In 2002, with the impending transition of the AP exam from C++ to Java, ACM’s K-12 Education Task Force (the precursor to CSTA) launched an ambitious partnership with the College Board to address the immediate and pressing need for high school computer science teachers to learn Java. With the very active support of ACM’s then-president Maria Klawe and Gail Chapman of the College Board, the Java Engagement for Teacher Training (a.k.a. JETT) program was born.
JETT was conceived as more than a one-shot pd event for teachers. It was seen as a way of providing valuable, relevant skills upgrading for teachers while engaging colleges and universities across the country in the process of building on-going mentoring relationships with local high school teachers.
JETT began with a dedicated Steering Committee of representatives from the College Board, the K-12 Task Force, and four pilot test sites (Columbia, Duke, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Tufts University). A needs assessment was developed and sent to all secondary computer science AP Teachers to help the organizers understand the teachers’ specific needs relating to the learning and teaching of Java. The results of this assessment were then used to create a series of learning modules around which local JETT host sites would organize their workshops.
A set of criteria was also developed to ensure that attending teachers received relevant and appropriate instruction. In addition to the Java modules, host sites were also required to include learning opportunities relating specifically to equity issues, with the goal of improving awareness and providing strategies to better engage under-represented students. They were also required to involve AP Computer Science Curriculum Consultants in the planning and delivery of the workshops.
Being a JETT host site required a considerable amount of effort and some funding. While ACM/CSTA provided assistance with promotion, registration, evaluation, and identification of the AP College Board Consultants, the host sites had to submit an application that was reviewed by the Steering Committee and were required to cover all the on-site costs. Despite the effort and costs involved, more than 50 universities and colleges across the U.S. have now served as JETT workshop host sites (some multiple times).
Although the number of attendees has varied greatly from site-to-site (depending on the relative strength of the local AP community) without exception, the sites have received glowing evaluations from teacher attendees and many have gone on to build strong mentoring and recruitment partnerships with local teachers. Last year, at the request of our now ACM president David Patterson, CSTA conducted a long-term evaluation of the JETT project and we were delighted to discover that 86% of the attendees indicated that they had learned and were now using new Java strategies as a result of attending a JETT workshop.
But what about the rest of the teachers, those who are teaching essential courses in computer science foundations at the pre-AP level? Where do they go for much-needed professional development?
Since January, our Professional Development Committee has been working on a new initiative—the Teacher Engagement for Computer Science (a.k.a. TECS) project. Like JETT, TECS involves colleges and universities in the provision of relevant professional development and community building for local high school computer science teachers. Starting in September, five host sites (CSU Chico, CUNY, Neumont (formally Northface) University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania) will be launching our program with six pilot TECS workshops. Once again, they will be making selections from among a set of recommended learning modules developed by the CSTA Professional Development Committee under the direction of Chair Fran Trees. This time, they will also have access to learning materials designed specifically for these modules by CSTA teacher volunteers.
JETT and TECS exist because of a large number of dedicated educators and staff. ACM and the College Board have provided unwavering support over the years, our original pilot sites helped us create an effective and efficient model, our JETT coordinator Jennifer Wroblewski has coaxed, coordinated, and charmed her way to a powerful and prolific network of dedicated host sites, and our host partners have given generously of their time, funding, good works, and good will.
Thanks to all of you for your hard work and dedication to providing professional development for computer science teachers. It would not have been possible without you!
For more information on the JETT workshops: http://jett.acm.org/
For more information on the TECS workshops: http://tecs.acm.org/
Chris