What do two college professors, two high school teachers and a pre-service teacher have in common? CSTA membership!

I spent several enjoyable weeks this summer working with a great group of CSTA members to create a set of POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry) activities for each of the Big Ideas in Computer Science Principles. The net result is over 20 activities that are being tested in a number of classrooms this school year.

Every one of us is a member of CSTA, and most of us started the summer as members of the local chapter; by the end of the summer even the pre-service teacher joined the local chapter. The opportunities that CSTA members have to find friends and colleagues who “speak the language” of our discipline is one of the most valuable benefits of being a member.

Our collaboration took on many forms. Some days we all met at Haverford College to work together on activities or brainstorm, other days saw us each working from our homes using the Internet to connect and review each other’s work.

If you are interested in working collaboratively with another teacher, I suggest heading to your next local chapter meeting to start building those relationships! Links to Chapter sites are on our website.

Tammy Pirmann
School District Representative, CSTA Board of Directors