Broad Based Technology Education

This is a first draft of possible standards for a coding curriculum in New Brunswick and will be presented
August 22, 2014 to EECD staff. (Author: Graham Rich)

Background: the standards published by the American CSTA (PDF) and UK Government (link) were examined. The CSTA standards are thorough but overwhelming, being prescriptive, advanced and much broader than just coding. The UK Government, while also taking a broader approach, found a more flexible less prescriptive route that is unfortunately heavy on grades 6-8 and vague on grades 9-12.

Comparing the two organizations:

• The CSTA is a voluntary association promoting computer science for years, with multiple versions of its standards document.
• The UK Government's K-12 standards are untested, being implemented in September 2014.

Finally, a document outlining how Alberta took on Computer Science (CS) is here, with its exceptional quote:

"Don't worry too much about the content of the K-12 CS curriculum. We still have no clue
about what CS is or how to teach it."

"How Alberta Got CS" (June 2011)

http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~bate/CACSAIC/AGM2011/HowAlbertaGotCS.htm

Regarding the standards below:

• They borrow more from the UK, with some standards removed, some simplified and some moved to other key stages (specifically to lessen expectations in middle school to a more reasonable level).  Also, high school standards have been created where the UK standards are very vague.
• Where applicable, they have been replicated between key stages to make student growth explicit.
• The title groupings of "Algorithms", "Programming", "Skills & Aspects" and "Safety & Respect" are the creation of the author.
• These do not discuss the differences between "Coding", "Information Technology" and "Digital Literacy", but the author has provided a Venn diagram here.