The new standards from ISTE will reflect a “new era” in the way K–12 educators should think about teaching STEM and computer science, experts and coding advocates say. The standards have just been updated for the first time in six years, with help from Code.org and the Computer Science Teachers Association, among other groups. The standards are not just for computer science teaching but apply to many teachers who are incorporating computer science into their teaching. Computer science education involves other aspects of academic discipling such as the social impact of computing, data science, and the general application of algorithms beyond traditional computer things—a concept called computational thinking. According to the guidelines, a learner must understand the hardware and software comprising a computer and its network, as well as the influence computing can have on the cultural and social well-being of individuals and society. The guidelines stipulate that a facilitator should choose relevant project- or problem solving-based lessons, encourage the use of computational thinking in those lessons, and ensure that the lessons are culturally diverse.
