In this paper we lay out our strategy of our Scalable Game Design curriculum, which has been funded through a series of NSF (ITEST Strategy, CE21 Type II, and ITEST Scale Up) grants as well as the Google CS4HS program, and list some research questions relevant to bringing Computer Science education to middle schools.
Visual programming in 3D sounds much more appealing than programming in 2D, but what are its benefits? Here, University of Colorado Boulder educators discuss the differences between 2D and 3D regarding three concepts connecting computer graphics to computer science education: ownership, spatial thinking, and syntonicity.
End-user game design affords teachers a unique opportunity to integrate computational thinking concepts into their classrooms. However, it is not always apparent in game and simulation projects what computational thinking-related skills students have acquired. Computational Thinking Pattern Analysis (CTPA) enables teachers to visualize which of nine specific skills students have mastered in game design that can then be used to create simulations. CTPA has the potential to automatically recognize and calculate student computational thinking skills, as well as to map students’ computational
This paper suggests a Cyberlearning tool based on a highly innovative assessment methodology that helps teachers with computer science education. Currently, there is a strong push to integrate aspects of programming and coding into the classroom environment. However, few if any tools exist that enable real-time formative assessment of in-class programming tasks. The proposed REACT (Real Time Evaluation and Assessment of Computational Thinking) system is a first step toward allowing teachers to see which high-level concepts students have mastered and which ones they are struggling with as
Future school science standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), emphasize the integration of simulation and modeling activities in the classroom environment. The extremes of these activities have two vastly different implementations. On one hand, a teacher can have students experiment on a pre-made simulation associated with the material. On the other hand, students can use, for example, an end-user programming tool to create the simulation from scratch. This allows students to not only experiment on, but also, to model the real world phenomenon being studied, a key
A computational thinking survey was designed to assess K-12 education students’ attitudes toward computer science and their understanding of computational thinking before and after implemenation of a computational thinking (CT) module. The surveys consisted of sixteen multiple-choice questions on a Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree and four open-ended questions.The link below and attachement provide the instrument.
Computational Thinking Pattern Analysis (CTPA) enables teachers to visualize which of nine specific skills students have mastered in game design that can then be used to create simulations. CTPA has the potential to automatically recognize and calculate student computational thinking skills as well as to map students’ computational thinking skill progression, as they proceed through the curriculum.The link and attachment provide documentation about the instrument.Authors provide instrument validity or reliability information.
The purpose of the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies program is to integrate opportunities offered by emerging technologies with advances in what is known about how people learn to advance three interconnected thrusts:
Conversation Starter: Jim Diamond, evaluator for iDesign
Summary: There is a lot of overlap in the concepts of computational thinking, technological fluency, computational literacy, and 21st century skills, and none of the concepts are easy to measure. In this webinar we will consider common definitions for one or two of the constructs, as well as thinking about how to measure them.
Developed in 2007, COMPUGIRLS is an ITEST project that serves 60 girls in underserved school districts in the Phoenix-metro area. The girls, who are predominantly Hispanic, Native American and African-American, can begin the program as eighth graders and participate in six distinct courses, meeting four times a week for five weeks. In addition to advancing techno-social skills, they learn to improve their writing, conduct interviews, draft