Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education

PD 1: Introduction to Computer Science and Computational Thinking 

Term 1:

Fall 2026, Mondays, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Dates and Format:

Oct. 5, in person; Oct. 12, virtual; Oct. 19, virtual; Oct. 26, virtual; Nov. 2, in person

Term 2:

Winter 2027, Thursdays, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Dates and Format:

Feb. 18, in person; Feb. 25, virtual; Mar. 4, virtual; Mar. 11, virtual; Mar. 18, in person

Term 3:

Spring 2027, Thursdays, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Dates and Format:

Apr. 15, in person; Apr. 22, virtual; Apr. 29, virtual; May 6, virtual; May 13, in person

In This 5-day PD Module, Participants Will Explore:

• Computational thinking practices, including decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, debugging, and iterative problem solving.
• Strategies for integrating computation thinking and computer science concepts into subjects.
• Introductory programming with Scratch to reinforce computational thinking concepts.
• Vibe coding as a way to rapidly prototype, test, and refine ideas using AI-assisted programming tools.
• Digital Literacy, including computer hardware and software fundamentals, cyber security awareness, ethical computing, and societal impacts of technology.

Tentative Schedule

Week 1

• Computational thinking
• Early integration examples

Week 2

• Scratch/block-based code basics

Week 3

• Scratch extension + Vibe coding

Week 4

• Digital literacy (hardware, software, Internet)

Week 5

• Ethics, security, societal impact
• Lesson plan + presentations