There’s no doubt that computer science (CS) is becoming more important in all aspects of our lives. But in the US, access to and participation in computing is unequal and dedicated CS classes can be spotty in high school curriculums.
In fact, Mark Guzdial, professor at University of Michigan School of Information and advocate for CS for All, says that only 4.7% of US high school students are enrolled in a CS course.
In a seminar series hosted by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Guzdial presented a different way to incorporate CS for All: Introduce computing by the teaspoon.
Guzdial’s research, “Teaspoon Languages,” is an idea where task-specific languages are incorporated into other school subjects. By “adding a teaspoon” of CS, Guzdial says more students will be exposed to the field.
In his talk, Guzdial gave examples of how a teaspoon of CS could work in history and mathematics, two common classes in high schools. He and his colleagues have built some prototypes that can be used in the classroom. While they look like simple apps, students end up interacting with program code, and becoming familiar with CS principles.
As he develops these educational tools, Guzdial notes that he is collaborating with teachers in schools to identify needs and create different approaches.
