Charlotte Hill

Floors and Flexibility: Designing a Programming Environment for 4th-6th Grade Classrooms

The recent renaissance in early computer science education has provided K-12 teachers with multiple options for introducing children to computer science. However, tools for teaching programming for children with wide-scale adoption have been targeted mostly at pre-readers or middle school and higher grade-levels. This leaves a gap for 4th -- 6th grade students, who differ developmentally from older and younger students. In this paper, we investigate block-based programming languages targeted at elementary and middle school students and demonstrate a gap in existing programming languages appropriate for 4th -- 6th grade classrooms. We analyze the benefits of Scratch, ScratchJr, and Blockly for students and curriculum developers. We describe the design principles we created based on our experiences using block-based programming in 4th -- 6th grade classrooms, and introduce LaPlaya, a language and development environment designed specifically for children in the gap between grades K-3 and middle school students.

Identifying elementary students' pre-instructional ability to develop algorithms and step-by-step instructions

The desire to expose more students to computer science has led to the development of a plethora of educational activities and outreach programs to broaden participation in computer science. Despite extensive resources (time and money), they have made little impact on the diversity of students pursuing computer science. To realize large gains, computational thinking must be integrated into K-12 systems, starting with elementary school. In order to do so, existing resources need to be adapted for a school setting. To make a curriculum with lessons that build on each other over several years, and accountability for student learning, we need standards, an understanding of how students learn, and identification of what students know before exposure to the curriculum. In this paper, we present our detailed findings of what fourth graders know before encountering a computational thinking curriculum. Groups of students participated in activities modified from CS Unplugged in order to discover their knowledge (rather than provide instruction). We identify aspects of the activities students were able to complete successfully, and where they will need further instruction. We then explain how we used these results to modify our pilot curriculum.

Getting Started in Teaching and Researching Computer Science in the Elementary Classroom

The recent growth of interest in computer science has created a movement to more readily introduce computer science in K-12 classrooms. However, little research exists on how to successfully bring computer science to lower grade levels. In this paper, we present advice for researchers and curriculum developers who are getting started working with computer science in elementary schools. Specifically, we focus on practical tips for studies of this nature, developed from our experiences piloting a computational thinking curriculum with 4th-6th grade students. We address issues arising in elementary school classrooms such as recruiting and interfacing with teachers and schools, classroom management strategies, student computer literacy and developmental stages, and curriculum life cycles.

Fourth Grade Students Reading Block-Based Programs: Predictions, Visual Cues, and Affordances

Visual block-based programming environments allow elementary school students to create their own programs in ways that are more accessible than in textual programming environments. These environments help students write code by removing syntax errors and reducing typing. Students create code by dragging, dropping, and snapping constructs together (e.g. blocks) that are organized by lists, colors, shape, images, etc. However, programming in visual block-based environments is not always simple; in fact, it can become complex quickly. In addition to elements that create code, the visual aspects of these environments provide readers information about what happens, when, and how. Here, we focus on how students used visual cues when reading programs in our block-based programming environment, LaPlaya, a variant of Scratch. Specifically we identified the visual cues students noticed and acted upon. These included not only those that were intended by designers (perceptible affordances), but also those that were not intended by designers (false affordances). Through a detailed content analysis of 13 focus groups with fourth graders we created an initial taxonomy of visual cues in our programming environment and explored how students used these cues to make predictions about provided code, and the types of affordances such cues offered students.

Computational thinking curriculum development for upper elementary school classes

As computer science plays an increasingly large role in our lives, it is important to also move it into our classrooms. Computer science careers are among the fastest growing jobs, yet large groups of the population are severely underrepresented in computer science. Elementary school is a key time to introduce computer science or computational thinking because students are capable of programming and they will soon be deciding whether they see a future in the sciences. Including computational thinking as a part of the elementary school general education would give all children an introduction to the subject. In addition, elementary schools are looking for computational thinking material. We need appropriate, research-based tools and curricula for them to use. Unlike the natural sciences, computer sciences domain is pliable. Through language and programming environments, developers can create new ways to represent computational thinking concepts. My research seeks 1) to understand how 4th through 6th grade students learn computational thinking, 2) to develop computational thinking learning progressions and curricula, and 3) to create a language and programming environment suitable for elementary school classes and teachers who do not have a computer science background.