56% of High School Computer Science Teachers Aren’t Certified in CS = Micro-credentials

Have you seen the new report entitled “Micro-credentials – Addressing Certification and Professional Learning in Computer Science”? Per the report, “Micro-credentials (also referred to as competency-based credentials) allow teachers to earn an endorsement in a way that is specific, job-embedded, performance-based, and less expensive and time-consuming than coursework.”

Much of the information in the report aligns to messages you’ve heard from us repeatedly. Demand for computer science educators is exploding. There aren’t enough qualified teachers or cost-effective pathways to certification. Those endorsements or programs that do exist focus on content over pedagogy – and the most destructive part is that the irrelevant programming prepares educators for industry not teaching. These are the very reasons we partnered with mindSpark Learning and Metropolitan State University of Denver to create a CS certificate program that helps educators to gain the confidence and competence to teach CS. And guess what – they are earning micro-credentials in CS along the way.

As I previously mentioned, this summer we hosted Kelsey (pictured here to the right) for a summer externship. She worked with our team to learn and earn computer science micro-credentials firsthand and is excited to take her experience back into the classroom this fall. Learn more about Couragion’s micro-credentials by sending an email to info@couragion.com.

If you are interested, you can read the full report “Micro-credentials – Addressing Certification and Professional Learning in Computer Science”.