Serious toys: three years of teaching computer science concepts in K-12 classrooms

Abstract

Computational thinking represents a collection of structured problem solving skills that cross-cut educational disciplines. There is significant future value in introducing these skills as early as practical in students' academic careers. Over the past three years, we have developed, piloted, and evaluated a series of K-12 outreach modules designed to introduce fundamental computing concepts. We piloted two modules with more than 340 students, and evaluation results show that the modules are having a positive impact. We combined the two previously piloted modules with a newly developed module and piloted the combined program with over 170 students. Evaluation results again show that the combination is having a positive impact. In this paper, we summarize the program, discuss our experiences piloting it, and summarize key evaluation results. Our hope is to engender discussion and adoption of the materials at other institutions.