At Cornell Tech, we support teachers in learning computer science content and teaching strategies through the lenses of equity, rigor and joy. By building deep, trusting coaching relationships with schools and educators, our coaches help create confidence, a sense of belonging, and improved teaching practice.
We believe
Computer Science is for everyone. Every school, every teacher, every student, regardless of age, ability, or even interest.
Agency matters. We live in a digital world. Everyone should not only understand how the digital world works, but be able to create digital solutions that are meaningful. We build tools that develop agency for teachers and students.
Computing education is best taught with rigor and joy. We work with teachers to help them use proven teaching strategies to bring engaging, challenging content to their classrooms.
We learn from others and share what we learn. Whenever possible, we support the use of research-validated content and pedagogy. For the tools we create, like the K-12 Coaching Toolkit and the Computational Thinking Tasks, we conduct research to evaluate their impact and efficacy and publish those results. We surface best practices and challenges at our annual conference, To Code + Beyond, and at K-12 CS education conferences throughout the year.
We partner with NYC public schools to bring computer science to the entire student body. Whether it’s through our Teachers in Residence program, bringing CS master teacher coaches to work with teachers, or our Computational Thinking Tasks, creating an onramp to computing for elementary teachers and students, our partners are changing the culture of their schools to sustainably integrate computing in their classrooms.
Local students and families regularly join us on Cornell Tech’s campus for “Let’s Code” events, which include educational workshops on design thinking, programming with Scratch, and hands-on computing-related activities using recycled materials, circuits, and microcontrollers. Our Cornell Tech Master’s students help staff the events. We also sponsor the Roosevelt Island Girl Scout FIRST LEGO League robotics team, the Tech Hoppers, which meets on campus with a Cornell Tech Master’s student mentor.
Our annual conference on Cornell Tech’s campus, “To Code and Beyond,” brings together more than 100 leading organizations and contributors to K-12 CS education. Past keynote speakers have included Pixar’s Danielle Feinberg, Professor Mark Guzdial, Google’s Kamau Bobb, and Ithaca City Schools Superintendent Luvelle Brown. We are also the academic host for the Computer Science Teachers’ Association (CSTA) NYC chapter.
There aren’t many coaching initiatives in elementary and middle schools like our program. We get to be innovators and visionaries and then develop what we’ve learned to share with the broader community. “
