K-12 Computing Education Seminar

Facilitator: Allison Obourn and Zorah Fung
Meetings: Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:20pm in EEB 026

Syllabus | Volunteer Norms | Project Ideas | Project Groups

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
January 13th	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?
January 20th	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
January 27th	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
Feb 3rd	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.
Feb 10th	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
Feb 17th	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
Feb 24th	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
Mar 3rd	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

(baby computer picture from here)