For Computing Science at School ... Do We Need Root-and-Branch Change?

Introduction

We possibly failed a whole generation within computing, and switched many kids off by teaching them how to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, or bored them to tears with formal methods in coding. What happened to the buzz caused by the BBC Micro?

The "Computer Science" subject at school perhaps needs to shrug off its past, and emerge as the most important subject of all - as a core subject alongside Maths and English - and not just be designed for a select few. To make it there, it needs to be driven more by the requirements of a future economy and in the rebuilding our society in a digital manner, rather than as a feeder subject for computer science at university.

In its industry strategy for the UK, the UK government talks about a vision of a "transformed" economy, and which is built on ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places [here]:

A core part of this transformation must come in a root-and-branch approach to providing our next generation with the skills and knowledge that can make the best use of technology to drive social change and economic development. Our provision is, possibly, well short of this, and perhaps our generation, with its old ideas of technology, are part of the problem. Blockchain, data science and IoT are changing are old, and the concept of "The Computer" is vanishing, and as data will provide us with a core of our new world. Our kids should see digital methods as a default, and to see opportunities to innovate and to dream of new futures.

A tech-driven economy

The UK wants to be a tech-driven economy, and build a new workforce which is skilled in using technology. This will not happen overnight, and there needs to be a massive investment in schools to shift an emphasis towards subjects which could support this drive, such as for maths and computer science.

But our current provision of computer science at school is failing to make a mark, especially in its lack of defined standards in terms of coding, and also that it has been designed as a feeder subject for those who want to study computer science at university. Apart from this it is also still dominated by boys (80/20% split) and is seen more as a hobby subject than something that is core.

So here is my attempt for the definition of a subject which could be used to engage, excite, and encourage pupils into a whole of technology.

Syllabus for the Future

The first thing I would do is to get rid of the "Computing Science" and "Computer Science" name, as it carries a great deal of baggage. For me the subject should be a mandatory subject, and governments should invest in it, including training whole lot of specialists who can really inspire kids. A core part of the subject would be that coding was used in all areas of it, but not to get bogged down with formal methods, flow charts and pseudo code, but to just go ahead and get things built and working. So I'd just call it "Technology", and with a core aim of:

This subject aims to show the potential of technology to transform our world, and in the opportunities to create a fairer and more confident society and to drive forward economic development.

When it comes to the syllabus, I'd dump the teaching of old fashion technology, and aim to teach kids about the future, and how data can be used to understand our world and drive our economy. It should also give them the building blocks in the understanding of how our world can be transformed using technology, and the issues involved. The four building blocks would then be:

A major failing of the Computing Science subject in Scotland is there is little in the way of standardisation, and each school can define their own environment and the programming language used. I cannot believe that any education leader would have allowed this, as it is a mess to allow any teacher to teach in whatever environment they want, and then hope you can bring them all back again with a pseudocode language.

Cloud-, data- and code-driven

In this new subject, the government would invest properly in creating a school-wide cloud environment, and where there was a standardized environment for kids. This would include a well-specified Ubuntu instance with all the required Python instances. Pupils will then be able to access it anywhere, and the code examples should work well.

Along with this standard, open-source, datasets will be created and provided to every pupil. These should match to improving education around social issues, such as analysing smoking rates within geographical areas. This will underpin the key challenges within our society, such as related to deprivation and inequalities. We must try to build a new generation who use scientific analysis and statistics in order to present rational arguments.

In each area, Python would be fixed as the core language, and for experts to create small pieces of code which would work, and for pupils to then build on these to fit with tutorial activities.

As much as possible the subject should not avoid integrating maths but should show how we can apply the methods into code. Along with this, each subject should showcase real-life examples of the subject areas, and applications which are relevant.

Conclusions

I worry that we will lose another generation to technology, and kids will make the choices that their parents have made. For me, we need everyone to understand how to drive technology, even though they will end up as doctors, business leaders, and lawyers.

Teach everyone about the potential of machine learning and its risks, and for blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and let them make up their own mind. They will then be able to match to the current demand within the jobs market and contribute to innovation and enterprise, and hopefully produce the next Steve Jobs.

As it is, it will continue to be a "hobby" subject, which hardly even makes it into the top 10 of subjects studied at school, and only for the "tech geek". We are in a new age and need to build a new workforce that is ready for it, and it's not the world that we see.