Computational Thinking into Everyday Elementary Curriculum

1. Today’s workshop is facilitated for you by:
Dr. Julie A. Evans, Project Tomorrow
David Gomez, Project Tomorrow
Dr. Kari Stubbs, BrainPOP
Infusing Computational
Thinking into Everyday
Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!

2. Getting to know each other!
Introduce yourself to someone you do not
know and say hi!

3. Getting to know each other!
Dr. Julie A. Evans
CEO
Project Tomorrow
David Gomez
CT Instructional Coach
Project Tomorrow
Dr. Kari Stubbs
Vice President
BrainPOP

4. About Project Tomorrow
(www.tomorrow.org)
▪ Nonprofit education organization supporting K-12 education
since 1996 through research, professional learning and
school-based programs
▪ Mission is to support the development of new capacities
and better decisions within the K-12 ecosystem
▪ Programs and research focus on role of innovation and new
learning models within education, notably around digital
learning. We believe in the power of transformational
teaching and learning to support students’ preparation for
future success.

5. Teachers are often
surprised by the level of
engagement with the
creativity tools.
Creative Coding,
especially, fills a gap
that we didn’t even
know existed as
educators.
— Lisa Olson, Technology Integration
Specialist, Green Bay Area Public
Schools
BrainPOP inspires active learning and student
agency with creative projects that strengthen
critical, computational, and creative thinking skills.
Every topic includes learner-driven projects such as:
● Make-a-Movie: students create their own
BrainPOP style movies to demonstrate
knowledge and build higher order thinking
skills.
● Creative Coding: text- and block-based coding
projects build computational thinking skills
● Make-a-Map: concept maps help connect
previous knowledge to new concepts
About BrainPOP - Creative Projects
1

6. Creating a community around
today’s discussion
Join us on Twitter:
@JulieEvans_PT
@KariStubbs
@ProjectTomorrow
@BrainPOP
@FETC
#FETC

7. ▪ Getting to know each other
▪ Define (re-define) computational thinking
▪ About our CT Project in NYC : a new model of teacher
professional learning
✔Assessing your personal readiness for CT
professional learning
▪ Modeling CT integration within everyday elementary
curriculum
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions
▪ Additional resources for extended learning
Our time together today

8. ▪ Learn about a new approach for helping teachers build
competency, confidence and comfort with computational
thinking integration
▪ Get new insights about your own personal readiness for CT
professional learning
▪ Pick up new tips and strategies that you can use in your own
classroom or school to support CT
▪ Gain new insights about the work of Project Tomorrow and
how BrainPOP solutions support CT in the classroom
Learning outcomes

9. About Project Tomorrow initiatives
and research work
To learn more about this
project and/or to get a copy
of today’s presentation sent
directly to you, add your
name and contact info to
our print sign in sheets or
on this online form.

10. “This is not about wanting everyone to
become a computer scientist. Just like the
ability to read, it’s about computational
fluency for everyone and the ability to think
and create.”
Dr. Karen Brennan
Harvard School of Education
Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!

11. Coding
Computer Science
Computational Thinking

12. Coding: The act of writing a set of instructions for a
computer to do or make something
Computer Science: The study of computers and
computing processes including social and ethical
questions about using computers
Computational Thinking: A set for strategies for solving
complex problems that works across the curriculum and
helps students develop higher order thinking skills

13. Computer
Science Computational
Thinking
Coding
Relationship between Coding, Computer Science and
Computational Thinking
https://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/dp-comp-thinking-v1r6.pdf

14. Computational Thinking
= problem-solving strategy using these 4 components
Decomposition
Pattern
Recognition
Abstraction
Algorithm
Design

15. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
Which number does not belong?
Identify a number and reflect on your reasoning
4 16
25 34

16. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
Which image or word does not belong?
Let’s discuss your response and reasoning!
story greeting
reach wrench

17. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
How is CT present in this task?

18. ▪ Getting to know each other
▪ Define (re-define) computational thinking
▪ About our CT Project in NYC : a new model of teacher
professional learning
✔Assessing your personal readiness for CT
professional learning
▪ Modeling CT integration within everyday
elementary curriculum
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions
▪ Additional resources for extended learning
Our time together today

19. Project Description:
▪ To evaluate a new model of CT teacher professional learning
▪ Personalized coaching on classroom CT integration based upon
an individual teacher’s readiness for CT professional learning
▪ Focus is to help teachers build not only competency but also
confidence and comfort with integrating CT within core
curriculum
▪ Studying impact of this professional learning model on teacher
effectiveness and student outcomes
▪ Development of a sustainable model that grows capacity
schoolwide and can be replicated
About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools

20. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Many thanks!

21. Project Description:
About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
▪10 elementary schools in
New York City serving
students of color and need
▪120 teachers, primarily
assigned to grades 3, 4 and 5
▪ Teachers have minimal
prior familiarity to CS or CT
concepts or integration

22. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Challenge factors:
▪ Confusion about how to define CT within an elementary classroom
context
▪ Teachers’ lack of knowledge about CT
▪ Existing professional learning models do not always follow best practices
▪ Relationship between technology skills and adoption of new teaching
strategies
▪ Second order barriers including teachers’ self-efficacy around CT abilities
Comfort levels among elementary school teachers for CT integration:
▪ Very comfortable – 13%
▪ Somewhat comfortable – 51%
▪ Not comfortable – 36%
Source: Project Tomorrow national research results from elementary
teachers (2020-21)

23. Model elements:
1. Understanding individual teacher readiness to inform
personalized professional learning (PPL) plan
2. 1:1 coaching and mentoring for personal growth
3. Focus on integration within core curriculum, not a
separated activity
4. Provide technology scaffolding through BrainPOP
5. Build school capacity for sustainability with a new CT
culture
About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools

24. Defining readiness for CT professional learning
About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
✓Familiarity with computational thinking and the integration
of CT within instruction
✓Valuation of CT as important for all students
✓Usage of technology in their classroom
✓Level of comfort and confidence with integrating CT within
their classroom
✓Demonstrated support for student-student collaborations
and also peer-peer educator collaborations

25. Understanding individual teacher readiness to inform personalized professional
learning (PPL) plan
Teachers’ Readiness to Adopt and Adapt CT (TRAACT) Spectrum and Assessment Tool
Levels of Use
Stages
of
Concern
Incremental Intentional Impact Innovation
Awareness A-1 A-2
Valuation
V-1 V-2
V-3
Management M-1 M-2 M-3
M-4
Collaboration
C-1
C-2 C-3 C-4
Refocusing R-1 R-2

26. Understanding individual teacher readiness to inform personalized professional
learning (PPL) plan
Teachers’ Readiness to Adopt and Adapt CT (TRAACT) Spectrum and Assessment Tool

27. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
Use this QR code or link below to access the Teacher CT Survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FETCTRAACT
We will send you your results post FETC!
Time now for you to learn
about your own CT
readiness through Project
Tomorrow’s TRAACT
assessment.

28. ▪ Getting to know each other
▪ Define (re-define) computational thinking
▪ About our CT Project in NYC : a new model of teacher
professional learning
✔Assessing your personal readiness for CT
professional learning
▪ Modeling CT integration within everyday
elementary curriculum
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions
▪ Additional resources for extended learning
Our time together today

29. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
CT: Unplugged Activity
•You will have 30 seconds to draw a cat.
Your goal is to make it obvious to anyone that
sees your picture that it is a drawing of a cat.
Before you start…
•Think about how you will draw your picture
and the important elements you want to
include.

30. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
CT: Unplugged Activity
•How did you plan for this task?
•Do you notice any similarities in
the drawings, or the features
included in our drawings?
•What role did time play in your
completion of this task?

31. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Planning an Unplugged Activity
Imagine 4th grade students are currently learning about earthquakes in Science class and
are learning about the impact of natural disasters in different parts of the world in Social
Studies/ELA.
ESS3.B Natural Hazards: A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g.,
earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but
can take steps to reduce their impacts. (4-ESS3-2)
4W6: Conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, and to
build knowledge through investigating multiple aspects of a topic. (4-ESS1- 1),(4-ESS2-1)

32. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Planning an Unplugged Activity
We would like to create a unit where students:
•Design and build the tallest free-standing structure that can withstand a simulated
earthquake
•Make predictions about how buildings are built in the real world to withstand
earthquakes
•Conduct research to determine the accuracy of their predictions and present
findings via tasks such as a flipbook or diorama.
Let’s decompose this task! What would be the smaller parts of this project?

33. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Project Components:
•Draft initial concept drawing of bridge/building
•Collaborate with classmate(s) to create a free-standing structure that can withstand
an earthquake simulation (Earthquake Resistant Building)
•Discuss and chart patterns among the class designs. What did the most successful
designs have in common? What ideas might students want to implement in a future
design?
•Research earthquakes and their impact on structures
•What causes earthquakes? How does it impact structures?
•How are buildings or bridges designed?
•What are the most important details about the building structure?
•Are there similarities between buildings that students notice? Are those
the same or different than what they noticed in their structures?

34. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Hands on task Components:
Materials: 50 toothpicks, 35
marshmallows and 2 feet of masking tape
(optional)
•Students must keep in mind that they want to
build the tallest standing structure (measured
from the base to the highest point)
•The building must withstand 10 seconds of
earthquake like conditions
•Only the part of the building left standing will
count towards the final height.

35. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools
Other Unplugged Activities

36. Computational
Thinking
Abstraction
boil a problem down to its simplest
form
Algorithm Design
making a plan - a series to steps to put
your ideas into action
Decomposition
breaking down the problem into
manageable chunks
Pattern Recognition
looking for similarities
@karistubbs @brainpop
#FETC

37. Let’s apply our CT skills to solve
today’s puzzle.
WORDLE -
Are you
caught up in
the craze?
@karistubbs @brainpop
#FETC

38. @karistubbs @brainpop

39. Strategy
Reflection
with
Make-a-Map
@karistubbs @brainpop
#FETC

40. Daily Puzzle
https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/
Build Your Own
https://mywordle.me/?word=psrfs
Wordle Archive
https://metzger.media/games/wordle-
archive/?levels=select
WORDLE LINKS
@karistubbs @brainpop
#FETC

41. ● Developed in partnership with
Scratch and Vidcode
● Includes both block- and text-
based projects spanning the K-12
curriculum
● Scaffolded and delivered at the
topic level
● Projects are specifically designed
so that all teachers can easily
introduce coding no matter what
they're covering in class
CREATIVE
CODING
@karistubbs @brainpop
#FETC

42. About the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
Computational Thinking Project in New York City schools

43. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
Let’s talk!
What are your
comments, ideas
and questions?

44. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
1. What was the most important or
interesting thing you learned today?
1. What is one thing that you will share with
a colleague from today’s workshop?
1. How will you use this knowledge to
become a more effective leader?
Reflection on our time together today:

45. About Project Tomorrow initiatives
and research work
To learn more about this
project and/or to get a copy
of today’s presentation sent
directly to you, add your
name and contact info to
our print sign in sheets or
on this online form.

46. Speak Up reports, infographics,
briefings and data insights for
schools and districts
www.tomorrow.org
Additional resources
▪ Use Speak Up research to inform your programs
and initiatives – including local advocacy
▪ Share Speak Up resources with your colleagues
as a value-add and trusted source for
information
▪ Encourage your school or district to use the
Speak Up tools and be part of the larger Speak
Up movement
▪ Engage with us to further explore how to use
stakeholder feedback data more effectively

47. Additional resources for extended learning
Report from Project Tomorrow and BrainPOP
Coding in K-8 Classrooms: Empowering A New Generation of Creators
https://tomorrow.org/speakup/coding-report-2019.html
Report from Digital Promise (featuring the Project Tomorrow – BrainPOP
project in NYC
Computational Thinking for an Inclusive World: A Resource for
Educators to Learn and Lead
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12265/138

48. BrainPOP at
FETC
https://go.brainpop.
com/fetc2022

49. Infusing Computational Thinking into
Everyday Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!
Thursday, January 27, 2022
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
W820
Your reflections and feedback are appreciated.
Submit your survey responses on the FETC Mobile App

50. Thank you for joining us today!
Dr. Julie A. Evans, Project Tomorrow
@JulieEvans_PT
JEvans@tomorrow.org
David Gomez, Project Tomorrow
DGomez@tomorrow.org
Dr. Kari Stubbs, BrainPOP
@KariStubbs
Kstubbs@brainpop.com
Infusing Computational Thinking into Everyday
Elementary Curriculum
Yes, You Can!