Harriette L. Spiegel (hls4522@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)
Thu, 9 Sep 1999 00:50:55 -0400
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 00:50:55 -0400 From: "Harriette L. Spiegel" <hls4522@garnet.acns.fsu.edu> Subject: First and Second Summaries: Role of computer programming in education
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First and second summaries, September 9, 1999
[Future discussions can be found at:
http://grouper.ieee.org/ltsc/ifets/discussions/discuss.html]
PARTICIPANTS, Sept. 7 - 8, 1999: Ken Kahn, Moderator; Chuck Shavit, Eric
Flescher, Anne-Marie Armstrong, Clark Quinn, Arun-Kumar Tripathi
BOOKS, PERSONS, WEB SITES REFERENCED:
Ken Kahn:
--"Building Software Beats Using It"
by Idit Harel; see
http://www.mamamedia.com/areas/grownups/new/21_learning/building_software.html.
Arun Tripathi:
--http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e.html;
--Online interview of Prof. Seymour Papert at NEAToday online (NEA: National
Educational Association: http://www.nea.org/neatoday/9710/seyweb.html
Anne-Marie Armstrong:
--Costa, A. L. (1991). The school as a home for the mind. Palatine, IL:
Skylight Publishing;
--Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated
academic learning.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 329-339
DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONS:
1. WAS THE ORIGINAL VISION BEHIND LOGO (BEST ARTICULATED BY SEYMOUR PAPERT)
FLAWED? OR WAS THE VISION FINE BUT THE TECHNOLOGY INADEQUATE? OR WERE THE
PROBLEMS
MORE SOCIETAL AND POLITICAL?
Dr. Eric Flescher initially responded to Moderator Ken Kahn's pre-discussion
paper (http://grouper.ieee.org/ltsc/ifets/discussions/discuss_sept99.html).
He stated that a positive aspect of programming is the creativity involved,
and Ken Kahn reminded us that programming includes much more than simple
mathematical concepts, not only procedural thinking, problem solving skills,
and thinking about thinking, but also game programming, natural language
programming, and simulations.
Dr. Eric Flescher pointed out that exploration is not effective for all
students, and Ken Kahn encouraged others to comment on this point. "Perhaps some
children (and adults) are good explorers and others are not."
Clark Quinn commented that a social problem, the training of teachers,
contributed to LOGO's "problem." He advocated "guided discovery" in an
environment of "systematicity," something that requires trained teachers.
Chuck Shavit divided his discussion about the teaching of programming into
two cases: teaching to "young kids - say up to about 6-7th grade, [and]
[teaching to] middle and high school." The syntax of LOGO is too complex
for the younger group, but for the older group, programming will provide
important math and science skills, basic knowledge about computers, and
valuable aids in analysis and exploration of science.
Arun-Kumar Tripathi reacted to Chuck Shavit's points, agreeing on the
complexity of the syntax and semantics of programming for younger children.
He called for adding "more fun to the learning,...[and that learning] should
be highly interactive and talkative." He recommended an online interview
with Papert (listed at the beginning of the summary).
2. WHY DID INTEREST IN PROGRAMMING IN SCHOOL DROP IN THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS?
Dr. Eric Flescher suggested that there is no longer a need to write one's
own programming due to the development of lucrative programming careers that
provide the software used to "make the computers do things." Ken Kahn
responded that regardless of the career training aspect, programming should
be taught to develop students' "on general problem solving, learning, and
thinking skills."
Clark Quinn argued that programming has lost interest because "there are
other more interesting and directly relevant (to existing curriculum
objectives) activities to be done with computers."
3. ALL OF THE NEW PROGRAMMING SYSTEMS INCLUDE MANY COMPONENTS TO AID
LEARNING TO MASTER THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE RANGING FROM INTERACTIVE
TUTORIALS TO ANIMATED DEMOS TO QUASI-INTELLIGENT GUIDE OR COACH CHARACTERS.
IS THIS WHAT WAS LACKING BEFORE?
Two discussants agreed that the new programming such as Microworlds "merges logo
with graphics and objects..., and there are more possibilities." (Dr. Eric
Flescher)
But in reference to the design of the new languages "to work in a context
where there are no teachers," Ken Kahn wondered "whether this
self-learnability might make a critical difference in how easily these new
languages are adopted.
Clark Quinn described the "[adaptive] coaching components" that will be
necessary if programming environments are to "[scaffold] the diverse
approaches and skills learners will come with."
4. ALL OF THE NEW LANGUAGES ARE VISUAL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES WHERE TEXT
PLAYS ONLY A MINOR ROLE. WILL THIS MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE?
Dr. Eric Flescher implied that there will be a difference, because "most
people are visual,...and ...there is not enough visual based education in
the schools." Ken Kahn added that "there is something new being tried in
these new languages."
5. SOME OF THE NEW LANGUAGES (THOSE FROM LEGO AND K NEX) ARE SPECIALIZED FOR
ROBOTICS PROGRAMMING. IS THIS A GOOD THING? DOES THIS LIMIT THEIR SCOPE?
Dr. Eric Flescher described the specialized use of some of the new languages
(from LEGO and K NEX) as "just another way to use the language." Ken Kahn
followed with his question, "If we agree that programming has a role in
education
should special purpose or general purpose languages be used? Or both?"
Clark Quinn asserted that such special purposes, such as "the robotic
connection," "is another way to reach certain kids," but such a
specialization "doesn't solve the hard problem of helping kids over the
hurdles."
6. IS COMPUTER PROGRAMMING JUST TOO DIFFICULT? FOR STUDENTS? FOR TEACHERS?
Dr. Eric Flescher commented on the "left-brain thinking" aspect of
programming, pointing out that "most teachers don't want to bother with
code." He feels that one can "enhance thinking in other ways then just
programming." Ken Kahn brought up the idea that "maybe [programming] has
unique properties that make it especially well-suited for [enhancing
thinking] (if it is done and taught in the 'right' way)."
Clark Quinn asked for more "about the unique properties."
Anne-Marie Armstrong initiated a discussion about the teaching of
programming, and addressed the "exploration/discovery/learning" aspect of
programming. She stated that not only was programming improperly "presented
...to educators, but the [older] technology "focused on the acquisition of
subject matter knowledge rather than on the development or transference of
thinking or metacognitive (thinking about thinking) skills." She called for
a "review [of] the past research and perhaps refocus to begin studying the
effects of programming on metacognitive and self-regulation skill development."
In regard to the discussion about using programming to teach problem-solving
skills, Clark Quinn added that "you can use special purpose tools such as
Excel to discuss model-making, and things like Stella to discuss dynamic
modelling. The question, I think, is whether programming adds something
extra of value."
Ken Kahn also referred to an article by Idit Harel who worked closely with
Papert in developing LOGO. Ken made a clear distinction between programming
and media creation. "Programming is a fertile ground for powerful ideas
like procedural thinking, functional abstraction, debugging, representation,
thinking about thinking, etc. in ways that using a paint or animation program
isn't. Media creation is a great, worthwhile, activity - but is it so different
from painting a picture in school that is then displayed on the wall for all
to see?
The following are suggestions for trains of thought that might be followed:
--Perhaps we could benefit from a little more elaboration of "left-brain
thinking" in regard to programming?
--Would someone remind us about Michael Spector's arguments in regard to
"dynamic systems modelling"?
--I, too, would like more on the "unique properties" that Ken Kahn mentioned.
--I wonder, if more people had been taught programming, might there have
been more awareness of the Y2K "bug"?
END of First and Second summaries. -Is everybody surviving 9-9-99??
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