Computational Thinking

Calendar

1. Introduction and Model of Computational Thinking
August 27	This class will be for the instructor and student participants. This class will provide an overview of the course goals, discuss the work to be done in the class, and provide some basic orientation to the topic area. Readings Computational Thinking Computational Thinking and Thinking about Computing Slides (PPT, PDF)
August 29	One purpose of today's class is to introduce all attending participants to each other. Each participant will be asked to give a brief statement of their interest and perspective on computational thinking. Readings Thinking About Computational Thinking Computation and Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
September 3	Readings The Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
September 5	Readings The Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking (continued) Is Abstraction the Key to Computing? The Abstract is "an Enemy" Alternative Perspectives to Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
September 10	Readings Pedagogical Aspects of Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
September 12	Readings Computer Science: Reflections on the Field, Reflections from the Field Great Principles of Computing Beyond Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
2. Pegagogy for Computational Thinking
September 17	Readings Pedagogical Aspects of Computational Thinking The Computational Turn: Thinking About the Digital Humanities Slides (PPT, PDF) (PPT, PDF)
September 19	Readings Initial experience with a computational thinking course for computer science students Slides (PPT, PDF)
September 24	Presenter: Dr. Dane Webster Readings Video by Casey Reas, co-creator of Processing
September 26	Presenter: Dr. Barbara Ryder Readings Prospects for an Engineering Discipline of Software The impact of abstraction concerns on modern programming languages Slides (PPT, PDF)
October 1	Presenter: Michael Suffett Readings Computational Thinking in K-12: A Review of the State of the Field. Scalable game design and the development of a checklist for getting computational thinking into public schools Slides (PPT, PDF)
October 3	Presenter: Panagiotis Apostolellis Readings Collaborative strategic board games as a site for distributed computational thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
October 8	Presenter: Dr. Carlos Evia Note: Bring a laptop to class to participate in a live demo. Readings Component Content Management: Shaping the Discourse through Innovation Diffusion Research and Reciprocity Introduction to the Darwin Information Typing Architecture Slides (PDF)
October 10	Presenter: Luke Gusukuma Readings A Model Curriculum for K–12 Computer Science: Final Report of the ACM K-12 Task Force Curriculum Committee. Slides (PPT, PDF)
October 15	Presenter: Ico Bukvic (Music) Materials Digital Interactive Sound and Intermedia Studio Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork) L2Ork software download
October 17	Presenters: Krunal Doshi Readings Modeling Nature's Emergent Patterns with Multi-Agent Languages Learning through participatory simulations: network-based design for systems learning in classrooms Slides (PPT, PDF) Resources NetLogo software download Models accessible via browser virus model gas molecule model predator/prey model
October 22	Presenter: Dr. Anna Ritz Materials Class Missive (Intro to Computation for Humanities and Social Sciences) "On the Bias" (interview with Geoffrey Nunberg) "Who Wrote the 15th Book of Oz" (only first three pages) Slides (PDF)
October 24	Presenter: Dr. Alexey Onufriev Readings Constraints on Our Universe as a Numerical Simulation The Lucas-Penrose Argument about Godel's Theorem Slides (PDF)
October 29	Presenter: Mohammad Hasan and Bushra Chowdhury Readings Representing Geometric Constructions as Programs: A Brief Exploration Developing a learning progression for scientific modeling: Making scientific modeling accessible and meaningful for learners Slides: Geometric Constructions (PPT, PDF), Learning Progressions (PPT, PDF)
October 31	Presenter: Pejman Khadavi Readings A Multidisciplinary Approach Towards Computational Thinking for Science Majors A Framework for Computational Thinking across the Curriculum Slides (PPT, PDF)
November 5	Presenter: Paul Tranquilli Readings A Comparison of Programming Languages and Algebraic Notation as Expressive Languages for Physics Slides (PDF)
November 7	Presenter: Ali Anwar Readings Recognizing Computational Thinking Patterns Towards the Automatic Recognition of Computational Thinking for Adaptive Visual Language Learning Computing Creativity: Divergence in Computational Thinking Slides (PPT, PDF)
November 12	Presenter: Michael Stewart Readings Paving the Way for Computational Thinking No-You Don't Need To Learn To Code Please Don't Learn to Code Maybe Not Everybody Should Learn to Code Slides (PDF). Feedback (Michael's blog)
3. Assessment and Learning for Computational Thinking
November 14	Presenters: Austin Bart, Luna Xu Readings The fairy performance assessment: measuring computational thinking in middle school Was That CT? Assessing Computational Thinking Patterns through Video-Based Prompts Slides: Bart (PPT, PDF), Xu (PPT, PDF)
November 19	Presenters: Shirdhar Chandan, Gaurav Mishra Readings New Frameworks for Studying and Assessing the Development of Computational Thinking A Buggy Path to the Development of Programming Expertise Slides
November 21	Presenters: Monika Monk, Hanaa Torkkey Readings Understanding Student Computational Thinking with Computational Modeling Comparison of Student Learning in Challenge-based and Traditional Instruction in Biomedical Engineering Slides Monk(PPT, PDF), Torkey(PPT, PDF)
November 26-28	Thanksgiving Week Break No class meeting this week
December 3	Presenter: Manh Tung Dao Readings Learning Theories and Education: Toward a Decade of Synergy Slides (PPT, PDF)
December 5	Presenter: Andrey Esakia Readings How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and school Slides (PDF)
December 10	Presenter: Chris Frisina Readings Creating Conditions for Participation: Conflicts and Resources in Systems Development Slides (PPT, PDF)
December 17	Term Paper Due