TeachScheme! Workshops

sponsored by:     National Science Foundation     Department of Education (FIPSE)     Exxon

The Project's main page explains the background in more detail and provides additional pointers to materials.

Experience

Read what others have to say about the program. Nearly 100 teachers have attended the workshop and most of them have implemented the TeachScheme! curriculum in their classrooms. They have seen the power of our approach at work.

• How to Design Programs
• DrScheme

The course will be staffed primarily by the members of the Programming Languages Team: Stephen Bloch, Matthias Felleisen, Robby Findler, Kathi Fisler, Matthew Flatt, and Shriram Krishnamurthi. They are researchers and educators in the Departments of Computer Science at Adelphi University, Brown University, Rice University, the University of Utah and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Between them, they have over 40 years of experience dealing with educational issues and innovative curricula. Some of them co-authored the course text and are the principal architects of the programming environment. In addition, they have published numerous research papers on the principles of programming, the principles of programming languages, and the implementation of programming environments.

The primary staff will be joined by teachers who have attended this workshop in previous years and implemented its material in high school classes. These teachers will assist in the labs, and also provide advice based on their classroom experiences. Other computer scientists from the host universities, all with extensive teaching experience, will also assist in the workshop.

Adelphi University was the first co-educational college in New York State. It combines a commitment to liberal-arts education with highly-regarded professional programs in education, nursing, psychology, and social work; it boasts small class sizes, a friendly, informal approach to students, and a faculty deeply committed to teaching. The campus is situated in the safe, attractive, suburban village of Garden City, in Long Island, NY, and is a few blocks from a commuter rail station, providing easy access (c. 45 minutes) to New York City, the financial and cultural capital of the United States.

Boston, Massachusetts: hosted by Northeastern University

Northeastern University is a private research university, offering a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate. A world leader in practice-oriented education, Northeastern emphasizes educational programs that link classroom learning with workplace experience and integrate professional preparation with study in the liberal arts and sciences.

Boston, center of the American Revolution, is one of the nation's oldest cities. Boston is a cultural center renowned for its numerous educational institutions. The city has many historical reminders of America's birth and growth. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is a beloved summer-time destination. Other notables include its famous parks, libraries, museums and aquarium. Nearby tourist destinations include Cape Cod and the many other attractions of New England.

Providence, Rhode Island: hosted by Brown University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Brown University, the seventh oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, predates the American Revolution and is a member of the Ivy League. Brown has a distinguished faculty, an exceptional student body, a long history of tolerance and diversity, and a unique academic curriculum. Brown is especially well known for its innovative uses of technology to enhance the classroom. Both the undergraduate computer science program and the graduate computer science department have long been among the nation's best.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), located in Worcester, MA, is the third oldest college of science and engineering in the United States. Recent U.S. News & World Report rankings have placed WPI in the top 50 national universities. WPI's innovative project-based curriculum, which requires all students to complete three original projects (one in each of the humanities, the interplay of society and technology, and the student's major discipline), reflects WPI's hallmark emphasis on combining theory and practice in education. WPI also emphasizes a global perspective in engineering education; roughly half of the students design solutions to local problems in worldwide locations (such as Venice, Bangkok, and Costa Rica) to fulfill their project requirements.

Providence, founded as a haven of religious tolerance, is undergoing a renaissance that marks it as the most exciting destination in New England. It was just rated by Money Magazine as the best city in the Northeast. Providence has a long history of trade and industry, and the city is peppered with historical and architectural reminders of its wealthy past. Reborn as a center of the arts, it is also home to restaurants of international renown. Summer is a time for nautical activity off Cape Cod or in Narragansett Bay, outdoor theater, film festivals, more film festivals, yet more film festivals, and WaterFire. As the AAA team for the Red Sox, the Pawtucket Red Sox (or ``Pawsox'') keep futile-yet-fierce New England baseball hopes alive. But perhaps nothing is quite as pleasant as strolling in Providence along its riverwalk or on one of its elegant historic streets.

Salt Lake City, Utah: hosted by the University of Utah

The University of Utah, founded in 1850, is one of the preeminent research universities of the American West. Its computer science program is one of the oldest in the country (in 1970, Utah became the fourth node on the Internet), and it has long made significant contributions in many areas of the discipline. Utah is especially known for its work in computer graphics, with companies such as Silicon Graphics, Evans and Sutherland, Pixar, and Adobe all founded by Utah faculty and graduates.

Salt Lake City is the hub of a large metropolitan area that is home to most of Utah's 2 million residents. The city was just rated by Money Magazine as the best in the West. Perched on the western edge of the Rockies, Salt Lake offers unparalleled outdoor recreation mere minutes from the city, including first-rate hiking, biking, rock climbing, camping, and fishing. Numerous national parks and mounments are within a day's drive: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Arches, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, Escalante, and many more. During the summer, southern Utah's Cedar City hosts the renowned Utah Shakespearean Festival, winner of 2000 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. In 2002, Salt Lake City will host the Winter Olympics.

The project may have a limited number of attendance stipends. The support is primarily intended for teachers outside the workshop area. We encourage potential participants to explore other avenues of funding, especially local ones, such as corporations and foundations. Your institution may have information on potential sources.

You can sign up for the workshop using our on-line sign-up form. (If you want a paper copy, for yourself or for a friend, please send email to the address at the bottom of this page.) Please do first discuss the workshop with your principal or other school authorities.

If you have questions not addressed by our Web material, please email us at plt-outreach@cs.rice.edu.

Last modified at 21:23:02 CST on Friday, February 16, 2001