Computer Science · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

Managing Priorities in Sprints

Active learning works for managing priorities in sprints because it puts students in the driver’s seat of messy, real-world decisions. Teams must balance technical curiosity with business needs, and practicing these trade-offs in simulations builds the judgment they’ll need on collaborative projects.

• Common Core State Standards
• CSTA: 3A-AP-19
• CSTA: 3A-AP-22

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Sprint Planning Meeting

Groups of four receive a backlog of eight user stories with effort estimates and a two-week sprint time budget. Teams must select which stories to commit to, assign them, and justify their choices. A representative from each team explains their prioritization logic to the class.

Explain how teams manage conflicting priorities during a development sprint.

Facilitation Tip

During the Sprint Planning Meeting simulation, assign one student as the product owner to hold the team accountable to user value rather than technical appeal.

What to look for

Provide students with a short scenario describing a team facing a time crunch with multiple urgent requests. Ask them to list two potential conflicting priorities and one strategy they would suggest to resolve them.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Conflicting Priorities

Present a scenario where a team member insists on refactoring old code while others want to add a new feature before a deadline. Partners discuss how they would handle the conflict and what criteria they would use to decide. Pairs share their approaches and class identifies common principles.

Design a strategy for prioritizing tasks in a team project.

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share on conflicting priorities, give each pair a different stakeholder persona so they practice advocating for different points of view.

What to look for

Present students with two different methods for prioritizing tasks: one based solely on urgency, and another balancing urgency with estimated effort. Ask: 'Which method is more likely to lead to a successful sprint, and why? Consider potential drawbacks of each.'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Decision Matrix
• 30 min · Small Groups

Task Triage Activity

Give groups a list of 12 potential tasks for a class project. Groups must categorize each as 'must do this sprint,' 'should do if time,' or 'defer to next sprint,' using a prioritization framework (e.g., urgency vs. impact matrix). Groups then compare their matrices and discuss why they classified items differently.

Critique different approaches to conflict resolution within a development team.

Facilitation Tip

Use the Task Triage Activity to require students to write one-sentence rationales for each prioritization decision, making their thinking visible.

What to look for

Give students a list of 5 user stories for a hypothetical app. Instruct them to rank these stories from highest to lowest priority, providing a one-sentence justification for their top-ranked choice based on a given business goal.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Decision Matrix
• 25 min · Individual

Case Study Critique: Team Conflict Scenarios

Students read short vignettes describing different team conflict situations (e.g., a developer who keeps changing scope mid-sprint, a team that never finishes anything because they keep reprioritizing). Individually students write a one-paragraph critique of the approach taken and a recommended alternative.

Explain how teams manage conflicting priorities during a development sprint.

Facilitation Tip

In the Case Study Critique, ask students to circle every time a conflict could have been prevented by clearer criteria or earlier communication.

What to look for

Provide students with a short scenario describing a team facing a time crunch with multiple urgent requests. Ask them to list two potential conflicting priorities and one strategy they would suggest to resolve them.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model how to push back on prioritizing technically interesting work by asking, 'What problem does this solve for the user?' consistently. Avoid letting students default to 'most important' without justification. Research suggests that students benefit from seeing multiple examples of prioritization frameworks so they can compare strengths and weaknesses before committing to one.

Successful learning looks like students justifying priorities using transparent criteria rather than personal preference, negotiating trade-offs explicitly, and adjusting plans when new information arises. They should articulate why a task moves up or down the backlog and how that decision serves the sprint goal.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Simulation: Sprint Planning Meeting, watch for students defaulting to the most technically interesting task as the top story.

  Use the product owner role to ask, 'Who is the user for this task, and what value does it deliver?' Redirect any conversation that drifts toward personal preference.

• During the Think-Pair-Share: Conflicting Priorities, watch for students assuming that conflict means the team is failing.

  Highlight moments when team members articulate different priorities and prompt them to practice phrases like 'Let’s check the sprint goal' or 'What data do we have to decide?' to normalize constructive disagreement.

• During the Task Triage Activity, watch for students treating sprint commitments as rigid once set.

  Introduce a 'new information' card during triage and require students to explain why a reprioritization is justified, distinguishing between scope creep and legitimate change.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Think-Pair-Share
• Decision Matrix