Enthusing and inspiring with reusable kinaesthetic activities

We describe the experiences of three University projects that use a style of physical, non-computer based activity to enthuse and teach school students computer science concepts. We show that this kind of activity is effective as an outreach and teaching resource even when reused across different age/ability ranges, in lecture and workshop formats and for delivery by different people. We introduce the concept of a Reusable Outreach Object (ROO) that extends Reusable Learning Objects. and argue for a community effort in developing a repository of such objects

Abstraction and Common Classroom Activities

In popularizing computational thinking, Wing notes that ‘abstraction is described as underlying computational thinking and computational thinking is described as fundamental to computing.’ Emerging curricular now require educators to incorporate computational thinking and abstraction into their teaching. Many refer to Piaget’s work as evidence of an age-related ceiling preventing younger pupils from being able to abstract. However, more recent evidence suggests that pupils use elements of abstraction in their general process of learning, and that the skill of abstraction can be explicitly taught. We draw on personal classroom experience to illustrate the points made in the literature. Common classroom activities such as using labelled diagrams, concept maps and storyboards are aligned to features of abstraction. We argue that abstraction can and should be taught to young pupils

Development of Computational Thinking in Brazilian Schools with Social and Economic Vulnerability: How to Teach Computer Science Without Machines

Computational Thinking (CT) has been placing the focus of educational innovation as a set of troubleshooting skills. Unfortunately, there is not a consensus if the teaching methodology and the available materials attend the expectations of the lecturers. To prove the impact that CT training has in primary school, we attempted to evaluate primary school students with a Quasi-Experimental approach and taking Unplugged CT classes in Brazilian Schools with Social and Economic Vulnerabilities. The research happened in two schools to prove if the activities are effective for students who live in areas where there are no electronic devices, Internet or even electrical power can be also benefited. The results show statistically significant improvement. Our study finds shows that we are able to reinforce the claim that CS unplugged is an effective approach and it is an alternative for students who live in unprivileged areas

Data Science and Big Data in Upper Secondary Schools: What Should Be Discussed From a Perspective of Computer Science Education?

The domain of data science is a large field, combining statistics, computer science and sociocultural issues. It is an open question which topics and which contents can and should be implemented in school, e.g. from the perspective of computer science education. Within the frame of a design-based research project a pilot course is designed by computer science and statistics educators at the Paderborn University, addressing upper secondary students. In this paper, we concentrate on the second of four modules, in which machine learning and neural networks are adressed. Some individual phases of the module are presented, followed by a metaperspective of the curriculum development that contributes to our project, and further research questions

Teaching fundamental computer science concepts utilizing manipulatives

This thesis presents innovative pedagogical approaches to teach fundamental Computer Science (CS) concepts, such as abstraction, representation, algorithms, and computation utilizing manipulatives, which are physical objects that students interact with to teach or reinforce a concept. Teaching and learning with manipulatives has a long history in science and mathematics education, but the development of and research on manipulatives to teach CS concepts is less common. Through observational field notes from a 6th-grade classroom and an interview with the teacher, this thesis discusses the affordances and drawbacks of the different approaches and manipulatives. We found that utilizing manipulatives led to increased student engagement and participation with the material, along with making teaching the material more exciting and engaging for the teacher. In addition, we found that manipulatives provided a way for student misunderstandings and errors to be more apparent through tinkering with the physical objects, along with the teacher being able to connect and further enforce multiple CS concepts through activities. However, we also observed drawbacks when implementing different manipulatives, specifically the algorithmic scaffolding restricted the ability for an algorithm to be created and designed in unique a way by a student, which could lead to less algorithmic creativity and freedom.Keywords: Computer Science, Manipulatives, Abstraction, Algorithms, Representation, Computation, Computer Science Educatio

Adoption of Computer Science in NZ schools

In 2011, Programming and Computer Science standards were made available as part of NCEA in New Zealand high schools. Because little guidance and professional development was available initially, teachers have found it challenging to present the content effectively to their students. In response to this, several resources and professional development opportunities have been made available, including the widely used Computer Science Field Guide for Computer Science, and several programming resources specific to the new standards. In this paper we outline the deployment of the new standards and supporting material, and look at the uptake of the new standards over the first three years that they were phased in. This reveals increasing participation at schools, and higher enrolments at university as a flow-on effect. The introduction of Computer Science has also helped to address perception and stereotypes about the industry, with high achievement by female students, although participation rates are not ideal