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Computational Thinking and Problem-Solving for Today’s Students

Deborah BoisvertPierre Thiry

Jennifer WernerChuck Winer

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Broadening Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC)

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Overarching Goals Define, extend and strengthen computing pathways and career

opportunities for the 21st century IT professional.

Facilitate and leverage strategic partnerships to build awareness, generate interest, and support learning opportunities in ethnically diverse urban areas of Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Conduct actionable research to inform policy makers, IT educators and workforce development agencies.

Participate in and lead the national discussion on the subject of integrated curriculum and applied IT.

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Our Test Bed

San Francisco (MPICT)

Las Vegas/Reno

Chicago

Boston LowellHaverhill/LawrenceFall River/New BedfordFraminghamWorcester

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CPATH

• Development of student competencies in computing concepts, methods, technologies and tools - referred to as computational thinking

• Approaches that promise to revitalize undergraduate education

• Became part of Computing Education for the 21st Century (CE21) program which aims to build a computationally savvy 21st century workforce that positions the US to demonstrate a leadership role in the global economy.

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Advancing the Successful IT Student through Enhanced Computational Thinking (ASSECT)

Project Team

Deborah Boisvert, UMASS BostonRobert Cohen, Wellesley High SchoolKammy Sanghera, George Mason UniversityJoyce LaTulippe, Bunker Hill and UMASS BostonPaula Velluto, Bunker Hill Community CollegePaula Worthington, Northern Virginia Community CollegeCharles Winer, Purdue UniversityJennifer Werner, Purdue University/Community Healthcare SystemGina Rue, Ivy Tech Community CollegePierre Thiry, City College of San FranciscoMohammed Javed, Cameron UniversityPeter Saflund, The Saflund Institute

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ASSECT Vision

Build a community of practitioners from California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Virginia who

are actively working to create and disseminate nationally replicable models of Computational

Thinking in IT education.

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ASSECT Goals

Goal 1: Develop a research-based computational thinking framework integrated with the ACM IT Volume.

Goal 2: Pilot and implement authentic scenarios that provide opportunities to learn, demonstrate and assess computational thinking skills that advance from lower to upper division IT classes

Goal 3: Provide professional development for faculty in effective pedagogical approaches and assessment techniques

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CareerOneStop.org; Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Department of Labor

Competency Models

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Computational Thinking in CS (Jeannette Wing)

• Conceptualizing, not programming• Fundamental, not rote skill• A way that humans, not computers think• Complements and combines mathematical and engineering thinking• Ideas, not artifacts• For everyone, everywhere

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Computational Thinking in ITThinking Recursively

Thinking Abstractly

Thinking Ahead

Thinking Procedurally

Thinking Logically

Thinking Concurrently

Process refinement with the goal of improving quality or precision.

Ability to find appropriate level of detail to define and solve a problem

Ability to anticipate and evaluate potential outcomes

Ability to select and execute appropriate steps to solve a problem

Creatively develop, select and test relevant hypotheses

Ability to analyze processes for optimal efficiency and use of resources

Advocate:champion, represent, sponsor, promote

Select:evaluate, identify, choose, focusCreate:generate, develop, design, conceiveApply:Install, adapt, implement configure executeIntegrate:synthesize, connect, assimilate, organizeAdminister:manage, monitor, resolve, decide

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Computational Thinking in IT

Criteria Definition Measures

Logical Thinking Creatively develop, select and test relevant hypotheses

Asks probing questions to uncover details of the problemClearly defines the problemDefines clear success criteria for the project including measurable objectives

Strategizing Ability to anticipate and evaluate potential outcomes

Anticipates and evaluates the effects of various design optionsMakes design decisions based on rational criteria

Abstract Thinking Ability to find appropriate level of detail to define and solve a problem

Decomposes a problem into component partsUnderstands the relationships between components

Procedural Thinking Ability to select and execute appropriate steps to solve a problem

Identifies the steps required to solve a problemIdentifies the sequence of steps including possible decisions and branchingIdentifies normal and exceptional behavior of a solution

OptimizingAbility to analyze processes for optimal efficiency and use of resources

Understands available resourcesDevelops a solution that uses only available resourcesMeasures and adapts the solution to optimize resource utilization

Iterative Refinement Process refinement with the goal of improving quality or precision.

Measures and evaluates solutions against the success criteriaAdjusts the design and implementation as needed

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CPATH ASSECT Scenarios

http://69.195.124.111/~batecorg/?page_id=497

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City College of San Francisco - Pierre Thiry

Course: CNIT 106 Intro to Networks Five cohorts: F10, Sp11, F11, Sp12, F12 Pretest: the three light bulbs Four to five week scenario: Securing PCs in the lab https://sites.google.com/site/assectsbl/ Posttest: four people on a rickety bridge Assessment: 18 questions survey assessing the

measures created by the matrix CT in IT

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Workshops in Computational Thinking via Scenario Based Learning (CT/SBL)

CPATH/ASSECT Developed Workshops https://sites.google.com/site/workshopctandsblr

esourcesite/sharing-our-research-experience

https://sites.google.com/site/assectworkshop/home

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Apply Computational Thinking

Share ExpertiseSuccessful ExperiencesModel for SuccessPartners in Learning

NSF CPATH ASSECT Grant

04/04/2012Presented By: Chuck Winer,

Professor/Head CITG Department Purdue Calumet

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How We Do It (CT/SBL)

https://sites.google.com/siteworkshopctandsblresourcesite/home

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ScenariosComputational Thinking via Scenario Based Learning (CT/SBL)

Real-Life Results from Indiana Teacher Workshopshttps://sites.google.com/a/hammondacademy.org/middle-

ages-project/home

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Success Includes Asking Questions

Questions ??? Comments Observations

06/01/2012