedules and printed materials will be revised to reflect these changes, as well as provide an overview of the high school program.
CS Immersion
Pilot Roll-Out: Phase 2 (COMPLETED)
This year the district plans to continue implementation of the K-12 CS Immersion pilot with those teachers who are Year I Innovation Fellows, while expanding to include more classrooms into the pilot. Students in Immersion classrooms will continue to be taught in a fully-integrative manner with content from our core program, utilizing new and innovative ways for students to show us what they know using. Teachers will continue receive rigorous professional development and embedded coaching to ensure instructional materials are developed, deployed, and evaluated for effectiveness.
Recruiting for Full Programmatic Roll-Out will begun in the spring of 2020.
2020-beyond
Stand-Alone Instruction
Formal Program Review
CS Immersion
Programmatic Roll-Out
This year the district will move to full programmatic roll-out across the district. It is anticipated that the process to bring all classrooms into the program will continue this year, as well as into the years to come.
