Creating a High Quality, High Impact CS Teacher Prep Program

One of the impacts of the CS For All movement has been an increased demand for K-12 teachers who are well-qualified to teach computer science. Unfortunately, the pool of qualified educators is much smaller than the demand, and the pipeline producing newly-qualified educators is smaller yet. This experience report discusses the creation of a CS Education program at the University of Northern Iowa. The authors built this program with the goal of providing a standards-based, educator-focused, and peer/cohort-driven set of courses allowing both pre-service and in-service educators to become well-qualified and state-endorsed in computer science. This paper can assist institutions looking at broadening CS education on their campuses by providing both a model for the curriculum development process and sample coursework for such a program. Additionally, this report addresses multiple lessons learned offering this new curriculum from an initial, NSF-funded cohort of "local" in-service educators, through broadening the scope to a "statewide" second cohort, to the final roll out as a full curricular program for both in-service and pre-service educators. In particular, these lessons focus on the importance of properly designed instruction, understanding the differences in the pre-service and in-service audiences, and, most importantly, the strong response received to the inclusion of peer-based activities and the development of a disciplinary commons throughout the program.