Map to StandardsNow that you have identified the computational thinking competencies you will expect your students to develop, it’s time to identify how your students will progress on their journey to mastery. This progression should align to state and national computational thinking or computer science standards. On your competency map, define clear statements of those competencies in terms of what students should know and be able to do in each grade band and annotate these statements with short, illustrative examples, or videos. To support teachers as they integrate computational thinking into their classrooms, particularly in elementary and middle school, you should also link competency developments to disciplinary standards used in your district (e.g., Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Standards). Make sure you are communicating expected outcomes in a way all stakeholders can understand by using plain language and descriptive examples.
As you map to standards, ask yourself:
Vertical and Horizontal AlignmentTo develop a cohesive competency map, it is important to ensure that the competencies align both vertically and horizontally. Horizontal alignment entails ensuring that opportunities within a grade level, potentially embedded in different disciplines (e.g. math and ELA) develop connections between competencies and are in line with each other. Vertical alignment ensures that student knowledge of the competencies grows from year to year without unintentional repetition or gaps. Building out the pathway and identifying connections to standards alignment is a great opportunity to begin the process of vertical and horizontal alignment.
As you vertically and horizontally align your CT pathway, ask yourself:
Computational Thinking