The Expansion of CS4HS:
An Outreach Program for
High School Teachers
Lenore Blum, Carnegie Mellon University
Tom Cortina, Carnegie Mellon University
Ed Lazowska, University of Washington
Joe Wise, New Roads School for UCLA
National Trends
National CS Majors
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
National Majors
– Number of newly declared CS majors nationwide
Source: 2005-6 Taulbee Survey
National Trends
National CS Majors
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
•
•
The % of female Bachelor’s
degrees
National
Majorswent from 17.0% in
2003-04 to 14.7% in 2004-05...
In 2005, less than 7% of CS degrees were awarded to
Hispanic and African American students.
National Trends
National CS Majors
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
National Majors
Why is this a problem?
“Computer Science is the mathematics of the 21st Century.”
Jim Gray
Solutions
Broaden the image
of who can do CS
Broaden the image
of the field of CS
Solutions
Introduce Depth and
Breadth of CS into
the Curriculum
•Problem Solving
•Programming
•Algorithms
•Biology/Neuroscience + CS
•Graphics: Art, Animation + CS
•Human Computer Interaction
•Language Technologies
•Artificial Intelligence + CS
•Robotics
Computational...
Biology, Chemistry, Design, Finance, Linguistics,
Logic, Mechanics, Neuroscience, Physics, ...
It appears that our K-12 students need to know
how to think computationally more than ever before!
CS4HS: Our Focus
• Computer science is much more than computer
programming.
• We can do little to change AP Computer Science in the
short term, so let's provide short modules about
computer science for CS teachers to use in their classes.
• Teachers can then show their students (and future
students) that CS includes programming and
SO MUCH MORE.
• By teaching the teachers, we can reach many more
students than by working with the students directly.
Think Global, Act Local, Impact Global
Support
Lenore Blum
Tom Cortina
Carol Frieze
Deb Estrin
Joe Wise
Ed Lazowska
Julie Letchner
Tim Bell
Mike Fellows
Ian Witten
Craig Neville Manning
Alan Kay
SCHOOL OF
COMPUTER
SCIENCE
Tom Cortina
Carnegie Mellon University
Participants
• Level
– High School 41
(Depts: CS, Math, Tech., Business)
– Middle School 4
– College/University 7
• Areas represented:
– United States: PA, OH, WV, MD, DE, VA, NY, NJ, IN, IL,
KY, TN, AZ, CA, CO, WA, TX, FL, MA, NH, WI
– International: Canada, Mexico, India
• Role of CS in high school education in their state
Elective 65%
Must be taken 2.5%
Use as a substitute 10%
No idea 22.5%
Perceptions
• In your opinion, what is the biggest cause of
enrollment decline in CS in the past decade?
Bust of dot coms
No standard curriculum
NCLB
Courses too hard
Elective status
Isolated teachers
No CS in middle school
Antisocial/geek culture
Hard work, less pay
Boring
CS treated as a vocation
What can you do with it?
Students think CS = internet, Word
Uninformed teachers/administrators
Too many required courses
Media reports/Offshoring
Competes with easier electives
Not "sexy" enough to keep their interest
Not relevant to students
Fracture of fields (CS, IS, Soft Eng, etc)
Too exclusionary
No state certification for teachers
Schedule/Topics
FRI
Morning
9-12:30
Afternoon
2-5:30
Evening
7:30-9
Dinner &
Icebreaker
SAT
SUN
MON
CS Unplugged
and
Keynote
(Alan Kay)
Cybersecurity
and
Bots N Scouts
tournament
Cognitive
Tutors
and
Brainstorming
Lunch at
Google
Pittsburgh
Box Lunch
(Free Time)
Cake Cutting
& Broadening
Participation
Panel
TeRK Robots
and
Careers in CS
Panel
Dinner (Free
Time)
Pizza Party
Human
Computation
Intro. to Alice
Logistics
• Professional Development Credits
– In Pennsylvania, teachers receive Act 48 credits for
each hour of instruction/participation
– Other teachers received certificates with the number of
hours served to use in their home state for credits
• Major costs
–
–
–
–
–
–
Housing: $10K
Food: $6K
Materials: $5K
Outside Speakers: $2K
Documentation (Photography, videography): $4K
Administration, summer salary: $8K
Fun!
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/cs4hs
Ed Lazowska
University of Washington
Philosophy
• Success in high school math and science (and English!) is
a better predictor of success in CS than is success in high
school programming
• Many members of under-represented groups never take
programming in high school
Target teachers of math and science
• Most colleges and universities – even excellent ones –
draw regionally, not nationally
– 85% of UW’s freshmen are from WA
– Nearly 1/4 come from just two dozen high schools!
Target a regional audience
Participants
• 72 teacher-registrants
– All from the
Puget Sound region
• 22 stayed in dorms,
50 commuted
– Recruited via email
• UW math and science
department lists of
teachers and groups
• AP teacher lists
• Principals and
department heads at
top feeder schools
• 10 speakers
Computer
Science
14%
Biological
science
8%
Physical
science
31%
– Mostly local, but some traveled
Non-calculus
math
36%
Calculus math
11%
Schedule highlights
• Presentations
–
–
–
–
“Computational Thinking” – Jeannette Wing
“The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet” – Alan Kay
“Biology & Computer Science” – Tom Daniel
“Computer Science at UW” – Ed Lazowska
• Lab sessions
– “Squeak in Action” (Squeak programming) – Stuart Reges
– Robotics (Lego Mindstorm) – Benson Limketkai
– Programming (two tracks, for those with programming
experience, and those without) – Stuart Reges, Marty Stepp
Schedule highlights
• Interactive sessions
– “Cryptography Made Easy” – Stuart Reges
– “CS Unplugged” (2 sessions) – Tom Cortina
– Demos: motion capture, educational technology, computing
for the developing world
– “Computing Careers” panel
– Two “Break-out by Subject Taught” sessions, plus a reportback session (how to apply what you’ve learned in the
course you teach)
– Book discussion (3 break-out groups, forThe Search,
Unlocking the Clubhouse, and Cryptonomicon)
• Closing banquet
Logistics
• 3 full days
• Required $25 registration (as a sign of commitment)
• Provided “Squeakers” DVD, Amazon.com gift certificate for
book (cost $3K)
• Granted 20 clock-hours or 1 unit of UW credit ($3K)
• Provided dormitory accommodation for 22, parking for 50,
travel and hotel for non-local speakers ($8K)
• Provided breakfast, lunch, snacks on 3 days ($6K)
• Closing banquet was way too expensive ($13K)
• Grad student organizer (Julie Letchner) – lifesaver! ($8K)
Plans for 2008
• Same idea, with minor tweaks
• Will produce “logistics manual”
• http://cs4hs.cs.washington.edu
Joe Wise
New Roads School
for
University of California, Los Angeles
Logistics
• Target: Local participants (city-wide)
• Provided continental breakfast, lunch, and a
banquet
• Provided a $100/day stipend totaling $300/person
• Provided support group meetings in January and
March of ‘08
Participants
Curriculum Coordinator
K-8 Computer Teacher
Elementary Teacher
CS HS Faculty
Tech Coordinator
Math Department Head
Total = 30 participants
1
1
1
16
10
1
Schedule
Wednesday July 11th
8:30 – 9:00
Breakfast
9:00 – 9:10
Welcome and introductions
9:10 – 10:30
Alan Kay: "Non-Advice" about Powerful Ideas,
Learners, and Computing
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:45 CS Unplugged video and activities
11:45 – 12:15 Google presentation – Josh Hyman
12:15 – 1:00
Lunch
2:00 – 2:30
CENS intro w/ Deborah Estrin
2:30 – 3:00
CENS Lab Tour
3:00 – 4:00
CS Unplugged video and activities
4:30 – 7:00
Wine and Light Buffet
Schedule
Thursday July 12th
8:30 – 9:15
Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30
Eddie Kohler—How does an OS work
9:30 – 10:00
Todd Millstein —Programming Languages:
The Human Interface to Computer Science
10:00 – 10:30 Discussion
10:30
Break
10:45 – 11:45 CS Unplugged (cont)
11:45 – 12:15 Google Speaker – Dan Kegel - Learning to Program
12:15 – 1:00
Lunch
1:00 – 1:45
Jeff Burke - Urban sensing, theater, and the
space-time aquarium.
2:00 – 3:00
UCLA Visualization Portal Tour
3:15 – 3:45
Gender/Social Issues – Deborah Estrin, Jane Margolis
3:45 – 4:15
Discussion
4:15 – 5:00
Small group discussions of future schedule (8 groups of 5)
Schedule
Friday July 13
8:30 – 9:15
9:00 – 9:45
9:45-10:15
10:15
10:30-12:00
12:00 – 1:00
1:00 – 2:30
2:30 – 3:30
3:30 – 4:00
Breakfast
Jens Palsberg - Software trends and challenges
CS @ UCLA Discussion
break
CS Unplugged continued
Lunch
Virtual LA Tour
Discussion – Report backs and
“Where Do We Go from Here?”
Closing and future schedule
CS4HS at UCLA
Future Plans
• Summer Workshop – July 24, 25, and 26th at
UCLA
• Continue working with Tim Bell and
Computer Science Unplugged
• Partner with Jane Margolis and others working
with LAUSD and schools within LA and Orange
Counties
• Continue to plan three workshops/year to support
CS faculty and IT coordinators
CS4HS is expanding!
• Our newest CS4HS team member!
University of Texas at Austin
First Bytes Collaborative Workshop
for Computer Science Teachers
2008 Workshops
• Carnegie Mellon University
July 24-27, 2008
• University of California, Los Angeles
July 24-26, 2008
• University of Texas at Austin ("First Bytes")
July 9-11, 2008
• University of Washington
July 11-13, 2008
Goals
• Expand to 40 workshop sites in the next two years.
• Reach out nationally and internationally.
– At least one workshop on each continent outside of N.A.
• We need your help to make it a success!
– Run a workshop or join forces with a larger CS
department nearby.
– Determine the special needs of your area and use your
in-house expertise to craft a workshop that will support
the teachers in your area.
Discussion
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/cs4hs
CS4HS Meeting: Planning for the Future
Saturday, March 15
2:45 - 3:45PM
B119