Syllabus

• Course Title: Infrastructure for K12 Computing Education
• Course Code: LAI 516
• Instructor Name: Dr. Chris Proctor
• Class Times: Spring 2026
• Format: Independent study
• Email Address: chrisp@buffalo.edu
• Office Location: Baldy 510
• Office Hours: By appointment
• Credits: 3
• Prerequisites: LAI 676 (The Pedagogy of Programming) and LAI 677 (Survey of Topics in K12 CS)

Course Description

This course explores the infrastructure which enables K12 computing education in four layers: standards, curricula, computational media, and implementations. For current and future CS teachers, the goal of this course is to be ready to practice within these structures and to understand the space of possibilities when considering modifications to existing programs or designing new ones.

Alongside this, you will review the full content of the New York Computer Science Content Specialty Test (CST), using our program's CST preparation guide and practice questions.

Learning Outcome and Program Goals

Course learning outcomes

• Content knowledge (through the CST review):
  • CK1: Impacts of computing
  • CK2: Computational thinking
  • CK3: Networks and system design
  • CK4: Cybersecurity
• Pedagogical knowledge:
  • PK5: Curriculum and instruction
• Pedagogical content knowledge:
  • PCK3: Shaping the learning environment
  • PCK4: Teaching with computational media
• Leadership:
  • L1: Equity and opportunity
  • L3: Interdisciplinary connections
  • L4: Design and research

Mode of Instruction

Infrastructure for K12 Computing Education is offered as an independent study. Students will meet weekly to discuss the readings and videos, and will complete the course assignments.

Required Text and Materials

There are no texts required to be purchased for this course. All readings will be accessible from the course website. The CST preparation guide and its practice questions are on the course website. You will need regular access to a computer and a stable Internet connection. If this is a challenge for you, please contact me.

Assignments

Aside from completing assigned readings and attending class meetings, the main assignments in this course are a sequence of five quicksheets summarizing five different computational media which you may want to consider in your future teaching:

• Scratch
• Unfold Studio
• Processing
• NetLogo
• Your choice of one additional language or tool

The final assigmnet in the course is a Computing Futures essay.

Throughout the semester, you will also complete the CST review, working through the full study guide and its practice items, with a milestone for each exam competency:

• 0002 Computational Thinking and Programming: Week 5
• 0001 Impacts of Computing: Week 7
• 0003 Networks, the Internet, and System Design: Week 10
• 0004 Cybersecurity: Week 12
• 0005 Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Week 14

Plan on about two to three hours a week for the review. Weekly pacing is on the assignment page and on each week's page.

Grading

Each of the course assignments will receive a holistic grade and qualitative feedback, guided by the assignment's rubric. Quicksheet grades are all equally-weighted, and together count for 50% of the course grade. The computing futures essay counts for 50% of the course grade.

Attendance, participation, and the CST review are expected but are not graded. Similarly, you are expected to complete work on time but there is no grade penalty for lateness. If grades are meant to be a measure of learning or of work quality, I cannot see a justification for lowering grades due to missing class or turning work in late. Instead, I interpret these behaviors as signals that you may be having difficulty in the class, and will check in to see if there is a way I can better support you.