Informatics curriculum development in three Baltic statesMart Laanpere, PhD, senior researcher in the Institute of Informatics, Tallinn University

Moldova CEED II project on Informatics curriculum development :: Chisinau, July 23-24 2014

Body of knowledge in school informatics

Three alternative sources/communities/vocabularies: Computer science: academic discipline in university

(programming, algorithms, data structures, networks, architectures, and computational thinking skills)

ICT skills/Digital Literacy: universal ICT application skills at the future workplace (ECDL: office software, internet)

E-learning: ICT as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning different subjects (presentations, Web publishing, digital creativity, online collaboration)

Three Baltic countries were at the same starting point in 1991, then each chose a different route in school informatics

Informatics in Lithuanian schools

Compared with Estonia, no radical changes, strong leadership of V.Dagiene’s research group in Vilnius University

“Information technology” course is compulsory for the 5-10th grades of the lower secondary (basic) school with 1 hour per week, 35 hours per year

Optional modules include programming, Web design etc.

In the upper secondary school (Grades 11-12) can choose the advanced optional modules of the subject (incl. programming)

National exams in IT and programming since 2006

Declining interest towards programming due to old approach

Informatics in Latvian schools

All students in the 5th, 6th and 7th grade study informatics on the basis of the elementary education standard (inspired by ECDL);

In the 8th and 9th grade, students expand their knowledge by using ICT in the study of various subjects (digital literacy);

All 10th grade students take “Informatics I” course (based on ECDL);

All students in Grade 11-12 specialising in mathematics, the natural sciences and technologies take the “Informatics II” course (topics: Information and its processing, Programming languages, Algorithms and data structures, Applied programming elements, Design of computer-based systems)

National exam in informatics (optional)

School informatics in Estonia

1991-1996: few regulations, complete freedom, many schools continued to teach programming, some tried new ideas

National curriculum 1996: informatics as an optional subject in the upper-secondary level, 4 modules (close to ECDL); IT as cross-curricular theme without clear learning outcomes or content

National curriculum 2002: IT and media as cross-curricular theme with explicit British-style learning outcome definitions, most of the schools continued to teach informatics in grades 6-8, national test in Grade 9 (2002 – 2005)

National curriculum 2011: 4 optional courses (35h) in informatics with standardised curriculum; cross-curricular themes “Technology & Innovation” and “Knowledge environment”

Informatics curriculum change dimensions

Input-based

Independent subject Integrated

Pragmatic

Outcome-based

Theory-driven

1986 1996 20012011

Informatics courses in Estonian schools

Grade 5-6: “Learning with Computer” (writing an essay, preparing a presentation, data sheet, internet search…)

Grade 8-9: “Information Society Technologies” (online collaboration, e-services, creating a personal learning environment, digital content production)

Grade 10: “Computers in Inquiry” (searching for research information, data collection, statistical data analysis, presentation), see http://aku.opetaja.ee

Grade 11: “Programming and Software Development”

Additional courses (mandatory for Science orientation): ”Geoinformatics”, “Mechatronics & Robotics”

Cross-curricular theme “Tehcnology & Innovation”

Every student in Grades 10-12 has to participate in a technology-driven innovation project, requirements: external client, heterogeneous teams, involves both technology and innovation, project-based (planned, documented, reported, supervised)

Sample scenarios: Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Marketing Campaign, Multilingual Web site, mobile/Web polling of local people, GeoCaching track, Robotics e-textbook

Teacher training (mainly for non-informatics teachers)

PR trick with ProgeTiiger

Forbes: Why Estonia Has Started Teaching Its First-Graders To Code

The Verge: Estonia to make coding part of first-grade education

BBC: Computer coding taught in Estonian primary schools

Wired: Estonia Reprograms First Graders as Web Coders

VentureBeat: Guess who’s winning the brains race, with 100% of first graders learning to code?

Financial Times, New York Times …

Reality of ProgeTiiger.ee

First steps in programming

Kodu Game Lab

MSW Logo

Scratch

Python

Web design

HTML + CSS

JavaScript

Client-side apps

Server-side apps

LEGO WeDo

NXT-G

NXC Grade 8

NXC Grade 9

Primary schools Game coding Web development Robotics

Original resources + teacher training CodeAcademy

Scratch: programming for kids

http://scratch.mit.edu

Discussion

Which of the three scenarios (Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian) makes the most sense to you? Why?

What are advantages and disadvantages of each scenario?

If you could make change towards one of these scenarios in Moldova, then which one and why?

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The photo on the title slide comes from Flickr.com user Michael Surran