ERIC Number: EJ944813
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jul
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1946-6226
EISSN: N/A
Computational Thinking and Expository Writing in the Middle School
Wolz, Ursula; Stone, Meredith; Pearson, Kim; Pulimood, Sarah Monisha; Switzer, Mary
ACM Transactions on Computing Education, v11 n2 Article 9 Jul 2011
To broaden participation in computing we need to look beyond traditional domains of inquiry and expertise. We present results from a demonstration project in which interactive journalism was used to infuse computational thinking into the standard curriculum and regular classroom experience at a middle school with a diverse population. Outcomes indicate that we were able to develop positive attitudes about computational thinking and programming among students and teachers who did not necessarily view themselves as "math types." By partnering with language arts, technology and math teachers at Fisher Middle School, Ewing New Jersey, we introduced the isomorphism between the journalistic process and computational thinking to 7th and 8th graders. An intense summer institute, first with the teachers and then with students recruited from the school, immersed them in the "newsroom of the future" where they researched and wrote news stories, shot and edited video, and developed procedural animations in Scratch to support their storylines. An afterschool club sustained the experience. The teachers adapted interactive journalism and Scratch programming to enrich standard language arts curriculum and are infusing computational thinking in classroom experiences throughout the school. (Contains 12 tables, 1 figure and 9 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Expository Writing, Journalism Education, Computer Science Education, Demonstration Programs, Middle School Students, Computer Attitudes, Program Effectiveness, Grade 7, Grade 8, Middle School Teachers, Summer Programs, Interdisciplinary Approach, After School Programs
Association for Computing Machinery. 2 Penn Plaza Suite 701, New York, NY 10121. Tel: 800-342-6626; Tel: 212-626-0500; Fax: 212-944-1318; e-mail: acmhelp@acm.org; Web site: http://www.acm.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 7; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Jersey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A