Reimagining CS Pathways: High School and Beyond
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Reimagining CS Pathways: High School and Beyond

Specialty Area

X + CS

Content Progression

X+CS represents another subject area (“X”) combined with computer science. “X” could be any discipline, from science to humanities and fine arts. X + CS requires thoughtful and deliberate integration between the two or more subject areas. For continued learning beyond the foundation, we have defined the following content progression that includes two additional levels (fundamentals and specialty) that progressively build on this content. However, many of the details will be dependent on the particular “X” subject. An X+CS pathway may lead to a major in CS, the “X” subject, or X + CS, followed by a wide variety of careers, including biomedical engineer, educational technologist, digital media specialist, or medical simulation specialist. 

Foundation

Prioritized foundational content specific to X + CS:

  • Programming basics
  • Testing and debugging
  • Inclusive collaboration on projects
  • Social and ethical impacts
  • Cybersecurity basics

Fundamentals

  • Common themes, practices, and terminology between X and CS
  • Historical examples of X and CS, considering universal human endeavors as a bridge and identifying gaps and challenges
  • Data visualizations and computational models in X
  • Reframing problems in X using CS and in CS using X: decompose problem, translate into program, determine whether the program solves the problem
  • Exploration of multiple perspectives in X using programming skills

Specialty

  • Impact on CS of the evolution of X, and vice versa
  • Transforming data models to allow for utilization of source data from X
  • Evaluating and comparing algorithms that address problems in X
  • Contributing to the evolution of X in CS by creating an artifact
  • Developing a plan that uses algorithms in programming to address problems in X (student is selecting

Example Course Pathway

The X+CS content can be packaged in a variety of ways to meet the local context and needs of individual schools and districts. The following X+CS course pathways serve as a few examples of how integrated course pathways can be implemented in high schools. Each box represents a course and can be expanded to view a corresponding description. Learn more about Integrating CS.

Foundation

see below

Computer Science Foundations supports all high school students, regardless of postsecondary goals, in developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to navigate and understand the technology-driven world in which they live. Course content, organized into five Topic Areas (Algorithms, Programming, Data and Analysis, Computing Systems and Security, and Preparing for the Future), rests upon four Key Pillars (Computational Thinking, Inclusive Collaboration, Human-Centered Design, and Impacts and Ethics). Topic Areas and Pillars are essential components of this course and the student experience (see Section 2 of this report for more details).

Subject Area

see below

Fundamentals

see below

This course builds upon the student’s previous experiences in computing and in art in order to provide opportunities for students to exercise their creativity and develop their portfolio in art by leveraging computing technologies. Content covered in this course may include:

  • AI art generation, including prompt engineering
  • Pixel-based art
  • Ethical issues related to digital art
  • Creative app development
  • E-textiles
  • Artistic applications of physical computing

Designed for students who have completed a foundational computing course as well as a foundational journalism course, this class exposes students to computational techniques and issues related to journalism, including:

  • Ethical issues, including data privacy and security
  • Language processing and text analysis
  • Reporting on technology and the technology industry
  • Computing-based investigative techniques 
  • Data journalism, including data visualization

This course, designed for students who have completed a foundational computing course as well as an introduction to the humanities, explores various techniques of digital humanities. Topics considered within the humanities are vast and thus, this course can be offered thematically. Students might, for example, develop digitized topographical maps to better understand historical battles (history lens), migration patterns (sociology lens), or artistic works (fine arts lens). Content covered in this course may include:

  • Text mining and analysis, including via natural language processing
  • Social network analysis
  • Working with digital archives
  • Digital mapping
  • Audio, image, and video analysis
  • New media studies, including software studies
  • Ethical issues in the digital humanities

This course builds on students’ previous experiences in an introduction to biology and a foundational computing course in order to develop knowledge and skills related to computational biology, including:

  • Genetics and evolution
  • Personalized medicine
  • Digital pathology
  • Data visualization
  • Systems and networks in biology
  • Algorithms in nature
  • Ethical issues in computational biology

Capstone

see below

The Pathway Capstone Course is an opportunity for students to apply advanced computer science knowledge and problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills to tackle a personally meaningful computing project. Students will design innovative solutions and present them to authentic audiences, preparing them for future academic and professional pursuits. This course is designed to inspire creativity, foster collaboration, and demonstrate proficiency in real-world application of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions developed during prior coursework and experiences.

View the Implementation and Integrating CS pages to learn more about how to teach foundational and specialty content to students.

Possible Careers:

Medical Simulation Specialist, Biomedical Engineer, Business Data Analyst, Computing Ethicist, Neuroscientist, Education Technologist, Digital Media Specialist, Digital Linguist, Human Language Technologist, Project Manager
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Reimagining CS Pathways: High School and Beyond

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 2311746. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

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CSTA, IACE, ACM, Code.org, College Board, CSforALL, & ECEP Alliance. (2024). Reimagining CS Pathways: Every student prepared for a world powered by computing. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3678016
Reimagining CS Pathways: High School and Beyond
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