Competency Demo 3.1 - Course Outcomes

As was noted on the module summary page, this week is a bit different from the previous three weeks. The first activity for the week is much larger than normal.  This is actually the kick off of sorts to your large, ongoing, curriculum development project that you will complete with a group of classmates starting on July 11.  In fact, the content of this deliverable will help me assign groups for that project.  Please read the directions carefully for this deliverable.

Creating a Course Outcomes Document  [Graded the equivalent of a Competency Demo]

In many ways this assignment should feel familiar to you.  It draws from a number of activities we have done in the TLP course as well as some of the activities earlier in this course.

The task here is for you to identify the expected outcomes for a particular course. I would like you to identify a computer science course that you currently teach, have been asked to design, or that you expect to see at your school in the future. This course can contain programming but should also include elements beyond programming.  Appropriate courses might include a module on CS at the middle school level (something the state of Iowa is asking all school districts to require of all students), a lower level "Intro to Computer Science" as a high school elective, or a Computer Science Principles course (either with or without the AP designation).

• Begin by clearly identifying the type of course, audience (grade, required/optional, etc), length of course and, if appropriate, where it fits in among other courses your school does/may offer.
• Using the CSTA Standards as guidance, identify a set of outcomes that you feel are/will be applicable to the design of this course. 
• I would like you to produce a report that identifies what you consider to be the student outcomes for this course you have identified.  While I am going to focus on the outcomes in evaluating your deliverable, I strongly encourage you to also begin to consider how you feel you would/could assess the outcome.

The specific structure/format you use isn't heavily presecribed, but you should clearly identify your primary and, if appropriate, intermediate goals/student outcomes.  One proposed format is to use a form similar to the following for your report.

    
    Course Overview
    ... brief description of course
    
    Course Outcomes
    Outcome 1
    ... description
    ... assessment(s)
    Outcome 2 
    ... description
    ... assessment(s)
    
    Intermediate Outcomes
    Intermediate Outcome 1
    ... description
    ... assessment(s)
    Intermediate Outcome 2
    ... description
    ... assessment(s)
    Intermediate Outcome 3
    ... description
    ... assessment(s)

	Conclusions/Discussion (if desired)
        

To be clear, I expect that this is a multipage document and not a single page as this snippet above might imply.  And to be further clear, you will be asked to go in much greater depth with this idea next week with your assigned team.  So being serious about this now will make your job a bit easier later.

When you are ready to submit your response please save it as a PDF and submit using the appropriate link on the class Blackboard page.