For decades experts have said Computer Science needs to be
part of a general K-16 education. That day may be here!

For decades computer scientists have been
advocating teaching CS ideas to non-techies
 Their reasons are strong
▪ It’s fundamental knowledge – we should know its science
▪ There are critical public policy issues – strong encryption,
privacy, copyright, ‘net neutrality’
▪ People can do more when they know more: work, play
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Contrarian: “I drive w/o knowing how a car
works … I can use a computer that way, too”
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
2
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Really. There are some differences …
 Cars, like other ‘physical machines’ that transform
matter and energy are basically single purpose
▪ Chain saw, blender, coffee grinder, scissors, …
 Computers transform information and are
universal – you need only one
▪ More versatile means more potential – new uses
▪ Greater responsibility in configuring, controlling, applying
▪ The ‘illusion of usability’ … how much can it do, how
much do you know how to use?
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
3

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science,’ but concept-lite; raised awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”




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… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2007 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
4

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science,’ but concept-lite; raises awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”





… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2007 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
5

The slides are available online
 www.cs.washington.edu/homes/snyder/FITCT.pdf

Ask questions inline
… we can replace PPT with discussion as you
wish
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
6

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science’ but concept-lite; raises awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”





… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2007 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
7
The National Science Foundation asked ...
The National Research Council ...
“What should everyone know about
Information Technology?”
The NRC formed the “Ad Hoc Committee on
Computer Literacy” to answer the question

The concept ‘Fluency with Information Technology’
was introduced in National Research Council report
Being Fluent with Information Technology [1999]
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Alfred Aho, Bell Labs
Marcia Linn, UC Berkeley
Arnold Packer, Johns Hopkins
Lawrence Snyder, UW, chair
Allen Tucker, Bowdoin
Jeffrey Ullman, Stanford
Andries van Dam, Brown
Herb Lin, NRC Staff
The Report explains: Because IT changes rapidly,
skills knowledge quickly becomes outdated
▪ “Click here, click there” instruction is very specific
▪ Users find new apps, even new versions, intimidating
▪ “Literate” users lack confidence to try new technology
The Committee asserted that skills knowledge does not
have the “staying power” to enable people to keep pace
with ITs rapid change
To keep pace with IT, people
must become lifelong learners
The Committee’s mission:
Determine what IT knowledge will enable people to
learn the IT they need to know throughout life

Yasmin Kafai of UCLA proposed “fluency” for
this deeper, more fundamental content
▪ “Fluency” implies a facility with language of technology
▪ “Fluency” suggests a person is expressive, in control
FIT became the Committee’s abbreviation for
“Fluency with Information Technology,”
making FITness in the population the goal
They determined 3 types of knowledge needed
 Contemporary Skills
 Foundational Concepts
 Intellectual Capabilities
These are co-equal and interdependent
 + Projects to integrate the three knowledge types
Skills are proficiency with present day
computer applications
 Approximates traditional “computer literacy”
 Essential for
▪ Using computers right now
▪ Job preparedness
▪ Learning other aspects of Fluency
 Skills are a moving target dependent on the state-
of-the-art
Example: Use a Word Processor
Concepts are the fundamental ideas of
computing that everyone should know
 They are drawn from fields contributing to IT
 Analogous to knowing basics of physics
(momentum) or chemistry (atom)
 Explains how and why computation works
 Foundations on which future understanding will
be built
Example: Basics of packet-switched networks, TCP/IP
Capabilities are higher-level thinking abilities
 Thinking skills -- not usually taught explicitly --
customized to computing
 They apply beyond Information Technology
▪
▪
▪
▪
Abstract thinking
Debugging
Learning by analogies
Analysis
 Raw material for lifelong learning
Example: Sustained logical reasoning
The Committee chose the most important
content for skills, concepts & capabilities
 Avoid the “over prescription” trap
 Pick the Top 10 of each type
 No additions, only replacements

… they are not set in concrete – profs adjust

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Set up a personal
computer
Use basic OS features
Use a Word Processor
Use a graphics / artwork /
presentation tool
Connect a PC to a network
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Search the Internet to
locate information
Send and receive email
Use a spreadsheet
Query a database
Use an online tutorial or
help facility
Skills can be customized to a discipline or career path
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Principles of computer
operation
Enterprise information
systems
Networks
Digital representation of
information
Information structure and
assessment
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Modeling the world with
computers
Algorithmic thinking and
programming
Universality
Limitations
Information and society
Concepts are generally timeless principles

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Engage in sustained
reasoning
Manage complexity
Test a solution
Locate bugs in a faulty use
of IT
Organize and navigate
information structures
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Collaborate with others
using IT
Communicate an IT
solution to others
Expect the unexpected
Anticipate technological
change
Think technologically
Capabilities promote independence, maturity
The Committee included “programming in
support of algorithmic thinking” Why?
▪ Unambiguously specifying a series of steps to solve a
problem -- that is, programming -- is an integral part of
algorithmic thinking
▪ Only a few programming concepts are essential
▪ The essential concepts are accessible to laymen
▪ Several concepts and capabilities presume a basic
understanding of programming
The programming in Fluency helps you think
This approach silenced a decades old argument!
A project is a multiweek task to produce an “IT
product” such as a Web page, DB, etc
Projects provide a situation in which
▪ Several skills, concepts and capabilities can be applied
▪ Students apply their knowledge as needed, focused on
producing the final result
▪ The open, unstructured nature of projects are good
settings for applying capabilities -- reasoning,
debugging, testing, complexity management, etc
Construct a database for a small ski rental
business and explain it to employees
Skills
Query Database
Build GUI w/ Wizard
Use On-line Tutorial
Presentation Tools
Communicate with
others
Concepts
Database Systems
Information Structure
Algorithmic Thinking
Information & Society
Limitations
Capabilities
Sustained Reasoning
Manage Complexity
Test a Solution
Communicate IT
Locate Bugs
Expect the Unexpected

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science’ but concept-lite; raises awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”





… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2007 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
23
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
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The report was well received …
Faculty understood arguments, but to offer a
class required: syllabus, book, instructor, …
Textbook issue – new concept needs new book
 Addison Wesley was very bold, visionary, patient
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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Early adopters: UW, UCSD, Montclair State,
Salem State, Texas Culinary Institute, …
Steady stream of adopters for different uses
 General service course for all students
 CS0 to attract students to the major
 Component of a critical thinking freshman
sequence
 Major’s course in Informatics, Linguistics, Math, …
 Professional Development
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
25

There are many ways to teach Fluency
 Greater Skills emphasis – Scollard text
 Programming in Alice
 Programming in …
▪ Scratch
▪ Python
▪ Visual Basic
▪ Spreadsheets
 Customize to a specialty: Business, Info, Ling, Eng
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
26

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science’ but concept-lite; raises awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”





… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2007 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
27

Jeanette Wing, AD for CISE at NSF,
popularized the concept of Computational
Thinking
Computational Thinking describes
the habits of mind and thinking
processes of computer scientists
Reading, Writing,
Arithmetic & CT will be
the skill set needed to succeed in the 21st C

3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
Computational thinking has wide appeal
despite the absence of a crisp definition
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
The NRC is studying Computational Thinking
 CT is related to Fluency – no skills
 CT is related to many other kinds
of thinking
▪
▪
▪
▪
Mathematical thinking
Scientific thinking
Engineering thinking
Critical thinking
 CT arises throughout many
scholarly disciplines
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
Because of this attention many activities are
underway regarding Computation Thinking
One very significant theme: Move CT into K-12
Many Challenges –
 The US has no national curriculum … there are 50+
 “Computer Science” is taught as Vocational Ed
 There are very few teachers qualified to teach CT
content, whatever the experts decide it is
 CT is a tech field, so moves fast; schools move slow
 No tested curricula, content distribution, texts, …
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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What are the chances that with all of these
problems CT will get into K-12
It’s taken a decade for Fluency to be adopted
by significant number of schools … and
compared to Public Education,
colleges are nimble and agile!
… But, there is one possible, nationwide entry
point: Advanced Placement Tests
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
32

Getting to today
 1970s to 1990 … simple Pascal classes
 “Computer Literacy” emerges with desktop apps availability
▪ Widely called ‘computer science’ but concept-lite; raises awareness
 1997 NSF asks, “What should all Americans know about IT?”





… NRC Computer Literacy Commission formed
1999 Being Fluent with Information Technology report
2000s US schools offer “Fluency with IT” courses; concept rich
2008 Jeanette Wing describes “Computational Thinking”
2009 ETS begins developing AP ‘CS Principles’ Exam
2010 Matt Goldstein holds important meeting at UW
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
33
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ETS dumped CS AB Exam several years ago
The CS A Exam, Java Programming, remains
ETS has revised the science exams in a
multiyear process: calc, chem, phy, bio, eco
With NSF funding (Jan Cuny), ETS is creating
a new exam: Computer Science Principles
Widely referred to at the Computational
Thinking exam, it is actually core CS concepts
Revising and creating exams is a complex,
thorough process –impressive, lots of input
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
34

AP’s process begins by understanding the
field’s principles– what’s the content?
 There are 7 computing principles (basically nouns)
 And 7 computing practices (basically verbs)
 Developed by a commission and vetted by several
committees
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
Computing is a creative human activity that engenders innovation
and promotes exploration

Abstraction reduces information and detail to focus on concepts
relevant to understanding and solving problems
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Data and information facilitate the creation of knowledge
Algorithms are tools for developing and expressing solutions
to computational problems
Programming is a creative process that produces computational
artifacts

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Digital devices, systems, and the networks interconnecting them
enable & foster computational approaches to solving problems
Computing enables innovation in other fields including science,
social science, humanities, arts, medicine, engineering, and business
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
How computing professionals spend their time
 Analyzing effects of computation
 Creating computational artifacts
 Using abstractions and models
 Analyzing problems and artifacts
 Communicating processes and results
 Connecting computation with mathematics,
science, and engineering
 Working effectively in teams
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
Using this input the content of the field has
been filled out
 The principles and practices have been
painstakingly translated into content: facts,
concepts, algorithms, etc.
 A spreadsheet of what content supports which
principles and practices has been developed
 EVENTUALLY exams will be developed based on
this material … but first
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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
In a multiyear process the material is
introduced
 Year 1: 5 colleges will pilot a college class – its

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what you’re placed out of if you take/pass the test
Year 2: 12 colleges offer the course, 5 high schools
offer the course preping for the test
Year 3: More high schools, more colleges
Year 4: Build, pilot the test Meanwhile, Cuny has a
project to develop 10K
Year 5: Deploy it all
teachers for the HS course
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
39
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
The piloting schools will each develop their
own curriculum – all materials are available to
everyone, online
Schools (each teams with a high school):
 University of Washington
 UC Berkeley
 UC San Diego
 Metropolitan State College, Denver
 UNC Charlotte
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
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Offered Winter Quarter, 2011
Forty students, with diversity matching UW
Using Fluency content where it overlaps
Python as the programming language
Other technologies: XHTML + CSS, XML, may
use robots
Key Objective: Help students to see the concepts
in actions … you’re not editing a photo, you’re
algorithmically adjusting an array of RGB triples to
achieve a different effect
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
41
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ETS expects colleges and universities to give
advance placement or credit for passing the
exam
Schools can do whatever they want but likely
candidates for credit are
 A computational thinking class like the pilots
 A Fluency class, since it’s concepts rich, too
 A related CS0 class
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
42
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Changing the curriculum in the US is hopeless
High schools, students and their parents
recognize the value of AP classes and credit
Whether a HS has AP is a LOCAL decision,
principle or at most superintendent
AP classes are positioned in the “college
prep” part of the curriculum
More CS (available to all) will be included in
lower grades to ramp towards this target
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
43

We have a chance of a lifetime …
 Fluency has established that “all” students can
learn CS content, including simple programming
 Fluency, by design, balances intellectual content
with hands on experience – widely appropriate
 The new AP Computer Sciences Principles Exam
moves this content to high schools
3/23/2016
© 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE
44