Presentation of the University of Maryland Curriculum In A Box (csinabox.cs.umd.edu): a collection of free, (dis)ability accessible computer science curriculum for underrepresented students. This curriculum can enable teachers and other adults who may not have a strong computer science background to introduce programming in their class or in an after-school setting. Presentation at the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education 2015 conference. Presented by Elissa Redmiles (cs.umd.edu/~eredmiles) and Sean Kross

1. University
of
Maryland
Curriculum
In
A
Box
csinbox.cs.umd.edu
Elissa
Redmiles
&
Sean
Kross
eredmil1 seankross

2. Pre-­‐tested
package
of
resources
for
parents
and
teachers
to
introduce
middle
and
high
school
students
to
computer
science.
Students
explore
computer
science
through
web
development
and
social
media
programming.
Facilitate
posiHve
percepHons
of
computer
scienHsts
through
relatable
role
model
stories
and
videos.

4. Goals
“Student
centered”:
leverages
auditory,
visual,
problem-­‐solving,
and
exploratory
learning
strategies
Inclusive
toward
underrepresented
students
and
those
with
(dis)abiliHes
Can
be
implemented
by
adults
with
no
programming
experience

5. Interviewed
7
middle/high
school
computer
science
teachers
Design
Process
Types
of
quesHons:
• What
would
be
helpful
to
include
in
a
teachers
guide?
What
would
best
help
you
teach
computer
science
in
your
classroom?
• What
format
would
be
most
useful:
PPT/HTML/
PDF?
• Do
you
know
HTML/CSS?
• What
type
of
content
would
be
most
compelling
to
your
students?

6. Design
Insights
Week-­‐by-­‐week
guide
with
exactly
how
to
implement
curriculum
in
the
classroom
would
be
useful
modular
&
flexible
Assessments
prove
student
success
to
administrators
100%
web-­‐based
tool
many
schools
do
not
allow
downloading
of
resources
onto
school
computers

8. A
middle
school
student
has
an
aenHon
span
of
12
minutes
Vawter,
D.
Mining
the
Middle
School
Mind.
(Na3onal
Associa3on
of
Elementary
School
Principals.

11. Video

12. Problem solving based learning
use a challenge project to drive students to apply
newly learned material

16. Relatable
role
models
drive
students’
selecHon
and
compleHon
of
a
compuHng
career
Fisher,
A.,
Margolis,
J.,
&
Miller,
F.
Undergraduate
women
in
computer
science:
experience,
moHvaHon
and
culture.
SIGCSE
.

18. 75%
of
girls
|
60%
of
boys
use
social
media
daily

19. Tumblr
Even
though
girls
spend
less
Hme
on
the
computer
than
their
male
peers,
they
spend
more
Hme
on
social
media.
Programming
within
social
media
frameworks
provides
an
opportunity
for
open
ended
creaHvity,
which
NCWIT
advocates
as
a
strategy
to
improve
engagement
in
computer
science. Cohoon,
M.
and
Barker,
L.
A?rac3ng
Students
through
an
Engaging
Introductory
Compu3ng
Curriculum.
NCWIT.

20. Switch
to
adding
a
border

21. Exhibit
a
computer
scienHst
focused
social
media
plaborm
Show
how
programming
can
be
collaboraHve
Promote career development and pride in
programming work created through a programming
portfolio hosted on GitHub pages

22. Screen
reader
accessibility
&
text-­‐based
descripHons
of
all
visual
assets
Closed
capHoning
for
all
videos
Used
Bootstrap
to
develop
for
enhanced
accessibility

23. Curriculum-­‐In-­‐A-­‐Box
implemented
in
aDer-­‐school
program
8-­‐10
students
in
the
program
each
week
6th
and
7th
graders
100%
female
students
100%
underrepresented
minority
students
Facilitated
by
3
female
college
students
majoring
in
computer
science

24. c s i n a b o x . c s . u m d . e d u
Questions: eredmiles@cs.umd.edu