LEAD is proud to announce the launch of LEAD Computer Science Institutes in 2011. The LEAD Computer Science Institute (CSI) exists to expose academically promising middle to high school students from diverse communities to both colleges and careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Moreover, a major premise of the program recognizes that a better-informed high achieving student can better discern the value of choosing a career in a STEM field and is appropriately prepared to apply to the more competitive universities that offer STEM education.
The inaugural class of 104 students participated in the program on the campuses of Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of California Berkeley and the University of Virginia. Each university hosted approximately 25 participants. The one or three week programs provided rising ninth, tenth and eleventh grade students with the opportunity to explore the field of computer science. Students gained increased knowledge and practical skills development during the program.
The content supported two-levels of understanding about CS education along with providing exposure to careers in CS. Specifically the two (2) levels included:
Level I – Experience: This was a one-week program designed to provide rising 9th grade students with exposure to the topics in computer science. The host universities included Stanford University and the University of Michigan.
Level II – Foundations: This was a three-week program designed to provide rising 10th and 11th grade students with a broad exposure to various topics in computer science. The host universities included the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia.
The goals of the 2011 LEAD Computer Science Institutes were to build students interest in the field of computer science education and to provide a rigorous deep-dive understanding of the fundamentals of computer programming. We believe the best way to excite students about computer science is to help them make the connection between real world problems and the software they can write to solve those problems.
To make this connection, each university developed a curriculum that pairs active learning with programming topics. Rather than tell students about the problems software can solve, we wanted them to experience situations where the problems were important enough to feel the need for a better solution. For example, professors at the University of Virginia used cryptography to teach the programming concept of strings. In the first lesson, students learned about the evolution of cryptography from Roman battlefields to Internet privacy. Next, students completed in a campus-wide scavenger hunt that required them to crack ciphers by hand. Finally, students were taught how to use Python strings as a tool to help encode and decode messages programmatically.
The content provided included:
- Age appropriate, hands-on learning to develop keen understanding of both the strategy and tactics for the topics provided.
- Access to organizations and facilities that provide “real world” exposure to the various career disciplines.
- Learning to work in a team environment. All participants were required to participate in various group projects.
