Applying computer science and engineering to pre-college grades (elementary and secondary) education

North- Holland

Microprocessing and Microprogramming 14 (1984) 255-266

Applying Computer Science and Engineering to Pre-College Grades (Elementary and Secondary) Education

255

David Rine Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois 61455, U.S.A.

and

Peter Lykos Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois 60616, U.S.A.

This paper focuses on four areas of pre-college computer education. The first area deals with goals, foundations and requirements for a pre-college computer curriculum that can be taught to pre-service computer teachers in a college or university program, including issues and policies. The second area deals with curriculum content that covers computer literacy and computer science. The third area deals with three levels of any pre-college computer curriculum: 1) policies, issues, requirements and instructional needs; 2) standards, models and instructional systems; 3) implementations, hardware, software, producers and users. And the fourth area deals with considerations of the various pre-college age groups, which can be divided in many ways: kindergarten, elementary grade levels, iunior high, middle school intermediate, senior high school and so forth.

Keywords: Design of instructional systems, Uses of computers in instruction. Computer literacy, Pre-college computer science education. Teacher education, Model curric~da

I. Introduction

This article is addressed to computer science and engineering professionals in order to stimulate their interest in applying skills to a vast new technology marketplace, namely pre-college education.

In the United States pre-college students may be in preschool (ages I-4), kindergarten (ages 4-5), el-

ementary (ages 5-13), junior high school/middle (ages 12-14), and high school (ages 13-18). These are approximations.

The discussmn herein will focus on four major areas of information about pre-college education. The first area deals with goals, foundations and requirements for a pre-college computer curriculum that can be taught to pre-service (those pursuing a

bachelors degree) computer teachers [1] in a college or university program, including issues and policies.

The second area deals with curriculum content that" at least covers computer literacy [31] and computer science [2]. The third area deals with three levels (top-down) of" any pre-college computer curriculum:

• policies, issues, requirements and instructional needs; • standards, models and instructional systems: • implementations, hardware, software, producers and users.

And the fourth area deals with considerations of the various pro-college age groups, which can be divided in many ways: for example, in the USA it could be Kindergarten-. Grade 8 (K-8) and Grade 9 Grade 12 (9--12): Kindergarten-Grade 3 (K.-3) (primary, Grade 4-Grade 6 (4-6) (middle), Grade 7- Grade 8 (7-8) (intermediate) and Grade 9 Grade 12 (9-12) (high school); or others.

It is hoped that this article will also call attention to a number of needs. Some of these are mentioned next.

First. certain requirements for a well-staffed pre- college computer curriculum rest on the ability of colleges of education, departments of computer science, and certification boards to increase their commitment to computers in education through the development of well-defined sequences of courses. However, such colleges will probably not be able to respond in time to totally meet this demand. More- over, only a handful of states in the LISA have established certification requirements tot teaching computer science, and a cross-section of these includes programming methodology, computer organization, data structures and analysis of algorithms, and an educational methods course. Therefore. especially in rural areas much advanced or new subject matter may have to be delivered to teachers and students by totally computer-based systems [5], in-

256 D. Rine, P. Lykos/Computer Science for Pre-College Grade Education

cluding telecommunications. This is not to say that computers must replace teachers; it is simply that there will not be any teachers available who have the necessary theoretical and technical background. A case in point is the international Advanced Place- ment in Computer Science program [2] for high- school students; while some summer institutes (con- tact The College Board) and inservice training courses are raising the competency levels of some teachers, especially in the large cities and suburbs, the majority of high-school students in the rural areas of our country may continue to fall further behind in computer science, mathematics, physical science and technical writing.

Second, regarding teacher training curriculum content, some concern has been raised about the identification of basic competencies, such as knowledge of standards and applications, and how they should be implemented. If such competencies are not enforced, then it might be that inappropriate computers and programming techniques may do more harm than good to the learning situation, for example in the hands of an untrained teacher, ad- ministrator or parent advisor. However, it is possible to include both teachers, administrators and pa- rents in in-service training programs for computer literacy [7]. Since some school administrators are not aware of hardware and software selection criteria and standards, they may fall prey to vendors who are trained in sales but not in the applications of computers to education, unless the administrators have taken coursework on computer planning. Administrators should be encouraged to hire qualified outside consultants [37].

Third, a number of problems have been identified in using languages such as LOGO in schools [3, 32]. While the language system itself continues to be im- proved and newer languages such as BOXER (DISE-83) arrive, many teachers may choose LOGO for its popularity rather than its appropriat- eness. A similar case in point can be made when choosing the language BASIC over Pascal, Prolog or Modula-2, though all can be chosen for appropriate reasons on current microcomputers. Lan- guage planning should be spread over elementary through secondary courses. In the U.S.A. LOGO tends to be a standard in the lower grades, while Comal and Karel ore often used in the middle

grades, and Pascal tends to be a standard in upper levels. This is good, because LOGO expands nicely to Comal or Karel, and Comal expands nicely to Pascal or Modula-2. And all emphasize the block/ modular approach to problem solving.

We must stress the importance of identifying and promoting what should be in computer courses (e.g. languages) taken by those who are or will be teaching. In fact we must further stress the importance of developing a sound plan, wherein, for example, teachers must take training (pre-service), stressing how computers support good teachers and teaching. Such training should include better use of the new technologies such as languages, computcr graphics, student-machine interface, networking, robotics, computer-based courseware development methodologies, and applications.

What can computer science and engineering professionals do? At the very least every local chapter,/ professional community should adopt two local school systems, one urban and one rural, and make use of their membership as technical consultants, teachers' aids, and encouragers.

Finally, a good teacher or instructional systcm should consider appropriate types of learning experiences of the various pre-college age groups by choosing the right educational software and hardware at the right stages of learning [23, 25, 30, 39]. The Computing Teacher Journal of the ICCE pe- riodically contains a number of other good articles on criteria of selection.

Modern computer scientists and engineers are knowledgeable of the four major components of a computer-assisted system [6]: hardware, software, user, human-computer interface. Further, that simpler interfaces such as menus are easier to recall and are less error-prone than interfaces using more complex syntax. However, they may not be familiar with the development progress of children and how to match the various stages in their development with appropriate software and hardware interfaces. Current theories may help us to promote standards and policies for future systems.

One theory, for example, by Jean Piaget [21] suggests four stages: 1) sensorimotor stages (0-2 years); at about two

years children may start to apply strategies in problem solving and start to transfer learning

D. Rine, P. L ykos/Computer Science for Pre- College Grade Education 257

Table I Hardware/Software and Development Stages. The hatched boxes indicate that a specific content should be emphasezed at a particular stage.

Piaget's Stages

simple graphics and pictures

simple language speech/sound synthesizers

variables, simple programming languages, concrete

applications packages, abstract computer languages, logic, reasoning, conclusions

simple entertainment

(1) (2) (3) (4)

I / / / / , , ' / ~ ~ . . . . . . \ , ~ \ ", \

I / / , / ,~

I f ? ii I ~ _ _ _ . ~ Z L _ , ~ ~ ' / / , ~ - ~ - - 7

, ,. | .,_ rM, 7 : : : : I x Y,, d - •

from one situation to another 2) preoperational stage (2-7 years); when children

enter this stage they may begin to retain a simple, static, symbolic recall of experiences

3) concrete operations stage (7-11 years); at about seven or alter, children may start to be able to pay attention to two or more attributes of an object at a time, thereby being able to sort and manipulate informational objects by two or more properties and being able to understand that changing one attribute need not effect another attribute

4) formal operations stage (11-15 years); past ele- ven children acquire the ability to use abstract concepts, and symbols become powerful tools.

Table 1 suggests a correlation between software:' hardware and these development stages.

Of course there are other theories [24], and some experimentation is going on as to how computers may bc used effectively at ages 0-6 [ 18].

In summary, if computer science and engineering professionals are to have an impact on pre-college education, they should learn about the needs and requirements of such a system, and should stick to

those aspects of the process in which they have demonstrated competencies; this requires a partner- ship on a peer basis. Some of these requirements are outlined in a draft working paper that is being made available from a Joint Task Group on Pre-College Education [26], partially supported by the IEEE Computer Society, and in cooperation with a number of other professionals organizations. Some of the requirements arc outlined in the next section.

2. Goals, Foundations and Requirements

The Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engi- neers (IEEE) Computer Society arc both large and active professional organizations with a broad range of computer-related interests and concerns. The ACM has an Education Board while the 1EEE Computer Society has an Educational Board. These two groups are interested in tbrmal and intbrmal education at all levels, including the pre-college level. Often their educational activities arc done co- operatively, as with a newly formed Joint Pre-Collc-

258 D. Rine, P. L ykos/Computer Science for Pre- College Grade Education

ge Curriculum Task Group. A Joint Pre-College Curriculum Task Group was

recently formed to address two major questions:

1. What are appropriate roles for computers in pre-

college education? 2. What pre-service and in-service teacher educa-

tion is needed to adequately support computer usage in the pre-college curriculum?

In addition to members of the ACM and IEEE Computer Society, the Joint Precollege Task Group contains representatives from a number of other computer societies, including Data Processing Managers Assoc. (DPMA), National Council for Teachers of Math (NCTM), American Chemical Society (ACS), as well as from education, govern- ment, business and industry. This paper is based in part upon a series of meetings as well as substantial work by individual members of the Task Group. The primary purpose of this paper is to provide an analytic framework and some mechanisms whereby one may improve the quality of education available to all students at the pre-college levels.

For the purpose of this paper it was decided to view foundations and requirements of computers in the pre-college curriculum as having three major di-

mensions:

APPLICATIONS

T COMPUTER SCIENCE

, , SOCIAL ISSUES

science. Eventually computers will be readily available to all students at all educational levels. The overall curriculum content will need to change to reflect this computer availability. Moreover, software available in each discipline will continue to improve in both quality and quantity. Thus, the curriculum content will need to continue to change to adequately incorporate this changing computer ca- pability.

The social issues dimension includes social, ethical, vocational and communication skill issues. The latter is especially important, as it includes skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening about computers. Computers are already widely available in many job settings, and it seems evident that computers will become a common household item. Computers are changing how our society works; through appropriate education we hope to make this a change for the better.

The computer science dimension contains the full range of topics generally associated with the discipline known as computer science, including computer programming and a computer science core which is comprised of design of hardware systems, design of software systems, artificial intelligence, and theory. Through studying computer science one comes to understand how computers are able to do what they do and what is involved in developing computer systems to solve problems. This defini- tion of "computer science" is consistent with "informatics", which is spelled out in our colleague's paper in this issue [39].

It must be recognized that these dimensions are not mutually independent; for example the intersec- tion contains important design principles, and that each dimension is quite complex. Moreover, there are a number of unifying themes such as problem- solving, artificial intelligence [9, 17, 20], computers as an instructional delivery medium [4] and our overall goal of high-quality education for all students.

The applications dimension focuses upon the use of c~.aputers as a tool in every academic discipline. Computers are an aid to problem-solving and a source of problems. A person can learn to make effective use of this tool with little or no knowledge of computer programming or underlying computer

3. Curriculum Content

3.1. Applications

The computer should be used in a variety of courses across the school curriculum, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It should reflect a variety of ways of using computing in these courses, at the same time. We give several examples to illustrate. They should not be seen as exhaustive nor separate by any means, but should suggest the use we mean.

(1) In the teaching of composition, the computer can be used not only as a word processor to ease the writing and revision process, but also to assist the


student in developing ideas for writing (prewriting)

and in improving composition. In addition, computer conferencing and electronic mail can encourage the composition process by encouraging students to write for a tangible, immediate audience: other students.

(2) Some interesting attempts are being made to use computers to introduce young students to the process of reading and writing. In our society generally, rather than merely facilitating the reading of information in traditional textual documents, computers will encourage the non-linear creation and navigation of information composed of both graphic and textual components. This will significantly change the way people read and write, so using them to assist in the development of initial reading and writing skills is appropriate.

(3) In the teaching of high-school science, computers will allow students to simulate experiments that would be too costly, too dangerous or too complex to actually perform in the classroom, thus making accessible for the first time in school a wh- ole range of new experiences. Real-time capture of data together with data reduction algorithms will enable students to use powerful methods for gain- ing insight into the physical and biological world. Using appropriate programming languages or science software packages, students should also be able to extend their problem-solving capabilities by formulating and testing their hypotheses through the computer. They will both use and create software throughout their science learning experience.

(4) In studying and creating music, students of all ages will use computers to display, manipulate and perform music. In learning classical music theory they will find the computer an ideal aid in helping them master the relation between sound and symb- ol. In experimenting with form and texture they will find the computer provides a flexible environment through which both performance and evaluation can be studied.

(5) In the learning of arithmetic, logic, and mathematics, powerful tools such as spreadsheets, or specially designed languages such as LOGO or BOXER, or flexible graphic tools will assist the student.

Remember, these are only illustrations, not an exhaustive catalogue. In all cases, extensive new

curriculum development must take place to make

full use of these new computer-based learning l~cili- ties. However, these examples do reflect the as- sumption that most computer use in schools will be in the service of other disciplines, not just or prima- rily in the service of computing as a separate subject on its own. All students should bc computer liter- ate, some students must bc competent in the use of computers, and a few will pursue computers as an object of study.

3.2. Social and Ethical Consequences

The extensive use of computers involves signifcant moral and ethical issues. While they should certain- ly be examined as part of the application areas where they obviously arise, it may also be necessary to develop special courses or mini-courses as part of the pre-college curriculum to explore these issues. Issues to be discussed include the following.

( 1 ) As large amounts of information exist in stor- ed form in or accessible to computer, it is important to realize that much of this information is private or should appropriately be seen and used by those having authorized access privileges [ 13].

(2) New technology inevitably raises moral issues. In computing this ranges from computerized embezzlement to the illicit duplicating by teachers of copyrighted education software.

(3) Widespread computer use will produce far- reaching and fundamental changes in social structure. As future citizens, students must be prepared to live with these changes creatively rather than de- fensively. To do so they should have as much antici- patory experience as possible, in school, with the most likely results of such changes in school. This experience should be integrally coupled with discus- sions of the future.

3.3. lt?[brmatics or Computer Science in the Schools

In addition to the extensive use of computing as a tool in support of instruction in subjects such as En- glish, music, mathematics and science, computers will be the subject of direct study themselves. It is a high priority that students learn problem-solving. It is not clear that all students need to master programming to some particular level of competence,

260 D. Rine, P. Lykos/Computer Science for Pre- College Grade Education

including coding in particular languages. All should be given the opportunity to learn programming, however, and for those who prove adept the opportunity should be extensive.

(1) Those who study programming should be taught in terms of the best modern styles and languages, to avoid inculcating obsolete and damaging practices in their developing repertoires. These should include not only the learning of good programming style but also the enhancement of general problem-solving skills.

(2) Learning should be light on vocabulary and terminology and heavy on processes and procedures. It should emphasize learning to navigate through information too extensive or too epheme- ral to be internalized.

(3) The new Advanced Placement Program in Computer Science (called "'Informatics" in come countries) suggests the value of quality standards. Appropriate similar standards should be developed for all work at a less advanced level as well.

4. Computer Science Curriculum Content: Teacher Education for Pre-College Computer Science - Some Guiding Thoughts

A principal emphasis of such a computer science program should be on the theories and applications of computer science and its teaching in public and private schools. A major focus should be that the school computer specialist coming from any such program is fully prepared both as a teacher and as a general advisor to other computer users in a school. Consequently, all of this preparation should be accomplished in the broad environment of the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences.

A program must include required and elective course work, pre-practicum clinical experiences, a supervised practicum-all designed to acquaint students with the necessary understanding and competencies for functioning as well-prepared school computer specialists. The content of the courses would include work in computer software, hardware, theory, instructional use of computers, and extensive experience with applications of computers to at least the other core subjects of pre-college education.

The general objectives of such programs have been articulated by Dennis [14, 15] but are repeated here. !. To be able to write and document readable, well-

structured individual programs and linked systems of two or more programs

2. To be able to determine whether one has written a reasonably efficient and well-organized program

3. To understand basic computer architectures 4. To understand the range of computing topics

that are suitable to be taught at precollege levels, the justification for teaching such topics; and reasonable learning objectives to attempt to achieve with the various student types encoun- tered

5. To know what educational tools can be uniquely employed in computer science education

6. To know what computing techniques can be employed in other fields well enough to serve as a problem-solving consultant

7. To develop the ability to assist in the selection, acquisition and use of computers, interactive ter- minals and computer services which are suitable to the enhancement of instruction

8. To be able to assist teachers in evaluation, selection, and/or development of appropriate instructional materials which utilize computing facilities.

These objectives are in keeping with the purpose of any teacher education program, to prepare men and women for professional work in schools. Such preparation consists of (a) basic studies which are essential for any teaching position and (b) speciali- zation through a wide choice of courses and individual projects which may be developed in most courses.

The objectives of any teacher education program are (I) to equip students with theories and practices of the teaching field through the study of foundations, the substantive knowledge (body of principles, information and ideas) of the discipline, and the status and expectations of the profession; (2) to encourage the commitment to high standards of practice, conduct, responsibility and service; (3) to enable graduates to anticipate rapid social or meth- odological changes as they affect the profession and to help bring about and promote changes that ad-


vance the profession; (4) to prepare and encourage graduates to evaluate continuously the effectiveness of teaching and to raise the levels of performance of teaching; and (5) to prepare school specialists who can meet the demands of contemporary secondary education and who are qualified to meet the requirements of Standard Certification in their state.

Programs in computer science are designed to assist students to grow in their ability to define, gen- erate, evaluate and apply information-processing methods in solving a wide variety of problems. Each course and prescribed experience in a program should be designed to provide candidates with insights, competencies and knowledge to assist all pre-college students to efficiently develop under- standings of computer science.

All courses in a program should be based on fundamental and basic procedures and theories. The required courses of the program proposed should comprise three components: 1. courses related to basic expertise in software de-

sign and information organization 2. courses complementing and expanding the theo-

retical basis of computing knowledge in areas such as: computer organization and architecture, theory and artificial intelligence

3. professional preparation in teaching and learning generally, in teaching and learning of computer science, and in applications of computers to teaching and learning in other fields.

A cardinal rule of teaching in any field is to know the clientele and their individual needs. All teacher education programs need to include appropriate study of the psychology, identification, and methods of instruction of all types of students, including exceptional students and persons of a variety of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Special attention should be paid in any public statements we make to the situation surrounding the acquisition of adequate computer science knowledge while an employed teacher. University environments for such learning have elements present that are virtually impossible to provide in extramural teaching plans [14, 15]. Students on campus enjoy a luxury of intensity and duration of attention and, most importantly, participation. Where an on-campus student might be able to in- vest 10-15 hours per week, say, in an introductory

programming experience, an o f f campus, fully employed teacher has extreme difficulty arranging even one hour per day for direct participation in learning. In addition, the ready availability of all kinds of consultative help in an on-campus situation is a far cry from the way persons must learn in relative isolation on the job.

School administrators are one important audience to address with such remarks. Many of them are being led to believe that teaching programming is easy, and easily acquired. Vendors are responsi- ble for some of this perception. We should make statements that help to build realistic expectations of the investments involved in becoming a good computer science teacher.

5. Computer l,iteracy Curriculum Content

The computer has had an impact on every area of human endeavor. The advent of the microprocessor and its incorporation in consumer products has brought that technology to everyone's attention. Video arcade games have made it clear that highly sophisticated high-resolution animation in rich col- or is cost-effectively here and available. The traditional role of the computer as an accounting machine or as a device for doing arithmetic in support of mathematical models has been broadened conside- rably with the rapid proliferation of word processing and derivative text processing algorithms which also are cost-effectively here and available. User- friendliness now drives the vendors.

Several barriers are in place inhibiting realization of the potential of those technologies as part of the educational process in elementary and secondary school. These include lack of standardization of hardware, uneven supply of software, an intense need for teacher training and revision of cirricula whereby the substantial upgrading and revision of the content and emphases need to take place in order that a systematic and integrated incorporation of computer-enhancements to problem-solving and communication can happen.

An exemplary project at Lyons Township High School (LTHS), LaGrange, II., U.S.A., illustrates what can be done in one bold stroke in a favorable administrative and financial environment in a qual-


ity suburban comprehensive high school and, at the same time, brings out in explicit form and in more detail the barriers which need to be overcome [30].

(Briefly, Dr. John Bristol, Superintendent LTHS, brought in over 200 personal computers and in- formed his 265 teachers that they needed to incorporate the computer where appropriate in all of the academic programs. He recognized that no teachers had formal training in their preparation as professionals and offered in-service training for them. He also invited them to identify concepts in their disciplines which might be better taught using a computer-based packet as a vehicle, to design a corresponding algorithm and to be supported during the summer with salary and programmers to imple- ment those algorithms in the LTHS computing environment. Apparently as of this writing, some 40 packets have been developed and exclusive rights to their distribution acquired by a for-profit major vendor of text-books and software for the elementary and secondary school market.)

In order to illustrate this example with some numbers, the administrative structure of LTHS will be used as a basis, as shown by an abbreviated list of computer packages by department, current as of October, 1982 in [30].

In alphabetical order, and including in parenthe- ses the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers per department in this example (not all departments generated packets), all the departments are as follows: Art. (18), Business Education (14), Driver Education (5), English (45), Foreign Languages (18), Home Economics (7), Industrial Technology (14), Library (5), Mathematics (24), Music (6), Physical Education and Health (25), Science (18), Social Studies (17) and Special Education (24) - for a total of 14.

Thus, in order of number of teachers involved (in decreasing order), the departments are as follows: English (45); Phys Ed. and Health each (25); Math and Special Education each (24); Foreign Lang. and Science each (18); Social Studies (17); Bus. Ed. and Industrial Technology each (14); Art. (8): Home Econ. (7); Music (6) and Driver Ed. (5).

Historically the obvious departmental use of computer is in Business Education and (usually) Mathematics - the one vocationally oriented toward data processing and the other the "logical"

home for computing under the traditional view that computing is "mathematics" [29].

The most recent major computer user is the En- glish Department, already making use of text pro- cessors to assist in analyzing student compositions as well as practice and drill in spelling, punctuation, etc. AT&T Bell Labs' Writer's Workbench has already been incorporated in the Freshman English Composition course at Colorado State University where in the '82-83 Academic Year 3000 students had their text analyzed with respect to the rules of good writing (such as those outlined in Strunk and White's Elements of Style). And transference of that experience to such secondary schools should be straightforward and easy.

Graphics has a natural entr6e via the Art department for "painting" and the Engineering Graphics courses to support CAD/CAM.

Industrial Technology could and should be aug- mented with a focus on data communication and networking.

Archival data bases, perhaps via video disk, could be grist for the mill in social studies where simulation and modeling can be done dynamically using real data with fairly complex models.

These general comments augment the specific examples called out in the LTHS experience by way of fleshing out the various ways current and evolv- ing technology is or could help teachers to be effective in class-room teaching across all the disciplines.

In the short term, the greatest leverage to be in the English Department, particulary in instruction in writing. That same Department may be the best channel through which to bring all students up to a reasonable level of computer literacy.

From another perspective, a trickle-down mechanism might be best whereby curriculum development happening in colleges may be channeled into secondary schools via the College Board programs, such as the Advanced Placement Program, whereby some 25 course descriptions are in place and 25 corresponding AP exams are administered annually. That vehicle does not apply to all secondary school programs, however.

Similarly, a further trickle-down mechanism could operate working through the feeder school network for each high school and corresponding teacher institutes and articulation programs.

D. Rine, P. L ykos/ Computer Science for Pre- College Grade Education 263

In order for specific curricular suggestions to be advanced, it is essential that representatives of the canonical set of departments comprising a model comprehensive high school come together to lay out what the situation is now and where it could bc in the near term.

Availability of cost-effective computer systems is clearly no longer a major barrier.

6. Design

Finally, let us briefly touch upon three of the major steps in the design of an educational computer system. They are as follows: 1. Identification of instructional needs 2. Specification of an acceptable instructional sys-

tem to meet these needs 3. Selection of hardware and software to imple-

ment the system. While other steps may be involved in a morc dc-

tailed discussion, we will mention some considerations of these three in the last three sections that fol- low.

7. Instructional Needs: Some Thoughts on Instruc- tional Uses of Computers

It is a myth that computers will replace teachers. Computers are used by students and teachers to provide worthwhile learning experiences and effective instruction.

Computers can be used effectively throughout the curriculum. They arc useful for:

1. All instructional levels K-12 2. All disciplines 3. All ability levels

Computers can be used effectively to support instruction in a wide variety of ways, e.g.:

I. tutorial 2. drill and practice 3. simulation 4. learning games 5. instructional management 6. generation of materials 7. demonstration 8. tool for problem-solving

9. tool for analyzing data

10. test-scoring 1 I. diagnostic tool 12. inquiring into a database.

In the future the "'haves" and the "'have nots" may be determined to a large extent by a person's ability to function with the emerging technology. Today there are great inequities by race and sex in income and employment. Possibly equitable access to computer technology is one of the keys to more fully realizing human potential.

Courses involving computers should be monitor- ed to see that there is equitable participation by race and sex.

Students from more affluent homes tend to have much greater access to computers at home. This factor could contribute to the widening of socio- ecomic inequities. Schools can counter this by providing all students with ample access to effective instructional applications of computers.

Educators should make training of staff a priority. A well-trained staff can make inlormed decisions with respect to purchases of hardware and software.

School administrators as well as school board members need educational computer-literacy training so that thcy can make inlbrmcd decisions with respect to educational uses of computers in the schools.

School staffs need to become particularly adept at evaluating computer software. Carcful evaluation and review of software by educators can help to drive out the bad software and stimulate development of good software.

Staffs need to consider timing with respect to purchases of hardware and software. With the rapid changes that are taking place it is always tempting to wait for new developments. However, with the accelerating pace of change today, the more one waits, the more new developments there are just around the corner. On the other hand, the longer one waits, the more one is left behind.

Persons who have been in computing for a period of time and have seen many changes in hardware, software and computer languages need to give newcomers a sense of perspective. Newcomers need to understand that specific facility with today's technology does not necessarily prepare one for the fu-

264 D. Rine, P. Lykos/Computer Science for Pre-College Grade Education

ture. Rather, it is the generalizations which tran- scend specific hardware, software and computer languages that will endure.

Uses of computers in schools should be related to specific instructional goals. In most cases those goals will relate to specific classroom instruction. Computer use in schools must be carefully supervised. Unsupervised use is likely to end up more like an arcade than a positive learning environment.

Decisions on instructional computer purchases should begin with the instructional goals, followed by a consideration of which software best addresses those goals. Then, the most cost-effective hardware that runs the software should be selected.

Flexibility should be kept in mind when purchases are made. It is much easier to justify the purcha- se of equipment for which there are multiple uses. Then if one use doesn't work out, the equipment can be used in other ways.

In view of the rapid changes in the computer field, the following questions should be asked befo- re purchases are made. 1. Is the manufacturer likely to support the product

for the next five years? 2. Is the equipment upgradable? 3. Can the equipment interface with a variety of pe-

ripherals? 4. What is the performance record of the company

and of the specific equipment? 5. What are the provisions for maintenance? 6. What educational software runs on the equip-

ment? 7. What is the commitment of the manufacturer to

instructional computing? Consideration in implementing instructional use of computers. 1. Who will supervise student use? 2. Who will control the allocation ofcomputer use? 3. How will maintenance be provided? 4. What security precautions will be taken'?

8. Instructional Systems: Their Design

Successful approaches are now well-established for designing computer-based instructional systems. For example, Bork [4] and his associates have developed a production systems approach using experi-

enced teachers, where the outcome is a system that allows students to explore, formalize and apply knowledge.

Traditional computer-assisted instruction (CAI) systems are only able to cope with student respon- ses which have been specified in advance by the au- thor-programmer. However, as an alternative, Ray- mond [35] in this issue presents some recent work on intelligent interactive systems that incorporate intelligence, video disk, communications and microcomputer technologies.

More recently, artificial intelligence has been ap- plied to problems in CAI [20]. Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) are able to apply explicit knowledge of the subject domain, the student history, and knowledge about when to apply a specific teaching operation. Recently ITSs such as LMS [40] have been implemented which infer a model of a pupil's problem-solving by observing his performance on a set of tasks.

Related to this is the idea that discourse processing systems have the potential for teaching reading comprehension. The goal of one such system [33] is to directly teach children what inferentially coher- ent text is, and how to produce it, using an approach based on reading-comprehension research.

Two ways of developing CAt courseware, in addition to the above, are by means of authoring systems and programming systems. Authoring systems are generally easy to learn, but often impossible to use well. A programming system PILE [16] has the following features: (1) coherence of program structure; (2) ability to build and reuse generalized software

tools. The impact of new technologies such as micro-

computers, video-disc, artificial intelligence, videotex/teletext, direct broadcast system, fiber-optics, speech recognition and fifth-generation computers will be felt in future instructional system and services.

Shambarger [37] proposes that computer-based training (CBT) systems will soon be obsolete and will be replaced by information-delivery systems comprised of intelligent CAI, a database of knowledge bases and expert systems, inference engines, speech recognition, videotex/teletext facilities and administrative functions.

D Rine, P. L ykos/Computer Science for Pre- College Grade Education 265

9. Hardware and Software

As a result of declining cost and increasing capabili- ty of digital electronics, electronic devices are begin- ning to replace some commonplace education tools while expanding the way these tools can be used. Based on much early research in this area [20], the Franklin Research Center and Educational Testing Service are developing a design for a hand-held, computerized device to teach job-related vocabulary to soldiers of varying aptitude levels [8].

While many children are preparing for success in our computer-oriented world, blind and visually handicapped children have been denied this experience. However, much interest has arisen in developed software, as well as hardware devices, for special students. For example, Sensory Aids Foundation [34] is developing a project to provide currently available educational software for, con- currently, two dozen blind and visually impaired students.

The linking of microcomputer and television technologies provided the means for creating interactive video games. However. we are now faced with the question "'What is the instructional value o f video games?". Is a game context more instruc- tionally effective than a non-game presentation of the same material'? [12]

Thinking logically is a core skill required in all learning. Using a computer, a learning environment could be constructed encouraging the use of logical processes with a common language applicable across subject boundaries. One possible approach is to use logic itself, traditionally a language for the accurate description of problems and ideas, as a computer language. Since 1980, researchers [27] have been examining the ways in which logic programming techniques can be used to help teach subjects across the curriculum. Using the language micro-PROLOG [10], a microcomputer implemen- tation of PROLOG (Programming in Logic) [11], and widely available microcomputers, lessons in many subjects including mathematics, geography, English and history, have been taught [9].

References

[1] "Topics in Colleges and Education", A.CM., January

1983. ACM No. 812830, [2] Advanced Placement in Computer Science Course Go-

als in "Advanced Placement Course Description: Com- puter Science", May 1984 and 1985, The College Bo ard "Teacher's Guide to Advanced Placement Courses in Computer Science", 1983, The College Board.

[3] M.E Badger. "An Evaluation of a LOGO Trmning Pro- gram", Proceedings of the National Educational Com- puting Conference, June, 1983, IEEE Computer Society Press.

[4] A. Bork, "Production Systems", Unpublished MS Edu- cational Technology Center, University of Californta, Ir- vine, 1982.

[5] A. Bork, "Computer Based Course for Advanced Place- ment in Computer Science", Unpublished Technical Report, Educational Technology Center. The University of California-Irvine, CA 1983.

[6] K BO (ed), Special Issue on Human-Computer Inte- raction. Computer, Vol. 15, No. 11,1982,

[7] L. Borman and P. Lykos. "High School Model: Com- puter Literacy Programs", Proceedings EDCOMPCON- 83, IEEE Computer Society, 1984

[8] 8. Bridgeman, "Computerized Vocabulary Tutor", Di- gest of ED COMPCON-83, October. 1983, IEEE Com- puter Society

[9] J. Briggs, "Providing an Environment for Logical Think- ing ~n the Classroom", Digest of ED COMPCON-83, October 1983. IEEE Computer Society

[10] KL. Clark, J.R. Ennalsand F. McCabe,"AMicro-PRO- LOG Primer". Logic Programming Associates, London, 1982

[11] W. CIocksin and C. Mellish, "Programming in PRO- LOG", Springer Verlag, 1981.

[1 2] T. De Fanti, Adv. in Computers, vol. 23, 1984, [13] D.ER Denning, "Cryptography and Data Security",

Addison-Wesley Co, Reading, MA, 1 982 [14] R Dennis. Communication, Task Group Workshop,

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[16] H.G. DietzandR.J. Juels, "A Computer Science Appro- ach to Computer Aided Instruction Courseware Devel- opment", Digest of ED COMPCON-83, October 1983, IEEE Computer Society.

[1 7] AdiSessa,"Goalsand Means of Producing Integrated Computational Environments Using the Language BOXER", Digest of ED COMPCON-83, October, 1983, IEEE Computer Society.

[18] AC Ferderlein and R.M. Bowden, "Technology and Young Children", Digest of ED COMPCON-83, Octo- ber, 1 983, IEEE Computer Society.

[19] M.S. Fox, D.J. BebelandA.C. Parker, "The Automated Dictionary", Computer, Vol. 13, No. 7, 1 980.

[20] M. Fox et al., "Intelligent Computer-assisted Instruc- tion", Digest of the 1981 National Computer Confer- ence, Chicago, AFIPS


[21 ] H Ginsburg and S. Opper, "Piaget's Theory of Intellec- tual Development", Second Edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Yersey, 1979.

[22] J.H. Hector, "Certification of Pre-College Teachers in Computing", The Computing Teacher, Vol. 8, No. 4. 1981.

[23] D.C. Holznagel, "Courseware and Software Needs in Education", The Computing Teacher, Vol. 8, No. 7, 1981.

[24] P.L. Hutinger, "Microcomputer use in special education", Proceedings of the 17th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE-CS, Honolulu, HA, January, 1984.

[25] "'ICCE Policy Statement on Network and Multiple Ma- chine Software", The Computing Teacher, September, 1983.

[26] Joint Task Group on Pre-College Education, Workshop, Chicago, July, 1983, IEEE-CS.

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[28] A Lathrop, "Microcomputer Software for Instructional Use-Where Are the Critical Review?", The Computing Teacher, February, 1982.

[29] P. Lykos, "Computer Science or Computer Information Systems: What's the Difference", Proceedings of Micro- Ideas Conference, April, 1983.

[30] "The Lyons Township High School Computer Literacy Project", A Report for the NSF Commission on Precol- lege Education in Mathematics, Science and Technolo- gy, September, 1 982.

[31] "Computer Literacy Study", Minnesota Educational Computing Cooperative (MECC), 1982, Minneapolis, MN.

[32] D. Moursund, "LOGO frightens me", The Computing Teacher, December, 1983.

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E34] S.H Phillips, "Applying Technology to Education for Blind and Visually Impaired Children", Digest, ED- COMPCON-83 Computer Conference, IEEE Computer Society, San Jose, CA, USA.

[35] P. Raymont, "Intelligent Interactive Instructional Sys- tems", Special Issue, Euro Micro Journal, this issue, 1984.

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[39] J.C. Simon, "Should Computer Education be Science or Technology Oriented?", Special Issue, Microprocessing and Microprogramming 14 (1984), this issue.

[40] D. Sleeman, "A Review of Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Past, Present, and Future", Digest, EDCOMPCON-83, Computer Conference, IEEE Computer Society, San Jose, CA, USA.

Dr. David C. Rine is Professor of Computer Science, Western Illinois University, U.S.A., and has been in computer- related activities for nearly twenty years. His work includes time spent in universities, business and consulting. His current areas of interest include microcomputer applications, database systems, software engineering, expert systems and computer education. Dr. Rine has several times received the Computer Society's Honor Roll and Special Awards for out- standing contributions to the field. In the past he has been in charge of the Computer Society's Educational Activities and is currently a Senior Member of the IEEE Computer Society, as well as being Program Chairman of the EDCOMPCON Com- puter Conferences. Rine is Chief Reader of the College Bo- ard's Advanced Placement Program in Computer Science.

Peter Lykos has been active in computers in education since 1959 at which time he incorporated as a regular part of jr. physical chemistry laboratory an introduction to computers (in machine language) with a data reduction application. During the 60s he brought into being a massive secondary school computer education program which, over ten years, involved fee-paying 1 5,000 students and 1,200 teachers, and which led to the first MST-CS (1968). Also during the 60s he organized and conducted the first large-scale focus on computer impact on (seven) undergraduate curricula which in-

volved 70 professors from 14 college and university campu- ses. During the 70s he spent two years at the National Science Foundation (USA) to develop a new administrative entity, the NSF Section, Computer Impact on Society, during which time he began the process of examining the reaction to the computer of the various education accreditation bodies. Also during the 70s he introduced the computer (model building) into a major engineering curriculum development program (E z) and was appointed by the American Chemical Society to the Committee for Professional Training (which accredits bachelor chemistry programs) for the purpose of blending into the approval guidelines appropriate computer-based enhancements to the practice of chemistry. During the 80s he started the initiative toward creation of a one-year college-level course in both, computer science and computer information systems, as well as an initiative toward a bachelor's accreditation program in CS (by ACM) and in CIS (by DPMA). Last summer the Computer Science Accreditation Board was created by ACM (together with IEEE-CS). Also last summer the first Advanced Placement in C.S. Exam, ever, was graded (4300 from 91 5 high schools). Also DPMA instituted a 9-1 2 grade curriculum development project in CIS and has under study the proposal to institute an accreditation program for the BS- CIS. In addition Lykos has been involved in numerous other activities related to computers and education.

Documents

Applying computer science and engineering to pre-college grades (elementary and secondary) education