Educational Core Values

We believe that underserved students require systems that help them grow in the following ways in order to consistently ensure their path to success within software engineering:

We cultivate technical excellence.

✅ Learning is rigorous to reflect industry expectations.

✅ Learning centers industry relevant and career focused resources and supports.

• Provide students a clear understanding of software engineering as a career, and the specific steps needed to be successful

• Guides, resources and direct 1:1 mentorship and coaching through resume and LinkedIn preparation, and the entire internship search process

Student Commitments	Facilitator Commitments	Curriculum and Content Aspirations
Be curious and open to all opportunities Take advantage of career opportunities within and outside of CodePath. Bring your best work and rigor to challenging problems	Provide career-focused and industry relevant examples Share personal histories and work journeys Encourage students to share their perspectives and experiences Expect high quality work and rigor Show how the seemingly impossible can be possible	Introduction to the topic paints a picture of the context (“show, don’t tell”) that gets students excited about the topic and answers the question “when/why would we need to know this?” Materials provide real-world context for the concept as frequently and clearly as possible. Equip students with the knowledge on how to search for answers, debug their code, and continue their learning outside of the course. Challenges progress logically in a narrative arc. There are no large leaps in difficulty between sequential challenges, and challenges unfold as students are beginning to anticipate them.

We are changing the tech industry.

✅ Learning is deeply empathetic and inclusive.

✅ Learning is built with justice in mind.

Student Commitments	Facilitator Commitments	Curriculum and Content Aspirations
Build community and inclusive spaces Ask for help and help others Value others' perspectives and experiences Ask for more information always Be mindful that your actions matter to your peers Challenge yourself and others to impact the tech industry for justice Celebrate successes and failures equally	Empower peer to peer support Celebrate often Assume the best intentions of others All experiences are validated Respond actively and publicly when norms are breached Proactively discuss growth mindset concepts with students and reinforce over time Get to know students and build trusting relationships Validate different learning speeds, needs, and journeys Normalize frustration and challenge Work to center students from underestimated communities Challenge yourself and others to impact the tech industry for justice	Materials act as a springboard for in-class collaboration and community- building. Projects allow opportunities to respond to problems and issues that they have faced or witnessed in their communities. Projects encourage students to impact change.

We are creating a tech education experience that works.

✅ Learning is student-driven and instructor guided.

✅ Learning is engaging and inspiring.

• Robust techniques and foundations for how to fundamentally solve problems as an engineer, implement algorithms, and analyze complexity in code

• Access to hands-on opportunities to build fully functional applications that they can show their friends and add to their portfolio

Student Commitments	Facilitator Commitments	Curriculum and Content Aspirations
Actively participate throughout the entire session Reach out and help others engage in the learning community Bring ideas and positivity to group work Take ownership of your learning journey	Provide clear instructions Design frequent checks for understanding Plan for aligned activities Give students choice and autonomy whenever possible Highlight the “why” of each lesson Look for opportunities to connect lesson material to students’ lives -Motivate students to ask more questions	Materials engage, motivate, and entertain students. Students would authentically describe activities as fun. Challenges provide opportunities for student choice and creativity whenever possible. Materials are fun on multiple levels. Playful tone, end products inspire pride, challenges feel purposeful, etc.

We are advancing the journey for others.

✅ Learning embraces a culture of feedback and support.

✅ Learning centers accessibility as the responsibility of the entire community.

Any approach giving students the best possible chance at success in the software engineering field must combine all of these aspects over multiple years of a student’s development to offer a holistic approach.

Student Commitments	Facilitator Commitments	Curriculum and Content Aspirations
Give feedback to instructors and peers Challenge yourself to go outside your comfort zone and support others in the same Care for yourself and others Reflect on your own learning needs and advocate for what you need Accept feedback and recognize it as an opportunity to grow -Recognize different learning preferences with your peers	Provide multiple opportunities for feedback across multiple learning modalities Integrate feedback into course design Recap feedback with students and make follow-up actions clear Create intentional structures for collaboration -Understand student strengths and weakness -Provide differentiated supports Track student progress Celebrate process over product	Provide content in multiple modes: written, audio, and video formats. All written and video materials use inclusive language (gender neutral, uses names from a variety of traditions, avoids phrases like “obviously” or “simply”, etc.). Examples are relatable to a wide variety of students, and deliberately de-center privileged identities in tech. For example, avoid relying on examples that assume some access to/familiarity with wealth, or center interests that have gender skews in popularity, like video games. All materials normalize struggle and challenge, and reminds students that asking for help is a strength. Task range follows the “low floor, high ceiling” principle by starting with a few “quick wins” that the majority of students will complete easily, and progressing up to stretch tasks that only the most advanced students may be able to access. Formative assessments allow students to self-assess their progress during the lesson and identify their outstanding questions. Summative assessments allow teachers and CodePath admin to clearly identify student mastery levels of the content to inform future planning and curriculum revisions.