Computer science is a fledgling discipline, especially when compared with areas like physics, mathematics and history. As a result, there are few coherent teaching methodologies available that teachers can use to train students in the area. Even of those which exist, few are diagnostic: when students make mistakes in applying them, they offer no guidelines by which teachers can indicate where the mistake was made and how to correct it.

For a decade now, the Department of Computer Science at Rice University has developed a curriculum that addresses these concerns. After many years of successfully using it for college freshmen, we have adapted it to the high-school level. We have designed a curriculum, programming environment, and teacher training program to help high-schools make the transition to this methodology.

This talk gives a brief example of the methodology at work, explains some of the technology behind it, and elaborates on the resources available through Rice to support it.

Last modified at 10:47:51 CST on Monday, November 10, 1997