K-12 Computing Education Seminar

Facilitator: Allison Obourn
Meetings: Tuesdays 1:30 - 3:00pm

Syllabus | Volunteer Norms | Project Ideas

Children love computers and now use them in all aspects of their lives. At the same time, the shortage of skilled computer scientists is dire enough for DARPA to fund outreach initiatives. In this seminar, we explore challenges and opportunities related to computing education for pre-collegial students. Our primary goal is to become more effective advocates and supporters of computing education in K-12. We discuss relevant education policy, teaching strategies and existing endeavors while spending time working with K-12 students in the Seattle area.

Date Topics Assignments
March 31st Who are we?
What were our K-12 experiences like?
What do we want to get out of this seminar?
How has computing education been discussed in the media lately?
April 7th What is computational thinking?
Why is 'computational thinking' currently favored over 'computer science' to describe K-12 programs?
What should K-12 students learn about computing?
Where does computing fit into the K-12 curriculum?
Fill out project preference survey by Sunday, Jan. 18th 11pm.
Skim pages 6-31 from Running on Empty
Read Computational Thinking and skim Bringing Computational Thinking to K-12
April 14th What is Scratch?
What is the role of programming in K-12 computing?
How are teaching programming in K-12 and college different?
What do students learn about programming from game, music video, and storytelling projects?
Explore and play with Scratch
April 21st Are some computer science ideas easier to teach without computers?
What are some strategies for designing effective unplugged activities?
A CS Unplugged Design Pattern
Explore CS Unplugged and read about an activity on their web page.
April 28th Why is diversity important in computing?
Why are women underrpresented in computing?
How can we improve representation of minorities in computing?
Read Broadening Partcipation: The Why and the How, which was written right here in the UW CSE department
May 5th What challenges are associated with learning to program?
What are some of the things to consider when choosing an introductory programming language?
Read Learnable Programming
May 12th What activities can teach the CS Principles big ideas?
How can CS knowledge be assessed?
How does programming fit into CS Principles?
Read The Mystery of "b:=(b=false)" and MasterMind: a predictor of computer programming aptitude
May 19th No Meeting
May 26th Which problems does this program solve?
What roles can industry play in addressing K-12 computing education?
What challenges does this program face?
Read Fostering Tech Talent in Schools
June 7th No reading: work on projects and presentations!

(baby computer picture from here)