FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Laura Hart, 401-456-8977, lhart@ric.edu
Gita Brown, 401-456-8465, gbrown@ric.edu
PROVIDENCE, R.I.: As part of Computer Science Education Week, the Rhode Island College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Computer Science Teachers Association of Rhode Island (CSTA) will host a talk titled, “Computational Thinking: Pathways from Middle School to College Computer Science,” on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 4:30 p.m. in Alger Hall 110, Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. The talk is free and open to the public.
UMass Lowell Associate Professor of Computer Science Fred Martin, the event’s featured speaker, will discuss barriers to generating interests in computer science careers, including the lack of female representation in the field and the limited understanding of computer science’s scope. He will also discuss ways to encourage computational thinking, engage middle school students and address undergraduate challenges.
Computer science is a relative newcomer among the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields, Martin said, and differs radically from other STEM disciplines in that it focuses on developing “models that are automatable.” Martin added that the act of computational thinking is in itself difficult for students and practitioners alike. Speaking to teachers, he said, “We need to be patient with ourselves and our students when asking them to develop these fundamentally new ways of thinking and doing.”
Martin’s talk will include research findings from his National Science Foundation Innovation Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant and his National Science Foundation Undergraduate Education grant.
Rhode Island College offers a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
The Computer Science Teachers Association is a membership organization that supports and promotes the teaching of computer science and other computing disciplines. CSTA provides opportunities for K–12 teachers and students to better understand the computing disciplines and to more successfully prepare themselves to teach and learn.
