Thanks for you question, Kim! A draft version of the Framework is publicly available at the following link: https://go.edc.org/CTFramework

As we wrap up our work on this project, we will still make further refinements. Any and all feedback on the tool would be welcome! A final version of the Framework will be available in Spring 2022.

Thanks for your comments and questions, Nathan! The CT Integration Framework was developed as part of this and another project. NSF funding has allowed us to conduct multiple rounds of expert reviews with representatives from various stakeholder groups (including teachers, professional development providers, administrators, and researchers). We have used data from the expert reviews to refine the tool and to establish its construct validity. In addition, we have been able to pilot test the framework in school settings to examine its implementation and use and to collect preliminary data on its potential impact. The framework offers schools guideposts for things to consider as they plan for school-wide integration; it does not prescribe any particular strategies for doing so. It thus offers guidance to schools to develop plans that are responsive to their particular school community and local context.

Thank you for this great question, Aman. Our CT Integration planning tool is designed to spark discussion among members of a school community about what CT content and skills students need to learn, and how they can best address such learning within and across different subject areas. The tool guides teachers and administrators in thinking through the following key questions regarding curriculum integration:

• How can they adapt existing lessons to incorporate CT?
• How can they create new lessons to incorporate CT?
• How can they adapt and differentiate lessons to help diverse learners achieve rigorous CT and content learning outcomes?

The tool also sparks discussion among different members of the school community about where teaching and learning about specific CT concepts and skills best fits. In our experience, different schools may use different approaches. For instance, a school may decide that a CT concept such as decomposition is best taught in one subject area, such as mathematics. Another school may decide that it wants to incorporate learning about decomposition across multiple subject areas.

Thanks for your comments, Shad! Please feel free to use and test the tool in your school. You can access it here: https://go.edc.org/CTFramework

In fact, we are still recruiting schools to participate in our pilot test. Participation in the pilot test means that your school would receive additional support in using the tool (we would facilitate one or more planning workshops for you). Please email Heather (hsherwood@edc.org) or me (bmoeller@edc.org) directly if you are interested in this.

Thank you, Jeremy, that is a great question. We have observed that discussions around the definition of CT can help teachers a lot in seeing the connections to the subjects and grade levels they teach. Teachers come to realize that CT is a form of problem solving, which permeates all subject areas.  Often teachers discover that they may already be using or teaching CT concepts or skill without explicitly naming them as such. For instance, decomposing numbers is a frequent activity in mathematics classrooms and teachers may not think of this as CT, but decomposition is a key CT concept. The conversations that educators have around the CT Integration framework can help them become more explicit and intentional in highlighting the CT concepts and skills they are already using, as well as in developing new activities that help students learn about CT concepts and skills not previously taught.

Thank you, David!  School-wide integration can take very different forms in our experience. In some schools it is primarily STEM teachers who plan for CT integration. At other schools we work with teachers who teach a broader range of subjects and teachers from all grade levels within the Pre-K to grade 5 span. Sometimes teachers use the same tool (e.g., Ozobots) across different grade levels, in other cases they use different tools in different grade levels and subject areas.