Teaching HS Computer Science As If the Rest of the World Existed: Design, Implementation and Rationale for a HS Pre-APCS Curriculum of Interdisciplinary Central-Problem-Based Units that Model Real-World Applications

摘要

The presentation, an interim report, will focus on the design, implementation and rationale for a pre-APCS HS curriculum of Interdisciplinary Central-Problem-Based units that model real-world applications. In a typical multi-week unit, students use an existing complex software application to explore a specific problem, e.g. configuring SDSC Biology Workbench to build a phylogenetic (evolutionary) tree for various animal species after determining the degree of homology between protein or DNA sequences obtained from online genomic and protein databases. Students then build a small-scale version of the program - focusing on 1 or 2 algorithms - using Processing, Excel, BYOB or Alice. This approach allows students a glimpse into the inner workings of such programs, and affords them both context and practical potential for their projects. Back-stories from film and literature (e.g. Inherit the Wind) place problems within an historical and social context so that students will understand both their importance and the contribution CS can make to their solution. Unit topics have come from the fields of Astronomy (Galileo's discoveries), Bioinformatics (evolution), Molecular Modeling (DNA double helix), Political Science (women's suffrage/Florida 2000 Presidential election), Environmental Science, Music (visualization software like Synthesia), and Holocaust Studies (IBM's active hardware and programming support for Hollerith machine technology used in the Nazi extermination programs).