AP CS: PrinciplesDr. Kelly SchultzAcademically Talented Youth ProgramWestern Michigan University

Dr. Kelly Schultz

•Adjunct teacher at Kalamazoo College teaching Computer Science – 17 years

•Teach AP Computer Science at WMU to gifted middle school and high school students – 4 years and counting

•AP Reader (3 years) and Table Leader (1 year) for AP CS A exam.

•ACSL team coach – 1 year and counting

What do you teach to your students that is not programming?•Binary Numbers

What do you wish you had time to teach them?•Robots

Advanced Placement Computer Science•CS A exam – no changes planned•CS: Principles course

▫Csprinciples.org▫ACM special issue

Computational Thinking Practices:Connecting Computing

Computational Thinking Practices:Developing computational artifacts

Computational Thinking Practices: Abstraction

Computational Thinking Practices: Analyzing problems and artifacts

Computational Thinking Practices: Communicating

Big Idea #1

•Computing is a creative activity▫Python – Digital imaging or sound

manipulation▫Web Page Design▫Storytelling ▫Game Design

Big Idea #2

•Abstraction reduces information and detail to facilitate focus on relevant concepts▫Lightbot – games to help with data

abstraction▫BYOB – concepts are easily implemented

without frustration of traditional programming

▫Units on computer hardware and logic

Big Idea #3

•Data and information facilitate the creation of knowledge▫Work with large amounts of data to analyze

and come to conclusions▫Bioinformatics – DNA Sequencing▫Social Networking

Big Idea #4

•Algorithms are used to develop and express solutions to computational problems▫Game Theory▫Searching/Sorting▫Cloud Computing▫Cryptography

Big Idea #5

•Programming enables problem solving, human expression, and creation of knowledge▫Program creation in multiple arenas

BYOB/Scratch Alice Javascript Android Phone Apps Greenfoot

Big Idea #6

•The Internet pervades modern computing▫HTML and WWW▫Social Networks▫Apps▫Who is Tim Berners-Lee?

Big Idea #7

•Computing has global impacts▫Social implications of computing▫Gaps in computing▫Applications that changed the world▫Security▫Program Correctness/Bugs▫Computing Ethics

Timeline

•First possible exam is May 2017•First and Second Pilots are done•More than 80 colleges/universities have

attested they would give credit for such a test

•Kalamazoo College and Lawrence Technology University are two in Michigan

Commonalities in courses

•Blown to Bits used as a text - http://www.bitsbook.com/excerpts/

•Easy to use programming environment – Greenfoot, Alice, Android phone apps, Lightbot, Scratch, BYOB, Javascript

•Focus on real life applications and high interest units

Kalamazoo College – Introduction to Computer Science Course•What is Computer Science?•Introduction to Programming in Javascript•History of Computer Science•How Computers Represent Information•Computer Hardware and Logic•What can computers do? What can’t

computers do?•Artificial Intelligence•Computer Ethics & Computer Security

www.cs.kzoo.edu/cs105/

Flip the classroom

•Key to keeping the students engaged is to require the reading to be done outside of class

•Use labs and student presentations to involve the students in learning

•Learn by doing not by listening!

Questions?

Kelly.schultz@wmich.edu