In our experience in mathematics many students struggle with fluency also need to learn to engage in authentic discourse about what they are doing, create meaningful mathematical models, relate what they have learned or memorized to other mathematical concepts, and solve problems.  Such competencies are central to computational thinking (Mindetbay et al, 2019).  The work of the AP and YPP has shown that when students are the drivers of discussion and exploration, they build connections between concepts that allow them to be successful in learning new material, which we believe is generalizable to computational thinking.

As a result of the PD the CSLWs will learn to create a culture of “we” that focuses on mutual support, a culture of success that focuses on strengths and a collective sense of always striving for improvement,  a culture of feedback that enables opportunities to reflect on practice and learn from each situation, and a culture of student decision making and leadership (for example students design their own homework assignments and take on peer facilitation roles within the classroom). As near peer mentors to whom the high school students will naturally gravitate, the CSLWs, through this PD, will develop awareness about and competence in their ability to facilitate the social norms that support effective learning, and their ability to facilitate meaningful and rigorous student discourse about the content.