Course Offerings

Our program is cohort-based.  Participants complete 15 credits via 4 courses completed over 14 months.  Current endorsement coursework consists of:

• Foundational Concepts of Computer Science (4 credits, Summer, Year 1)
• Fundamentals of Programming (4 credits, Fall, Year 1)
• Topics in Computer Science Education (4 credits, Spring, Year 2)
• Methods of Teaching Computer Science (3 credits, Summer, Year 2)

Courses are taught using online instruction/activities with periodic synchronous meetups.  Such meetups are typically online but may include optional, face-to-face meetings held at participants’ AEAs.

Courses are taught as graduate workshops allowing for the low cost of $100 per credit plus a technology fee (currently $48 per course).  [Subject to change based on rates set by Online and Distance Education at Northern Iowa (https://online.uni.edu/admissions-cost).  

Interested school districts are strongly encouraged to apply to the Iowa Department of Education Computer Science Professional Development Fund which can reimburse all tuition and textbook costs through the Educator Endorsement awards.  (https://educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/standards/instruction/computer-science/professional-development-fund).

Educators interested in learning more about the program or wanting to be notified when registration opens for the next cohort can use the following Teacher Interest Form or can contact Dr. Ben Schafer at ben.schafer@uni.edu.  

The CS Education curriculum at UNI currently consists of  four courses which have been designed to align with the CSTA Standards for K-12 Students and the CSTA Standards for Computer Science Teachers. They have been approved by the Iowa BoEE and completion of the program will make existing Iowa license holders eligible for one or both of the computer science teaching endorsement in the state of Iowa. Courses are organized to include a solid foundation of topics across all the K-12 system while including opportunities to address grade/age-appropriate instructional techniques.  This makes the program appropriate for all educators in Iowa with an interest in computer science regardless of the age of students that they teach.

FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE (4 CREDITS)

This course addresses the “big ideas” of computer science such as the way computers work (instruction cycle to operating systems), the structure and workings of the internet, security and privacy, databases and big data, and computing for “good.”  While appropriate for teachers of the AP CSP program this course is intended for all CS teachers to help them make connections between a wide variety of CS topics.  In addition to specific content the course will include discussions about the pedagogy of teaching in a manner that helps students formulate reasonable models for these big ideas.

[Taught summer of each year for in-service teachers].

FUNDAMENTALS OF PROGRAMMING (4 CREDITS) 

This course is similar to a CS1 or “Introduction to Programming” course taught in most computer science departments.  However, it is taught with an emphasis on pedagogy and outcomes appropriate for K-12 classrooms.  The course will focus on two programming paradigms –a graphical, event-driven programming language, and a syntax/text-based, procedural language.  The course focuses on the fundamentals of programming—data and actions, sequence, selection, repetition, and modularization. While learning to program, participants will participate in the study and discussion of programming pedagogy and important issues for teaching for learning in programming.   

[Taught fall of each year for in-service teachers].

TOPICS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION (4 CREDITS)

Participants will have an opportunity to select from a menu of topics designed for specific grade bands. These topics include but are not limited to data science, artificial intelligence, cyber security, additional programming techniques, and the integration of computer science in other disciplines. The goal is to allow teachers to build instructional content that best aligns with their teaching environment. 

[Taught spring of each year for in-service teachers].

METHODS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE (3 CREDITS) 

This course addresses effective strategies for teaching computer science. Participants will develop a scope and sequence document for a course applicable to the grade level at which they teach.  

[Taught summer of each year for in-service teachers].