Background
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) provide services to every public school district and accredited non-public school across the state to improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth, representing over 328 educational institutions and over 500,000 students. Services include special education supports, professional learning courses for educators, curriculum consultation, libraries and digital resources and consortium pricing.
In 2018, the Iowa State Board of Education adopted the . In 2020, the mandating computer science instruction in K-5 public schools starting in July 2023.
Challenge
Despite the state law passed in 2020, there was no statewide curriculum or professional development program to assist in meeting state mandates for computer science (CS). And like many educators, most elementary teachers in Iowa do not have a background in STEM or CS.
“Computer science was a scary topic for most of our elementary teachers. Teachers didn’t know how they were going to teach it because it was such an unfamiliar subject,” said Bridget Castelluccio, Digital Learning Consultant at Grant Wood AEA.
To meet state mandates for elementary computer science instruction aligned to CSTA standards, Iowa’s AEAs needed a K-5 solution that engages all young learners in fundamental computer science concepts and skills – beyond just digital citizenship and coding. With limited time for professional learning and demanding classroom schedules, their computer science curriculum needed to meet teachers where they are and fit seamlessly into their instructional days.
On top of teacher readiness and professional learning challenges, equity gaps persist in the fields of computer science and engineering. Only 20 percent of computer science and 22 percent of engineering undergraduate degrees in the U.S. are earned by women (). In addition, Black and Hispanic people remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce, representing 9% and 8% of STEM jobs, despite 13.6% and 18.9% of the U.S. population ().
“We know there are equity gaps in computer science. Many students don’t have computer scientists or engineers in their communities who look like them. If we equip teachers with effective tools and curriculum to introduce CS starting in kindergarten, the state mandate and CSTA standards have the potential to increase confidence around CS for all students,” said Marisa Dahl, Digital Learning Consultant at Heartland AEA.
Solution
Robust Core Computer Science Curriculum for K-5
Iowa’s AEAs selected Seesaw’s Computer Science Curriculum as the core K-5 CS curriculum offering. Seesaw’s Computer Science curriculum engages all learners with fun and relevant real-life connections. The intuitive, interactive tools at the center of the Seesaw platform build student voice and creation, balance online and offline activities, and make fundamental computer science concepts accessible and engaging.
“When we evaluated the Seesaw CS curriculum, it was clearly accessible for our elementary students. The curriculum includes key concepts beyond coding around computational thinking, digital literacy, and digital citizenship,” said Ms. Dahl. “It also encourages pair programming, which fosters collaboration in the classroom and maps to a common practice for computer scientists and engineers.”
Easy Integration with Curriculum
Seesaw’s helped Iowa’s AEAs connect the dots between Iowa state standards and Seesaw Computer Science curriculum. Additionally, Seesaw and Iowa’s AEAs worked together to incorporate the Seesaw lessons into a scope and sequence for Iowa K-5 teachers. This made it easy for teachers to incorporate the lessons into their instructional routines and plans throughout the year.
Reducing the Barriers to Teaching CS
The curriculum provided accessible lessons on a platform that was familiar to both teachers and students across the state.
“For many teachers, adding computer science to their day felt overwhelming. Fortunately, Seesaw’s CS curriculum is on a platform teachers already know and love, so there was much less overhead to get started,” said Ms. Castelluccio. “They didn’t need to learn a new tool on top of learning how to teach CS. And the lessons themselves include scaffolds and supports, so the barriers to teaching CS for the first time were reduced as well.”
On top of the curriculum and platform itself, Iowa’s AEAs leveraged professional learning and training resources to increase CS readiness for elementary teachers across the state. They hosted virtual learning for K-5 teachers to build awareness and improve CS teaching skills, regularly shared guides and instructional resources to curriculum directors across the state, and encouraged tech-savvy administrators and Seesaw power users to share CS curriculum details and teaching tips with their colleagues.
Results
During the first year of implementation, 250+ elementary general education and specialist teachers taught Computer Science on Seesaw. Elementary students across the state built fundamental CS skills, resulting in 13,000+ student posts to Seesaw journals.
Through thoughtful professional learning, an easy-to-use curriculum and scope and sequence, and engaging interactive content, teachers across the state developed skills and confidence to teach this new and required subject.
“Teachers went from ‘I can’t do this!’ to ‘This is exciting!’ The curriculum roll-out encouraged them to look at the CSTA standards with enthusiasm and break down the initial uncertainty and doubt about the K-5 CS requirement,” said Ms. Castelluccio.
“When we’re selecting new tools and curriculum, we look at it through the lens of the (UDL) framework. Seesaw’s curriculum really supports UDL in the different ways students can learn new concepts, engage with the content, and express their learning,” said Ms. Dahl.
has the flexibility to fit into every elementary classroom – whether core instruction, special rotations, or as a designated block – giving teachers everything they need to teach computer science with confidence.
