Introduction to Computer Science

(Warning - This document contains dated information.)

Ken talked me into teaching a programming elective at Bitney Prep during the spring term of 2015. For years people have been asking me whether I was ever going to teach a programming class, but I’ve always doubted that many who have a gift for formal logic, etc. would actually enjoy the discipline. Given the ubiquity of technology in modern life, virtually everyone now has experiences where these tools “just don’t do what you obviously want them to.” Bad news: That’s what software development is like, all day long! Inhuman reserves of patience are an absolute requirement, but you must also become addicted to the thrill of new junk working for the first time (typically after finding and removing a seemingly inconsequential imperfection that has been precluding all progress for minutes, hours, days, or even weeks). How much fun could it be to teach 98% of my students that programming is something to be avoided at all costs? I didn’t get into education just to help a handful of nerdy boys like me (who don’t need help anyway).

Code.org launched a movement in 2012 centered around Hour of Code, and Ken has been pushing our local schools to paricipate. I’ve been facilitating this at Bitney Prep for three years, and have been trying to develop a taste for the Kool Aid. I agree that in addition to needing more software developers, the world certainly needs a lot more female software developers. Perhaps by intervening as early as possible we might expose a few more young people (paricularly women) to an opportunity they had never seriously considered, but there is also a much broader goal. From my syllabus:

It may be that some students go on to major in software development at a four-year college or other institution, and if so, this course should give them a head start toward a very rewarding (and lucrative!) professional career. More importantly, though, professionals in the modern workplace increasingly need to understand how software works, how it gets developed, what are its fundamental limitations, etc.

I based most of my course on the Codecademy tool set, which provides the student with a simple browser-based programming environment with several key features:

• There’s a wiki text area where I can introduce and explain computer science concepts.
• Example code files are presented in a syntax-aware editor for the student to modify and then execute (sending output to a separate console window).
• I can write as much “back end code” as I want to evaluate each student’s source code (and console output) and then provide automated constructive criticism in real time.

My first try with this curriculum went reasonably well, but it took an enormous amount of time to develop. I had to devote two entire work days every week to the class, and I often had to supplement this with many weekend hours. Unfortunately, it was a complete failure for addressing the gender disparity problem; of the 3 girls who stuck it out with the 14 boys, I had one A, one D and one F. I plan to do much better next time (2016-2017?)

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Last updated 29 March 2019