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Home >          PD Attendees >          Getting Started with Computer Science PD

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Advice to teachers who are taking professional development and are new to teaching computer science

Computer Science is new for many elementary school teachers.  For a good orientation, complete an hour of code

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With this background, it will be easy for you to have your students complete an hour of code next. 

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When you have had success with an hour of code, you are ready for a full course from Code.org.  There is a course designed for each grade level. It is helpful (but not necessary) to participate in a one-day workshop (Computer Science Fundamentals - Introduction). Then complete the course yourself and next have students complete it.  Don't skip the unplugged activities because they provide an anchor for the computer science concepts.  Pair programming is a best practice.

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To deepen your understanding of computer science standards, visit the Maryland Annotated Standards or visit the Explore Standards page. 

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With all this under your belt, you are ready to add more, such as Scratch/Scratch Jr., to your repertoire. Visit the Teacher section of ECSNet for inspiration. 

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