The Landscape of High School Computer Science Course Offerings in South Carolina: What, When, Where and How are we Training the Next Generation of CS/IT Specialists? John Kaup Coordinator of Science Education Office of Integrative Research in the Sciences Furman University

Computer Science Units : What meets this requirement ? All SC student must take one unit (full year equivalency) of Computer Science - Keyboarding course may be used to meet half of the CS unit In SC – all schools must offer the following science courses: Physical Science (Earth Science – optional) Biology and Applied Biology (Additional Biology optional) Chemistry, Chemistry for the Technologies Physics, Physics for the Technologies Computer Science not listed under Science Approved Computer Science Units are housed within CATE (Career and Technology Education)

WHEN are Computer Science courses being taught ? Keyboarding – throughout HS but also often in Middle School AP Computer Science (junior or senior year) Exploring Computer Science (9 th or 10 th grade) – More ! SC approved course but not yet offered in SC Computer programming Courses (10-15 on the approved list) Not able to find data on when these courses are taught (guessing 10-12)

WHERE are Computer Science courses being taught? HOW are Computer Science units being earned? CS unit requirement being met everywhere (88,000 units) Over 50% of all units in – Keyboarding (8700) – Integrated Business Applications (23,500) – Computer Applications (15,000) AP CS and Computer Programming CS units – Represent less than 2% of all units AP Computer Science (206 exams in 2011 : 31,000 all AP exams) Nationally (17,000 AP CS exams : 3.4 Million total exams taken) All CS Programming Courses (1400 units in 2011) Engineering Courses (7000 units in 2011)

HOW are Computer Science courses being taught? Are skills for career and college success being learned? Self paced (certainly with keyboarding) Many are connected to certificate programs (facilitated through CATE) Are the necessary CS/IT career skills being delivered? What emphasis is there on critical (computational) thinking? Are students adequately prepared to enroll in collegiate level CS programs? Do students know about career opportunities in CS/IT? How are CS instructors being trained / certified?

Do we have a problem ? Low Female and URM participation in certain CS course offerings Computer Programming Courses (2011 Data – SC DOE CATE) (22% Female; 26% AA; 5% Hispanic/Latino) AP CS Exam (Data from 2011 : AP Summary Reports) (19% Female; 19% URM ) Overall Number of AP Exams Taken All AP Exams57% Increase Statistics+ 68% Calculus+ 45% Physics+ 52% Biology+ 49% Computer Science+ 11% Enrollment in Undergraduate CS/IT Programs ? Where is CS located in the HS Curriculum ?

Pilot / Seed Programs that are Working to Reverse this Trend Exploring Computer Science Early exposure (9 th -10 th grade) to CS/IT Careers AP CS Principles (National AP Exam in ) Evidence Centered Design (similar to recent revisions in Calculus, Biology and Physics) Alice Programming Initiative (NSF funded Initiative) Scaling up a successful collaborative project for students and teachers Computer Science HS Curriculum / Middle School Feeder Linking Middle School student with HS program Development of HS CS Program

1.Exploring Computer Science (ECS) - One-year college preparatory course - 6 units (modules) each 6 weeks in length - Units utilize a variety of tools/platforms and culminate with final creative projects. Units Human Computer Interactions Problem Solving Web Design Introduction to Programming Computing and Data Analysis Robotics Advantages Course already approved (SC CATE) Workshop being planned Early Exposure (9 th or 10 th grade)

2.AP CS Principles ( Evidence-centered design Detailed Learning Objectives (LOs) with evidence statements used to determine whether LOs have been met. These objectives are constructed by matching the so-called seven Big Ideas of CS Principles with six Computational Thinking Practices. Big Ideas of CS Principles Creativity: Computing is a creative activity Abstraction: Abstraction reduces information and detail to facilitate focus on relevant concepts Data: Data and information facilitate the creation of knowledge Algorithms: Algorithms are used to develop and express solutions to computational problems Programming: Programming enables problem solving, human expression, and creation of knowledge Internet: The Internet pervades modern computing Impact: Computing has global impacts

Big Ideas of CS Principles matched with Computational Thinking Practices…. 1.Connecting Computing 2.Developing Computational Artifacts 3.Abstracting 4.Analyzing problems and artifacts 5.Communicating 6.Collaborating to develop the proposed Learning Objectives (LOs). (First Exam – )

3.Alice Programming and Scale-Up ( 3-D virtual worlds programming environment Easy to create animations or games Great introduction to programming for novices (grades 6-16) Collaborative Research: Scaling up an Innovative Approach for Attracting Students to Computing (NSF Grant: ) Teacher Training Program (for over 250 teachers) Workshop Based (Content and Curriculum) - short follow-up workshop HS and Middle School Teachers - varied disciplines

4.Computer Science HS Curriculum / MS Connection Michael Eason (Stratford High School, Berkeley County) Oracle Academy Instructor Adobe Certified Instructor Exploring Computer Science camp (after school ) Notepad++ to write HTML code to create a web page Trimble SketchUp (formerly Google SketchUp) to create two 3D buildings Alice 2.3 to create an interactive 3D animation OOP concepts such as methods basic programming constructs such as loops Summer 2013 Computer Science Summer Camp for 7 th graders Many other camps – Lego, Apps, Single Gender etc. Guiding these middle school students into…..

Robust High School Computer Science Curriculum Grade 9 Exploring Computer Science (5023CP) Explore robotics, cyber security, hardware, networks, databases, animation, graphics, web programming, application programming (incl. mobile apps), 3D, Alice, HTML, Java, Python, SQL, and/or other topics. Grade 10 Oracle 1 - Database Design & Programming with SQL (5324H) Analyze business scenarios to identify data patterns and connections. Design databases using ERD conventions. Use SQL to create and modify databases.

Grade 11 Oracle 2 - Database Programming with PL/SQL (5326H) Learn to use computer programming control structures with Oracles PL/SQL to create functions, procedures, triggers, and packages to modify databases and integrate into webbased applications. Grade 12 Oracle Java Fundamentals & Programming (5058AP) Improve your problem-solving skills and earn AP college credit using Java in various IDEs such as NetBeans and Eclipse. Create Java games using Greenfoot and Alice 3. (other sequences and options available)

Alternative CS Sequences at Stratford High School Alternative #2 Exploring Computer Science CP Computer Programming 1 - Intro to C CP Computer Programming 2 - Intro to Java CP Oracle Java Fundamentals & Programming AP Alternative #3 Exploring Computer Science CP Web Page Design & Development CP Web Page Design & Development CP Oracle Java Fundamentals & Programming AP Extra-Curricular Activities Stratfords computer club Cyber Knights sponsors many opportunities for students to learn and apply computer science skills in various camps and competitions.

GEAR-CI : How Does this Connect ? Possible proposals to this program, might include, but are certainly not limited to the following examples of topics: - a K-12 STEM educational specialist at a PUI or CRU works with faculty at one or more SC PUIs and/or CRUs, with a representative from the State Department of Education, with school district representatives, and/or K- 12 STEM teachers to develop innovative STEM educational programs that utilize HPC Deadlines: Letter of Intent Due Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Proposal Due Date: Monday, March 18, 2013 Proposal Funding Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Interested in applying for a GEAR-CI ? Join us for a Small Group Discussion 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Breakout Room 1 John Kaup Furman University