June 26, 2005

Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Continental Breakfast and Symposium Check-In

Introduction

General Session

Why Can't Smart People Figure Out What to do About Computing Education?

Russ Shackelford

Computing has become fundamental to the education of those who will participate in modern society. It provides the infrastructure by which we communicate, do our work, conduct our business, and manage our affairs. Computing has dramatically influenced progress in science, engineering, business, and other avenues of human endeavor. In modern times, nearly everyone needs to use computers, and many will want to study computing in some form. It is important for society that essential computing knowledge and skills are part of basic education for everyone, and that the computing disciplines attract quality students from a broad cross-section of people and prepare them to be capable and responsible professionals and scientists. Why, then, do we treat computing education as a marginal issue? More importantly, what must we do to achieve the robust shared vision necessary for society to make a commitment to meaningful computing education?

Refreshment Break

Concurrent Sessions:

Teaching Recursion

Fran Trees

"To iterate is human, to recurse, divine." — L. Peter Deutsch
In this session, we will demonstrate activities to introduce recursion and include a variety of ways to teach (and not to teach) this topic.

Web Programming: Building Numbers in CS

Brian Scarbeau & Dave Jacobus

This session will review what one school did to increase enrollment in the Computer Science Classes with Web programming. Learn how to create a simple Web programming assignment using Web Matrix. In addition, learn how to use Web services with your programming class.

Student Assessment: Reflective Assessment in Computing Instruction

Philip East & Doug Peterson

What do you hope to accomplish with your student assessment? Effective student assessment requires that teachers first explicitly determine the goal of particular assessment activities. Student assessments can be summative, diagnostic, or formative. Doug and Philip believe student assessment should almost always involve more than giving a grade or sorting students. In this session we will examine various assessment tools/processes--where they are appropriate, what they look like (in both programming and non-programming contexts), and how they can be used to improve student learning. Specifically examining (reflecting on) the goals of student assessment and the improvement of student learning is one way to begin reflection on ones own performance as a teacher. The goal of this session is twofold: 1. To provide some practical student assessment ideas and 2. to provide guidance (allowing participants who wish to) to start or improve reflective assessment of CS & IT instruction.

Developing Resources to Support a National Computer Science Curriculum for K-12

Anito Verno

This session will continue efforts by ACM and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) to create a comprehensive body of resources to support the implementation of a national K-12 computer science curriculum and will focus on the learning objectives and activities for Level 2 of the Model curriculum. Level-2 topics are suggested for all students in grades 9 or 10 and are comprised of introductory computer science content. This session will provide an in-depth review of the new Level II support materials. Attendees will be invited to provide critical feedback on the objectives, assessment, activities, and resources essential to ensuring that a National CS Curriculum can be effectively implemented throughout schools. A summary of the Level 2 objectives will be distributed to participants for use as a reference during the discussion.

General Session

Preparing Students with In-demand Skills for an On Demand World

Robin Willner

The last ten years have seen a precipitous decline in the number of high school students applying for and pursuing careers in engineering and computer science. While young people and their families have been inundated with media reports of failing dot-com businesses and outsourcing, the reality in many businesses are vacancies for interesting and lucrative job opportunities. This workshop will provide an overview of the information technology (IT) industry, trends in innovation and technology, and information about current and future careers in computer science and engineering. There will also be hands-on activities and presentations that both teachers and parents can use with their students.

Luncheon

Concurrent Sessions:

The Design and Engineering of Problems, Programs, and Assignments From Theory to Practice in Teaching Programming

Owen Astrachan

In teaching programming courses we use a variety of assessments and projects including short, simple exercises, non-programming problems, and larger programming projects. What makes a good assignment? How can we design problems for students to solve that help them learn and master essential material? How do we help ensure a successful learning experience for students with wide-ranging backgrounds and abilities? In this session we'll discuss characteristics of good programming problems and assignments. We'll analyze differences between what makes a good test question in class, what makes a good question on a national exam, and what makes a good programming project. We'll emphasize the role of interfaces in Java and discuss the design and engineering of materials we use to motivate and assess students in the programming courses we teach.

Playing the Part: Using Handhelds in Participatory Simulations

Betsy Frederick & Atty Mullins

Want to get students thinking outside the box? Use participatory simulations with handhelds to engage students in higher-order thinking by making them the players in a real-life simulation of a computer network. This session is useful for people who teach technology, computer science, and anywhere problem solving is needed. Equipment for this session will be provided.

The ACM Java Task Force: Interim Report

Fran Trees

Since its introduction in 1995, the use of Java as an instructional language has shown a steady increase -- a trend that is likely to accelerate with the adoption of Java for the Computer Science AP. At the same time, those who have used Java in introductory courses have identified a number of problems in terms of its suitability for students, particularly at the introductory level. Concern about these problems prompted the ACM Education Board in late 2003 to establish the ACM Java Task Force (JTF) to "review the Java language, APIs, and tools from the perspective of introductory computing education and to develop a stable collection of pedagogical resources that will make it easier to teach Java to first-year computing students without having those students overwhelmed by its complexity." In this session, JTF chair Eric Roberts will present the preliminary report of the Task Force and review the design of the educational packages it describes.

Team Dynamics

Abby Gonzales

Collaboration and teamwork have become increasingly popular vehicles to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Many educational psychologists claim that learning is a social activity where knowledge is acquired and understood through social negotiation. In theory, collaboration looks so easy and natural. But after several years of teaching and learning in a collaborative environment, I have learned that successful teams require careful planning, pedagogical scaffolding, and a nurturing environment. This session will focus on problems common to collaborative groups and provide practical suggestions and instructional materials that support successful team dynamics.

Flash

Daryn Bee

Participants will discover how Macromedia Flash can be used at all levels of education to enhance student learning. Demonstration lessons are provided online with numerous examples of curriculum application. Topics include the basic Flash interface, drawing and managing symbols through to intermediate animation, button building, and audio/video integration. The culmination of the workshop will be a view of coding (Action Script) and a demonstration of how simple changes can be made to customize Flash programs. Come and discover all the rich and diverse features that Flash has to enhance the world of education!

Refreshment Break

Breakout Sessions:

Kinesthetic Learning Activities in the Classroom

Andy Begel

This session will focus on kinesthetic learning activities (i.e., physically engaging classroom exercises). These might, for example, teach recursion by simulating the Towers of Hanoi with students instead of disks or illustrate orders of growth by building a human binary tree. The session will begin with a brief kinesthetic learning activity to motivate the value of these activities. We will follow with a variety of examples, and discuss how to deploy these in a classroom. Much of the session will be devoted to facilitated group work to help the participants design and test their own activities.

Selling the Sizzle: Bringing Students Back to Computing Courses

Chris Stephenson

Where have all the students gone? Colleges and Universities across North America are reporting that enrollment in computing courses has dropped an average of 30% and in many high schools, the situation is even more precarious. This presentation will focus on some of the factors contributing to declining student participation in high school computing courses and will offer a number of proactive strategies teachers can use to bring more, and more diverse students back to computing.

Teaching Java with Karel the Robot

Sandy Graham

Karel the Robot is a tool that has been used by computer science instructors for decades to introduce programming concepts. This session will demonstrate how using a library of classes defining a 2-D robot in a city can be used to introduce objected-oriented concepts in Java. Using Karel the Robot reinforces the concepts with a visually interesting output. The object-oriented concepts covered will include: methods, instance variables, inheritance, overloading methods, overriding methods, and polymorphism.

Programming CS as a 2nd Language

Justin Solomon

Computer programming instruction needs comprehensive overhaul with the goal of fitting into school-based curricula as a "second language," starting as early as the elementary years. In this session, an innovative model for computer programming instruction based on concepts that are less intimidating for new programmers will be introduced, by illustrating how teaching programming can be viewed in terms of teaching a foreign language to computer science students. This method of instruction can be used to integrate programming into standard curricula as early as possible, possibly long before high school. Specific examples of how this model works and ultimately supports more advanced computer science instruction will be provided, as well as materials introducing various programming languages and teaching methods that could be useful in its implementation. Using a lecture-interactive format, participants will be given the opportunity to discuss their own experience and to contribute comments and suggestions about developing a computer science curriculum based on "Programming as a Second Language."

Attracting Under-represented Groups to CS through Socially Relevant Teaching Strategies

Pat Phillips

Explore strategies and lesson ideas that encourage girls and other under-represented groups in computer science. Hear first hand how socially relevant learning opportunities inspire students to use technology to solve social problems. Analyze your teaching style and environment for inclusion and take home a variety of ready-to-use lessons and ideas that welcome all students by bridging the gap between classroom learning and social responsibility.

General Session

Delivering on the Promise of Educational Technology in a Standards-based Environment

Mary Cullinane

This presentation will explore the current state of educational technology in the US. It will include discussions on technology innovations including the Microsoft School of the Future Project as well as balancing integration and high-stake assessments.

Reception