CS4All: Bringing Computer Science to K-12 Students

Today's world runs on code. The power of our computing devices - from smartphones to laptops to supercomputers - affects every aspect of our lives. Learning how to harness this power, through designing, writing and testing software code, is one of today's most challenging, exciting, and rewarding areas of study. Today's young people need exposure to "computational thinking": an understanding of how computer software and hardware technology works, along with practice in creating software solutions of their own.

Computer science gives students practice in problem solving skills that can cross over to mathematics, science and other disciplines. Major technology companies like Google and Microsoft have acknowledged the need for a code-savvy workforce through their support for broad educational initiatives like code.org. While the motivation for K-12 computer science education has never been higher, and the resources available to do it have never been richer, the rate of adoption of computer science curricula across the country is still low. Studies indicate that a lack of peer support for initiatives to bring computer science into the high school curriculum is at least partly to blame. Relatively few K-12 teachers have backgrounds in computer science, and though many are eager to learn new skills, they need assistance.

Given the need for peer support, it should come as no surprise that the number of schools teaching computer science is even lower in disadvantaged or rural areas. Our experiences in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bear this out. With only 312,000 residents spread across 16,000 square miles, it is easy for communities in this area to remain isolated. Moreover, with low median household income (approximately 50% of the population below the poverty line), it is difficult for school districts to maintain computer science courses or launch ambitious computer science initiatives on their own.

Building a community of learners. Aware of these difficulties, and confident in Michigan Tech’s legacy introducing students to CS, we established the Copper Country Coders (CCCoders) group in 2012. CCCoders is a computer programming club for local middle and high school students. Michigan Tech faculty and students volunteer their time to work with the young programmers, providing curriculum, tools, and classroom tutoring. In 2014-2015 we taught a total of 39 students, of whom eight were young women. We teach programming through a series of exercises exposing students to a variety of languages and topics, including Interactive Fiction, Computer Generated Poetry, Computer Art, Computational Geometry, Artificial Intelligence, and Video Games. Our curriculum has shown promise in attracting and retaining a diverse pool of students. Our advanced students work with the popular, industrial-strength programming language Java, and they participate in college programming competitions. Alumni have gone on to take Computer Science courses at Michigan Tech and organize outreach activities for their peers. Two female students received Aspirations awards from NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology).

Building a community of educators. We are supporting teachers as they work to bring computer science into their curricula. In a summer 2015 workshop, we hosted 16 teachers from the Upper Peninsula and beyond, giving them instruction in basic computing principles, introducing them to the materials we use in Copper Country Coders, and providing tools for increasing interest in computing among young women. This workshop is part of a larger, ongoing community of practice providing support and training for teachers with limited computer background and administrative support. More locally, we have participated in the annual Hour of Code event at Houghton and Hancock schools, visiting computer classrooms and taking students through the basics of coding.