1. Mathematics and the Rise of #CSforAll
Risk & Opportunity
Mathematics and the Rise of #CSforAll

2. The best-laid plans The Plan: make $$ in tech, then teach!
New Plan: teach computer science!
New New Plan: teach algebra!
…and this is a common experience….

3. “Computer Science is nice-to-have, but Algebra is a must-have.”
-Many, many Principals

4. Why Algebra is a “Must-Have”
Gateway to STEM & Beyond
Income and Equity
Standardized Testing
44% of CA students

5. A train leaves Chicago at 6pm, traveling east at 70mph…

6. “Why is Algebra so Hard?”
9 * 2 = ☐
3 * ☐ = 21
4+2 = ☐
f(x) = x+2
object
process

7. “Arithmetic is to math as spelling is to journalism.”
- Me, right now

8. Maybe programming can help?
Logo does not teach Algebra (Clements, 1999; Pea & Kurland, 1983)
Programming variables != math variables (Usiskin)
Some encouraging evidence from Wilenksy, Dubinsky (ISETL) and Kaput (SimCalc)

9. Coding got trendy!
CSforAll might be one of the only bipartisan issues out there! But having everyone agree on what we should do doesn't mean it actually gets done. So let’s talk about what we want, and how to get there….

11. Why CS Poses Problems for Math
The Risk
Why CS Poses Problems for Math

12. Most K12 Programming is Math Hostile
Numbers
Variables
Functions
½ * 2 =
x = 10
You don’t even want to know…
x = x+2
These languages don’t have numbers
These languages don’t have variables
These languages don’t have functions!

13. Who’s Going to Teach It? Time & Space Certification Teachers Money
1) Getting CS certification in all 50 states will take a lot of years and a lot of dollars, and once that’s done
2) We have to train 20k dedicated, full-time CS teachers, which will take even more years and dollars...and that’s just to reach every 9th grader!
3) Retaining those 20k teachers means paying billions of dollars in salary every year, forever…and that’s if they’re not lured away by the money and benefits that SV can offer. Some of you in the audience have already seen it happen.
4) There’s only so many hours in the day and rooms in the building– where do these classes fit?
Finding national-scale solutions to all four problems will take decades and billions. So here’s a question.

14. Why CS might be a Good Thing for Math
The Opportunity
Why CS might be a Good Thing for Math

15. Going beyond numbers…all the way to videogames
Algebraic Language
Going beyond numbers…all the way to videogames
Structured Problem-Solving
Taking teacher needs seriously
Multiple representations
Worked Examples
Align to National and State Standards
Applies to both programming and mathematics
We sometimes trick ourselves into thinking that we teach kids problem-solving, simply because we give them problems to solve

16. 10,000 Foot View
Brainstorming, and Circles of Evaluation
Datatypes, Domain &Range f +
The Circles of Evaluation are sentence diagramming for order of operations, which flows smoothly into function composition later on
f (2, 3)
2 + 3

17. 10,000 Foot View height : Number -> Number height(t) = 7 * t
Brainstorming, and Circles of Evaluation
Datatypes, Domain &Range
Defining Functions
Animating your Game
height : Number -> Number
height(1)
7 * 1
height(2)
7 * 2
height(3)
7 * 3
After rocket: from this point onwards, every problem in the curriculum is a word problem
height(t) = 7 * t

18. 10,000 Foot View 0 < f(x) < 640
Brainstorming, and Circles of Evaluation
Datatypes, Domain &Range
Defining Functions
Animating your Game
Booleans and Inequalities
Piecewise Functions
0 < f(x) < 640

19. 10,000 Foot View Brainstorming, and Circles of Evaluation
Datatypes, Domain &Range
Defining Functions
Animating your Game
Booleans and Inequalities
Piecewise Functions
Pythagorean Theorem
Game Release Party!
And when they’re done, kids do a videogame launch party, where they show off their games and explain their code and the math behind it to an audience of peers, teachera and parents. It’s a science fair….for the math department

21. Impact
Successful transfer into Algebra! (see BootstrapWorld.org/impact)
Teachers reported higher student engagement
Equity and Diversity by design

22. 15 Thousand Students Annually 46% African-American or Latino
43% Girls and Young Women
46% African-American or Latino
And since every child takes algebra, we are truly reaching ALL students. Some people brag about having 2x the percentage of young women as the software industry. Well the industry average is 8%, so are we really happy with 16% of students being girls? We need to think bigger!
This year, 15 thousand students are learning Bootstrap, mostly in math classes taught by teachers with no computing background.
46% of Bootstrap students are girls, and more than 43% identify as african-american or latino. How is it possible to get these numbers? Well, do it by design, by working with the classrooms that already reach all students.

23. Building on a Strong Foundation
Bootstrap:1 (Algebra)
Bootstrap:2 (Data Structures)
Bootstrap: Lightweight Data Science
Bootstrap: Physics

24. Get Involved District Outreach Preservice Math/CS Teacher Training
Check us out: Swarthmore, PA: November 10-12th

25. Takeaways Programming means different things
Risk: divert critical resources from math, stigma for CS
Reward: improved math and CS access, faster and cheaper
The math field must be active in this discussion

26. /BootstrapWorld
/+BootstrapworldOrg
/BootstrapWorld