Thursday, August 25 from 5 - 6 pm, you're invited to CSTA's Greater Los Angeles Zoom meeting. Start the academic year off with this supportive community of CS teachers, providers, education experts, and program administrators. Even if you're new to CS, join us to find great ideas, camaraderie and resources. On Thursday, August 25th, we kick off the academic year with an overview of resources on equity in CS, including an overview from LACOE's Science Coordinator Anthony Quan on his upcoming Equity Series (starts 8/31 - see this link for more information or register here), an update from CSTA GLA's Equity Fellow Elizabeth Naameh (see her recent articles here) and some resources shared by GLA Board Members on CS Equity.
 
 

 

Do you know how well your school or district is providing quality Computer Science (CS) education to students disproportionately underrepresented in CS?  To find out, go to CS for CA's "The Data" page, scroll down to the interactive data to search on your own school or district to see for yourself. Have you done your best to recruit a diverse group of students to your classes, only to struggle to register or retain female students, students of African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino descent, nonbinary or non-traditional students? We all have. CSTA has long been a leader in supporting CS teachers, coaches, and administrators to build diverse and inclusive classes, incorporating new learning practices to encourage and broaden participation. Given the importance of CS familiarity for college- and work-bound students, the GLA Chapter provides in this first meeting of the new academic year resources tied specifically to teachers within Los Angeles County.
 
PD Opportunity: Strategies for Effective and Inclusive CS Teaching (9/7-10/27, Thursdays from 4 - 5 pm)
Anthony Quan, Science Coordinator of Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), will offer a short overview of CS equity that comes from LACOE's upcoming training, Strategies for Effective and Inclusive CS Teaching. This one-hour/week live Zoom group meeting will be offered for nine Thursdays, from September 7 - October 27, with an introductory meeting on August 31. Materials for this hybrid course have been developed by the University of Texas, which teachers will watch independently before the weekly Thursday discussion as a Professional Learning Community to strategies and support for applying these new practices, using "in the field" activities, such as classroom observation and practical implementation. The training is free and aims at secondary teachers, but offers proven strategies for all STEM courses. Six modules cover: Inclusive recruitment strategies; Working with course gatekeepers such as counselors and other teachers; Examining your own unconscious bias and cultural misunderstanding; Leveraging CS as a tool for addressing social justice; Culturally responsive pedagogy; CS for neurodiverse learners; Intersectionality and its impact on CS identity. Register here.
See all of LACOE's Professional Development services for teachers here.
 
Additional Resources from Megan
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Gender and Racial Bias in AI: A Teaching Trio To Try
A trio of good resources to introduce the topic of bias in Artificial Intelligence starts with one of the leading scholars of this field, Dr. Joy Buolamwini, in this short but clear and compelling video. Combine that with this one-page handout on the Five Big Ideas in AI from AI4K-12.org, an affiliate of CSTA. If your students are new to understanding AI, have them start with Code.org's AI for Oceans activity, which offers a fun group or individual approach to learning how machine learning works through pattern recognition and the ethical aspects of AI.