San Diego Computer Science Teachers Association

The UCSD San Diego Supercomputer Center for Education and the San Diego Computer Science Teachers Association created a partnership in 2010 to

 • Build a strong community of computer science educators who share their knowledge
 • Provide teachers with opportunities for high quality professional development
 • Advocate at all levels for a comprehensive computer science curricula
 • Support projects that communicate the excitement of computer science to students and
    improve their understanding of the opportunities it provides
 • Collect and disseminating research about computer science education
 • Provide policy recommendations to support computer science in the high school curriculum
 • Raise awareness that computer science educators are highly qualified professionals
    with skills that enrich the educational experience of their students

Computing and computer science are helping to shape and change our world. A solid understanding and facility with computational thinking, computing, and computer science is important, if not integral, to being part of a well-educated and informed citizenry. Although the computer science community has worked diligently to create intellectually rich and engaging courses, not all students have had the opportunity to take advantage of these courses. In particular, many students, particularly female students and those from underrepresented minority groups, are either choosing not to enroll in or do not have access to courses, materials, and role-models in computing and computer science. In response to this identified problem, members of the computer science community are developing a curriculum framework for a new AP Computer Science: Principles course, designed to complement the existing first course in computer science modeled by the AP Computer Science A course. This annotated course outline highlights the novel aspects of the Principles course and then provides a brief explanation of each Big Idea and Computational Thinking Practice that will comprise it.

AP Computer Science: Principles is designed to introduce students to the central ideas of computing and computer science, to instill ideas and practices of computational thinking, and to have students engage in activities that show how computing and computer science change the world. The proposed course is rigorous and rich in computational content, includes computational and critical thinking and skills, and engages students in the creative aspects of the field. Through both its content and pedagogy, this course aims to appeal to a broad audience.

A key theme of the Principles course is its focus on creativity.