Abstract
Formal Computer Science curricula in schools are currently in a state of flux, yet there is an urgency to have school students exposed to CS concepts so that they can make informed decisions about career paths. An effective way to address this is through outreach programmes that can operate outside or in conjunction with the formal education system. We compare 5 successful programmes. Each downplays programming as a pre-requisite skill for engaging with Computer Science ideas. This makes them accessible in short bursts without formal curriculum support. The formats used include contests, shows, magazine articles, and resources for teachers. We compare the 5 approaches to draw out key ideas for successfully addressing a school student audience. This can be used as the basis for designing new outreach programs.
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Bell, T., Curzon, P., Cutts, Q., Dagiene, V., Haberman, B. (2011). Overcoming Obstacles to CS Education by Using Non-programming Outreach Programmes. In: Kalaš, I., Mittermeir, R.T. (eds) Informatics in Schools. Contributing to 21st Century Education. ISSEP 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7013. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24722-4_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24722-4_7
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