{"id":74973,"date":"2019-08-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-professor-r-i-teachers-key-reason-for-states-national-reputation-in-computer-science-education\/"},"modified":"2019-08-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T00:00:00","slug":"uri-professor-r-i-teachers-key-reason-for-states-national-reputation-in-computer-science-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2019\/08\/uri-professor-r-i-teachers-key-reason-for-states-national-reputation-in-computer-science-education\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 professor: R.I. teachers key reason for state\u2019s national reputation in computer science education"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — Aug. 8, 2019 — Christine Jones, a teacher at Newport\u2019s<\/strong> Thompson Middle School, probably doesn\u2019t see herself as a pioneer.<\/p>\n

But Victor Fay-Wolfe, 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of computer science <\/a>and one of the state\u2019s leading advocates for computer science instruction in all schools, says it\u2019s an apt title for Jones and about 60 other teachers from around the state who recently took part in a week of computer science training at the University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came from all different disciplines, and I can\u2019t say enough about their pioneer spirit,\u201d Fay-Wolfe said. \u201cThese were math teachers and those from other disciplines who did not major in computer science in college. But they came in during their summer break to become better teachers and bring their enthusiasm for computer science to their classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christine<\/a>
LISTENING INTENTLY: Christine Jones, a teacher at Newport\u2019s Thompson Middle School, listens to a presentation at Code.org at the University\u2019s Kingston Campus. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Michael Salerno.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fay-Wolfe, who is also on assignment with the Rhode Island Department of Education, was a keynote speaker during the weeklong training provided by Code.org<\/a> at the University\u2019s Kingston Campus. The training is part of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s K-12 Computer Science program<\/a> and the CS4RI<\/a> statewide initiative.<\/p>\n

The professional development programs included training for two courses — Computer Science Discoveries, which is for students in grades 6 through 10, and Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, for students in grades 9 through 12. Following the course, students in the advanced placement public high school classrooms will have the opportunity to earn free 溏心vlog免费B站 Concurrent Enrollment Credit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The concurrent enrollment program at 溏心vlog免费B站, in which high school students take 溏心vlog免费B站 courses and earn University credits while meeting their high school requirements, has experienced robust growth in the last three years. That is due in large part to the demand for computer science classes offered through 溏心vlog免费B站. Of the 5,247 high school students who took courses in the program in the last three years, 2,969 of them were enrolled in computer science classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a real sense, these individuals become University students,\u201d Fay-Wolfe said.<\/p>\n

\"Whitney<\/a>
ENGAGED TEACHERS: Whitney Biafore, left, a teacher at Toll Gate High School in Warwick, and Anna Stuart-Vieira, a teacher at Dr Edward Ricci School in North Providence, participate in the Code.org training program at 溏心vlog免费B站. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Michael Salerno.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Thompson Middle School, Jones teaches children in grades 5 through 8 in the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always integrated computer science into my curriculum and this will be my third year in this role,\u201d said the 13-year-teacher. \u201cThe Discoveries (course) training was wonderful.\u00a0 While I hope to be able to integrate as much as possible into my classroom, I feel that what I learned will help me support my students who are interested in computer science. Prior to this course, I had little understanding of coding. I only understood how to use programs. This course definitely built my capacity as an educator.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also took to heart Fay-Wolfe\u2019s message that teachers should engage with colleagues and administrators to advocate for computer science at all grade levels and in all disciplines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I felt that computer science was important prior to hearing his presentation, he instilled a sense of urgency in promoting computer science for all. I will definitely be speaking to my administration about ensuring that all students at my school have access to all the computer science standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his presentation, Fay-Wolfe highlighted a half-dozen achievements to emphasize that Rhode Island is a national leader in computer science education:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 100 percent of traditional school districts offer computer science opportunities — the highest percentage in the country<\/li>\n
  • Several high schools have every student taking a computer science course<\/li>\n
  • 78 percent of Rhode Island public schools offer at least one advanced placement computer science course<\/li>\n
  • More than 1,000 Rhode Island high school students obtained college computer science concurrent enrollment credit in the past academic year, the highest percentage in the country<\/li>\n
  • 2,000 students attended the CS4RI summit at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Ryan Center in December, the highest attendance at a computer science event in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Fay-Wolfe also dispelled the notion that computer science is only coding and robotics. It also includes computer architecture, networks, graphics, theory of computation, operating systems, artificial intelligence, databases, algorithms and data structures. The subject also includes technology\u2019s impact on society.<\/p>\n

    Whitney Biafore, a math teacher at Warwick\u2019s<\/strong> Toll Gate High School, was being trained in the Computer Science Discoveries course. She is entering her 30th year of teaching and her third year of teaching computer science at Toll Gate.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI was fortunate to be part of a group that went to Phoenix for Code.org training,\u201d Biafore said. \u201cNow it\u2019s great that 溏心vlog免费B站 is hosting the training, which will continue throughout the fall and winter. This follow up is so helpful, and then to have the big CS4RI summit at 溏心vlog免费B站 is very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cAt the summit, students and teachers from different districts not only get to know and work with each, they work with 溏心vlog免费B站 students and faculty,\u201d she said. \u201cOur students also get exposed to University life, and what a large, dynamic University like 溏心vlog免费B站 can offer them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    KINGSTON, R.I. — Aug. 8, 2019 — Christine Jones, a teacher at Newport\u2019s Thompson Middle School, probably doesn\u2019t see herself as a pioneer. But Victor Fay-Wolfe, 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of computer science and one of the state\u2019s leading advocates for computer science instruction in all schools, says it\u2019s an apt title for Jones […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-74973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}