Learning and Leading - November 2009

Computer Science Is Not Just for Big Kids

As the Dutch computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra said,

“Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.”

it is sad more than surprising that computer science, which has been a bona fide discipline for more than half a century, has found little space in K– 12 curricula. As a result, most students go through their elementary school years naively equating computer science to simply using computers or learning computer programming. As the Dutch computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra said, “Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.”

Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation. Given the amount of exposure students get to the science of the physical living and nonliving world, it does not make sense to completely ignore a discipline that governs much of the technology and the nature of the “form” in which we transact information on a day-to-day basis in our techno-saturated lives.

In addition to a basic understanding of the essential definition of what computer science is, students can and should be exposed to some of the foundational elements of the science of computing, which

gel well with the broader goals of 21st-century learning. These elements include algorithmic thinking, Boolean logic, functional abstraction, and data organization and management. Problem solving, critical thinking, and information organization and management can be reinforced through delving into these aspects of computer science. The wonderful thing is that most of these concepts of computer science build on mathematics, and some of them build on school-level mathematics.

The advantage of this early exposure to the fundamental elements of computer science is that it will give high school students who opt for courses in programming a more solid foundation of algorithmic thinking and data structures—the basic nuts and bolts of the mechanics of computer programming. Additionally, it will give students a better sense of their own interest in this field, supported by a better understanding of the science itself.