How to build an outstanding computer science curriculumMARK DORLINGMATTHEW WALKER

CAS CONFERENCE 2013

Calling all teachers…What does curriculum mean to you?

What does creativity mean to you?

What is your vision of a creative curriculum?

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Outcomes Develop a department vision, overcoming challenges

Demonstrate progression through the key stages and effectively scaffold learning

Creative computing lessons from example schemes of work

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Challenges Curriculum that is inclusive – no child left behind

Curriculum that is creative but thorough

Confidence in aligning and interpreting the Computing curriculum

Understanding the technicalities of the curriculum

Showing progression

How to integrate CS, IT and DL into a single scheme of work

Developing a vision for your curriculum

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Correctly interpreting the curriculum

Digital literacyNational ICT Curriculum

Statuary document

CS ITSubject Association

Teacher guidesNon- statuary document

Information Technology

Computer Science

Digital literacy

A School’s curriculum planning

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Interpreting the KS1 curriculum

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Computing is non-linear‘Dorling Curriculum Map of Computing’ available September 2013

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Options for September 2013

To do nothing… that is an option!

To integrate one or two lesson of Computer Science into existing Digital Literacy (DL) and Information Technology (IT) schemes of work.

To plan a half term or term CS SoW for year 7 and then roll out a SoW to each year group year on year.

To plan a half term or term CS SoW for each year group.

To (initially) plan a term or two term curriculum that integrates DL with CS year 7 only.

Complete restructuring of all schemes of work

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Mark’s model for September 2012Why are we focusing on KS2 CS in September?

Resources• SSAT Hack resources• CS Unplugged• CAS Online• CS4FN• Greenfoot/Alice

CurriculumKS 2/3/4

Term 1Basic functional IT

Skills

Term 2 & 3Advanced functional IT embedded into a creative

curriculum underpinned by computing

KS2DSH Curriculum

CurriculumY8/9 GCSE IT

KS3Extra curricular

clubs

KS4Y10/11 GCSE Computing

EnrichmentAfter GCSE

• Scratch Ed•Kodu EPL•AppShed Academy• Code Academy• Industry collaborations

KS4Y10/11 AS Level

ICT

National Curriculum DfE

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Matthew’s model for September 2012Enquiry-based KS3 curriculum (all a combination of DL, IT and CS)

Leads to KS4 Option in GCSE Computer Science

All students have one lesson a week IT in year 10.

Year 7

Why is Facebook successful?

How do computers think?

How can I make an unbreakable code?

Can I teach a machine to think?

Year 8

Why are video games fun?

How can I make pigs fly?

How does Google work?

Year 9

What can my pet robot do?

Who owns my information?

How can I make a mobile app?

Will computers take over the world?

KS4

GCSE Computer

Science (option)

Year 10 IT (mandatory,

one lesson per week)

Department ‘vision’School curriculum policy

Student consultation

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Strategies Have strategies for managing the transition

Engage other staff, network managers, SLT, students, parents

Know considerations when making decisions like choosing programming languages

Have ideas for raising the profile of computing in your school

Know where to get help with clubs

Know where to get affordable and quality CPD

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Subject Knowledge Challenges

Computer Science is more than just programming

What is computational thinking?

How do I develop in my staff and students a rich understanding of how the principals and concepts all link together?

How do I teach programming and coding?

How do I assess programming code?

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Bridging IT and CSIT & DL

(Driving the car) Computer Science(Engineering the car)

Computational Thinking(Adapting the car for a given circuit)

Social need

tools

Conc

epts

Reali

zing &

apply

ingProblems

Solutions

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Algorithms & Programming

We want to make models of the world to:◦ understand it◦ ask ‘what if’ questions and predict the way

it will change

How do we make models?◦ solving problems

◦ by characterising a problem◦ mapping the abstractions of a conceptual model◦ choosing appropriate technology

How do we turn models into programs?◦ write programs by programming◦ programming bridges models and

computers

Are they separate or inextricably linked?

Model

Progra

m

Predictions

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Every year and at every level

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Implications of the double hump (achievement bimodality)

Many students (and staff) think the subject is too hard

Progression is seriously hindered

Lesson planning and seeing through schemes of work become a major headache

Measurable underachievement at KS3, GCSE and A-Level

Success is enjoyable

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One voice from university

“Why is it that some software engineers and computer scientists are able to produce clear, elegant designs and programs, while others cannot? Is it possible to improve these skills through education and training?”

Kramer, 2007

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What are we asking students to do?

1. Abstract the problem from its description

2. Generate subproblems

3. Transform subproblems into subsolutions

4. Recompose

5. Evaluate and iterate

This represents the most abstract level of Piagetian abstraction – formal operational reasoning

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Neo-Piagetian levels of abstraction

HighestFormal Operational

form links between abstract properties

infer hypotheses with limited or missing data

rely on chunked long-term memory

HighConcrete Operation

abstractions restricted to familiar, real situations no hypothetical reasoning

LowPreoperational

direct manipulation of the environment

little thought about relationships between

objects

focus on one abstract property at a time

working knowledge is overwhelmed

LowestSensorimotor

inconsistent results

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Neo-Piagetian levels of abstraction

HighestFormal Operational

decomposition creating solutions debugging

HighConcrete Operation

can ‘reverse’ solutions conserve meaning when program specification is changed

LowPreoperational

can manually execute code and determine values in variables when execution is finished

research indicates >50% accuracy in this skill needed before students can begin to understand

how to code

LowestSensorimotor

can trace code with <50% accuracy

application to programming skills

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Sensorimotor stage and magic

“Without the ability to reliably produce consistent results via tracing, novices at the sensorimotor stage see code as somewhat magical. That is, they do not experience an executing program as a deterministic machine.”

Ahadi et al, 2012

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Abstraction informing learning

“…students who tend to reason preoperationally about code will gain little from being forced to write large quantities of code. Such students can only write code by quasi-random mutation. For students who are predominantly reasoning at the preoperational level… we need to develop new types of learning experiences that develop their abstract reasoning without requiring them to write a lot of code.”

Lister, 2011

Computational Thinking

Teach in a way that encourages students to develop their ability to reason under abstractions

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Reducing abstraction

“…students, when facing the need to cope meaningfully with concepts that are too abstract for them, tend to reduce the level of abstraction in order to make these abstract concepts meaningful and mentally accessible… by dealing with specific examples instead of with a whole set defined in general terms.”

Hazzan, 2008Students reframe abstractions in concrete form

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Develop the ability to make design decisions

Directed learning

Autonomous learning

Littl

e ch

oice

Lots of choice

Designing AND

making

Making WITHOUT designing

Designing WITHOUT

making

The balance is dependent on a number of factors:• The SKUAE of the pupils• The SKUAE of your staff

SKUA = Skills, Knowledge, Understanding, Attitudes and experience

Diagram Source:David Bartlex, Roehampton University

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Make it less abstract! Why use real life problems AND use a graphical programming tool?

Easier to create meaningful questions for assessment

Easier for students to create drawings that represent the execution of a program

Simpler for students to investigate models

Simpler for students to adapt, reason and create models

Data is not hidden so inspection is simpler

Avoid simulations in Scratch – this can make it more abstract rather than less!

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Assessing Programming Code

Does it appear to work?

Does it really work?◦ rigour of testing, range of data/input

Originality of code◦ has a student artfully/skilfully reworked known examples or created

something less impressive but original (levels of abstraction)?

Features versus bugs

Looking at the code◦ layout, comments, structure, logical errors, genuine understanding

Meeting the specification

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Looking at programming codeBY JOHN

Turnham Green and Acton TownWhere Air Raid huddles laid them down.Neasden, Willesden, Dollis Hill,Tottenham Hale and Hearty, still.Thank you London Underground.

And all your staff, who get me round.I still find it astounding how deep you are.When you are off, we’re off on rantsWe cram the busAnd as we crawl like ants upon the surface… then we knowThe rich resource that’s down below.

BY MAX

I sat down on the tube.It was noisy and dirty.I wanted to get home.Tea was at 5.30.

Mum would be waitingAlways asking questions.The tube was my time.For making up destinations.

I like the tube cus it is cool.I don't like poems.

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Which programming language & environment

Scaffold the learning of computational thinking

Allow for inspection of variables and data structures

Consider skills and experience of staff

Languages currently in vogue:◦ Python◦ TNGLogo◦ Small Basic◦ PHP◦ Scratch/BYOB/Panther◦ VB◦ Greenfoot (Java)

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Balanced curriculum summary

Programming isn’t hard when you know how to solve a problem!

Some languages’ syntax and tools are more impenetrable than others

Obsession of “which language” often gets in the way of problem solving

Focus on designing without making… but this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t use programming model solutions along side problem solving

Ensure, whatever language you choose, you have a plan for progression (that is more than a tick sheet of language features)

You can never create problems that are scalable enough for children to solve

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Vision vs reality Does our reality of a creative curriculum look different to your vision for a Creative Curriculum?

Honest reflection: To what extent do you think the following affects how we (as teachers) design our curriculums?

◦ My preferred learning styles…◦ My areas of expertise, e.g. subject specialism…◦ My life experiences…

If you were to teach someone else curriculum would it still be creative?

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Sample lessonstaken from our schemes of work

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Dinosaurs day out…

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Police, Camera and Action!

Car chase on streets of French town

BREAKING NEWS:

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The binary behind algorithms

(10)

(10)

(10)

(00)

(00)

(11)

Efficiency of algorithms:

Opt 1: 01,11,11,01,11 = 10 Bits

Opt 2: 10,01,11,11 = 8 Bits

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Can I teach a machine to think?

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A class of code breakers

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Drawing Fractals

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Beautiful numbers

How do these grab you? 3.14166.238673? 1.61803399?

Can you spot the pattern?0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21

“Wow… Improves proportion In art and teaches recursion!”

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Why is Facebook successful?

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Get with the algo-rhythm

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How can I make pigs fly?

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Scratch to mobile

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Questions