Pic credit: Tim Green’s Snowdrops in Lothersdale Churchyard, 2010 (Flickr)

New Computing CPD courses for 2018

All our courses are aimed at teachers who are (or will be) delivering the computing / computer science curricula in UK schools. These courses will take place at King’s College London from 5.30pm to 8pm (7pm for KS3 course) on the same day each week.

1. Teach KS3 Computing 2018, £160
(22 Jan 2018, 8 weeks)
[Overview] [Apply]
Fees are waived for CAS Master Teachers (please contact j.brodie@qmul.ac.uk for code)

This 8-week twilight course will be useful to you if you have just started teaching Computing at KS3, whether you are a specialist or non-specialist teacher. We aim to cover the following aspects of the Computing KS3 curriculum:

• Algorithms that reflect computational thinking
• Learning to use a programming language (in this case Python) to solve problems.
• Boolean logic and binary numbers
• Hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how the computer stores and executes instructions

As well as covering core subject knowledge, the aim in this course is also to give teachers a range of effective strategies to teach programming to beginners.

Each 2-hour session will include one hour of theory and one hour or programming. There will be homework each week.

2. CAS London Conference 2018, £35 (£25 earlybirds)
(Sat 24 Feb 2018, one day)
[Eventbrite tickets] [Flyer] [Provisional session options]
A whole day of CPD and networking for primary and secondary computing teachers!
9:10 registration, 9:45 Ofsted Keynote, 10:20 1st workshop, 4:15 finishes – pick your own sessions (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon) to tailor your own day of CPD.

3. Teach Algorithms and Data Structures to A-Level using Python 2018, £100
(28 Feb 2018, 5 weeks)
[Overview] [Apply]
Fees are waived for CAS Master Teachers (please contact j.brodie@qmul.ac.uk for code)

The course will focus on the elements of the A-Level Computer Science Curriculum relating to algorithms and data structures in the AQA, Eduqas and OCR syllabii. Sessions will contain a mix of theory and programming exercises.

• Week 1 – Data Structures
• Week 2 – Recursion
• Week 3 – Searching and Sorting
• Week 4 – Graphs and Trees
• Week 5 – Graph & Tree Traversals

Each week teachers are required to undertake a homework task. A certificate of completion and achievement will be given at the end of the course.

4. Note there is also a Computer Science Education: Theory & Practice 2018 course (£1,200) starting on 16th January 2018, a ten week course running across 11 weeks (includes a reading week)
[Overview] [Apply]

This course covers the theoretical basis and pedagogy for teaching computer science including programming and for introducing the concepts of computing to pupils in school. Issues identified by research in the area of teaching and learning programming and computer science are considered together with the implications for computing education at primary and secondary level. This is not a subject knowledge enhancement course.