In preparation for the second year of the CS4MS pilot, which coincides with the 2017-2018 school year, nine teacher trainings were held throughout Mississippi. The trainings serviced a total of 66 elementary teachers over the course of three two-day training periods, as well as 69 middle school teachers and 91 high school teachers over the course of three week-long training periods each.
The middle school teachers were trained on a new course called Cyber Foundations, which teaches students about keyboarding, digital citizenship, spreadsheets, word processing, and presentation tools during the first half of the course. The second half of the course incorporates Code.org CS Discoveries curriculum to introduce students to problem-solving, web development, and game design.
Forty new Exploring Computer Science (ECS) teachers joined 51 returning ECS teachers for a week of training on the first two units of this course curriculum. Units 1 and 2 of ECS lay the foundation of problem solving and critical thinking skills needed for success in computer science. The new teachers benefited from the experience of those teaches who had taught the course for the first time during the 2016-17 school year. Additionally, the returning teachers were able to complete their training requirements for the course and gain additional insight by reviewing the material taught in units 1 and 2 from an experienced perspective.