Teaching Security

The Teaching Security project is providing classroom-ready materials to support high-school teachers in teaching about important cybersecurity principles, helping students understand the major vulnerabilities, why they occur, and what defensive strategies can be used. The materials focus on inquiry-based activities and hands-on interactive apps and demos that allow students to explore for themselves how cybersecurity works. The first lesson, on threat modeling, introduces students to "the security mindset" and provides an overarching framework that students continue engaging with in later lessons on key security concepts like authentication and social engineering.

The Teaching Security materials are designed to address the cybersecurity-related objectives and Essential Knowledge described in the new AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) framework, under the Enduring Understanding "Cybersecurity is an important concern for the Internet and the systems built on it". However, they are intended to be flexible enough to be used in a variety of classrooms at different grade levels and with different levels of computer experience (not just AP classes). Teaching Security is coordinated by a team at the International Computer Science Institute that previously produced the Teaching Privacy/TROPE curriculum.

Funding provided by NSF.