Susanne Hambrusch (CS)and colleagues in CS and Physics

http://secant.cs.purdue.edu/hhs

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RET experience in“Science Education in

Computational Thinking”

What we built on …

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1. Design of a CS course for science majorsTeach computational thinking and problem solving

2. The Physics Department offers a course based on the Matter&Interaction CurriculumUses Python in the lab for simulation and understanding physical principles

RET Teachers

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Craig SmileyTeaches three levels of physics (I, II, AP)Programming experience: intro

programming course and Python in the M&I physics course

David WrightTeaches various science coursesCoach of the high school’s Robotics teamGood understanding of computation

What the HS teachers wanted

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Use computationto better understand physicsto blend calculus and physics

Write programs to model, simulate, analyze and visualize physical systems

Willing to allocate 3+ weeks (15+ classes) to learning basic Python and VPythonAP course (students had Physics I)

What we were hoping for

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Interest high school students in computation and computer science

Teach computational thinking through abstractiontranslating physical properties into computational processes

problem solvingUse visualization and allow for

creativity

Software

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Use Python 2.5 or 2.6 and VPython 3.2Science Lab did not have Python installedCS Lab had Python, but not VPython installedSoftware installation is a nightmare

Use Portable Python installed on a memory stick

http://www.portablepython.com/Worked well; students liked having their own

stickRET supplement pad for them

Preparation during the summer (1)

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Teachers suggested topicsVectors, collision, projectile motion,

gravitational forceWorked out programming concepts and

toolsBasic Python, visualization with

VPython, graphing, numerical issues Problem driven approachAre for-loops needed? How much to

cover on lists? What can be understood by seeing/using an example?

Preparation during the summer (2)

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Prepared a sequence of simple programs related to the physics tasksTeachers would write some and work

with CS students to generate better code

CS students (re)-implemented all of itPrepared labs for students to work

throughAdded “exploration” problems

students could choose from

Feedback from students (1)

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AP CourseResponses of 18 students to a survey after

Python module; 25% females2 students had prior programming

experience:Scale from 1 to 5 (strongly disagree to

strongly agree)Comfortable using computers: 4Enjoyed writing programs: 4Comfortable writing more programs: 3Consider taking a programming class:

3.95

Feedback from students (2)

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What students likedCreating and moving VPython objectsBouncing balls off the wall, moving blocks

on a trackAnything visual

What students found hard varied considerably

What a few students did not likeDid not see what programming had to do

with physicsDoes not prepare me for the AP exam

Challenges

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Keeping in touch with the teachers during the school yearPlanned all-year effort was scaled back to first semester

Understanding what teachers feel comfortable with

Understanding where students struggle How to incorporate computation into tests Current budget situation in school system

results in uncertainty for next year

What we learned

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Have undergraduates helping out in schoolHas benefits beyond understanding the material

Have almost all material prepared in the summerHS teachers have few free cycles

Meet with teachers informally during the yearThey may not quite know how to interact with you (they live in a much more formal world)