Let’s Talk Code
Project Let’s Talk Code (LTC) is a Research Practitioner Partnership (RPP) that investigates a novel approach to introducing computer science (CS) to high school students in the Navajo Nation (NN) tribal region in Arizona and New Mexico. The goal of the RPP is to improve students’ computational skills with a focus on preparing them to succeed in the Advance Placement (AP) computer science courses and motivating them to enroll in CS degrees. The project aims to help math, science, and art teachers from NN high schools develop CS-based projects in their existing courses and provide mentorship and guidance towards offering AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) courses in the subsequent years.
Map of Partnered Schools
LTC Events
Four Corners Conference
The Four Corners conference is dedicated to the mission of providing access to and improving computer science curricula for Indigenous students. In order to accomplish this, the conference meets for three days (June 23rd to June 26th), during which educators and researchers share their innovations and projects.
Let’s Talk Code will conduct a three-day professional development workshop from June 26th to June 28th. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to integrate programming and computer science into current course content and culture. Attendees will also earn up to a $1000 stipend for completing the workshop and implementing what they learned.
Lodging and food will be provided for attendees to attend both the Four Corners conference and the Let’s Talk Code workshop.
CLICK HERE to learn more (This Event has Passed)
SPRING 2024 HOPI COHORT IMPLEMENTATION
The teachers at Hopi Junior/Senior High School implemented a week-long computer science-based lesson plan into their curriculum. This involved showing the students the apps that the teachers made and tasking each student with making an app of their own.
A highlight of this implementation was the way in which students used the form of apps to highlight their art. For instance, the students used code.org to create a portfolio for their art.
CLICK HERE to see teacher made apps
CLICK HERE to see student made apps
Clark County District Workshop
The LTC group led a workshop made up of teachers from Clark County School District. The teachers learned how to create apps on Code.org and relate the apps to their curriculum. The goal of this is for teachers to use the apps created here to teach in their classrooms as a resource.
A highlight of this workshop was the creativity and skill that were used by the teachers to create the apps. For instance, each app had a unique style as well as a unique subject matter.
CLICK HERE to view the teacher made apps
GRANTS HIGHSCHOOL WORKSHOP
The LTC group led a workshop made up of teachers from Grants High School. The teachers began to learn effective techniques to both code apps in code.org and also teach app development.
In this workshop, the teachers created their own applications that they will use to teach their students about code.org app development. A highlight of this workshop is the use of code.org to teach about the Greek Pantheon.
CLICK HERE to view the teacher made apps
SPRING 2024 HOPI COHORT WORKSHOP
The LTC group led a workshop made up of teachers from Hopi Junior Senior High School at Northern Arizona University. In this workshop, The teachers began to learn effective techniques to both code apps on Code.org and also teach app development.
In this workshop, the teachers created their own applications that they will use to teach their students about code.org app development. Furthermore, these applications have the dual purpose of teaching code and enriching the learning of a different subject. For instance, one teacher created an app that shows several famous paintings and some accompanying information about said paintings.
The teachers made the applications on their own with their own unique twists and will implement what they learned and their applications into their own classrooms in February 2024.
FALL 2023 RED MESA STEM FAIR
The LTC group attended a STEM fair at Red Mesa High School. The STEM fair included projects created by students and teachers. The star of the fair was an air-propelled rocket that the teachers had made for the event.
FALL 2023 HOPI COHORT IMPLEMENTATION
The teachers from the Hopi Junior Senior High School 2023 cohort implemented the technical skills learned from the workshops into their own classrooms in October 2023.
While each teacher teaches a different subject, the implementation varies from classroom to classroom. The highlight of the implementation was a class taught by the academic advisor, where she had the students research different colleges and create an educational application where information about each college was displayed. This experience and resource will allow the students to further their education when they graduate from high school.
FALL 2023 HOPI COHORT WORKSHOP PART 2
The LTC group led a workshop made up of teachers from Hopi Junior Senior High School at Northern Arizona University. In this workshop, the teachers learned how to code applications on code.org. This included some lectures from the LTC group in which the fundamentals of coding were taught, such as variables and conditions. After the lectures, the teachers began to work on the logic of their apps with the help of the LTC mentors at their side when needed. By the end of the workshop, the teachers had either finished their apps or had a great start to them.
FALL 2023 HOPI COHORT WORKSHOP PART 1
The LTC group led a workshop made up of teachers from Hopi Junior Senior High School. In this workshop, the LTC group taught the teachers about app design on code.org and showed how to make use of the built-in tools for app design. Furthermore, the teachers were given the chance to explore code.org design on their own.
SUMMER 2023 HOPI HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WORKSHOP
Accomplished within two days, this summer workshop at Hopi Jr. and Senior High School taught a group of participants the basics of Code.org. Students were guided through app development on Code.org and produced their own apps using App Lab’s creation tools. Participants were then given a certification after completing the workshop in web and app development.
CLICK HERE to view the student made apps
SUMMER 2023 FORT LEWIS WORKSHOP
The LTC group led a workshop hosted at Fort Lewis University where participants learned how to incorporate computer science into their lesson plans. Over three days, LTC guided instructors from Red Mesa High School, Red Mesa Junior High School, Farmington Municipal Schools, Piedra Vista High School, and Tibbetts Middle School through the basics of app design and coding on Code.org. The instructors then created lesson plans to utilize in classrooms, incorporating their subject, cultural pedagogy, and computer science all in one.
CLICK HERE to view the teacher made apps
SUMMER 2023 NAU HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WORKSHOP
Accomplished within three days, this summer workshop at Northern Arizona University taught a group of participants the basics of Code.org. Students were guided through app development on Code.org and produced their own apps using App Lab’s creation tools. Participants were then given a certification after completing the workshop in web and app development.
CLICK HERE to view the student made apps
FLAGSTAFF 2022 WORKSHOP PONDEROSA
The LTC group led a workshop hosted at Ponderosa High School composed of teachers throughout northern Arizona. The teachers learned how to make apps with Code.org in this workshop. The definite highlight of this workshop was an app made by Arvis Myron. Arvis made an app that helps students learn the pronunciation and writing of Hopi words.
CLICK HERE to view the app mentioned above