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Standards and Instruction

Introduction Section:

Wisconsin Standards for Computer Science specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They also serve as goals for teaching and learning, providing a basis for high-quality instructional materials and continued curriculum-based professional learning.

The investment in a professional learning network and planning process for districts is the foundation of scaling computational thinking, integrated instruction, and standards-aligned computer science programs. Our state can make progress by creating a statewide professional learning community around this work to support resource sharing, instructional practices, leadership planning strategies, and equitable learning opportunities for all students.

State-Level Goal Call out/summary:

Our state-level goal is to have clearly defined and easily accessible K-12 computer science standards, curriculum, and district curated instructional materials across the K-12 system.

State-Level Strategies and Recommendations

  • Integrate cross-curricular adoption of computational thinking, digital literacy, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) standards into academic standards with connected Wisconsin content standard resources.

  • Investigate, coordinate, and instructional programming efforts developed by organizations identified as partners.

  • Continue to review and revise K-12 computer science standards on a consistent basis in collaboration with the Academic Standards Review Council and to keep up to date with new updates in data science, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber-Security, as well as any new technology fields that may emerge.

  • Identify, produce, and/or recommend to districts courses and curriculum aligned to the state standards framework and establish a WISELearn Computer Science hub with easy access for teachers.

  • Curate district recommended instructional materials, resources, and lesson plan resources to integrate computational thinking and standards.

  • Promote the use of technology and virtual options to support schools and students with classroom, career, mentoring, and career exploration to help close equitable access across the state.

  • Provide information to districts on options to create computer science courses to count as math credit and potential other flexible credit options.

  • Analyze Wisconsin Advanced Placement Computer Science data and trends to identify options to increase participation by underrepresented populations, regional profile gap, and course access options.

  • Provide support for the creation and curation of resources for K-5 computer science standards to be integrated into other subjects in elementary school.

  • Add a section to DPI site about student help desks, internal internships, Grow Your Own program to promote student learning, and industry training programs.

  • Support an annual state-level proclamation for Computer Science week in December with supporting details on Wisconsin Computer Science Plan progress and success stories.

District Strategies and Implementations

  • Create a district leadership team to participate in regional CSforALL SCRIPT training to help integrate K-12 planning and goal setting.

  • Identify strengths and areas for growth in using curriculum and instructional materials that align with the Wisconsin state computer science vision.

  • Identify strengths and areas for growth in embedding computational thinking, digital literacy, and CTE standards into academic standards.

  • Adopt the Wisconsin Academic Standards for Computer Science or another set of national academic standards while also reviewing the cross-content integration resources.

  • Consider how computer science integrates with the work your district is already doing.