A CS unplugged design pattern

  • Authors:

  • Tomohiro Nishida;Susumu Kanemune;Yukio Idosaka;Mitaro Namiki;Tim Bell;Yasushi Kuno

  • Affiliations:

  • Osaka Gakuin University, Osaka, Japan;Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan;Iinan Junior High School, Mie, Japan;Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan;University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand;University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

"Computer Science (CS) Unplugged" is an educational method for introducing non-specialists to concepts of CS through hands-on activities that don't require the use of a computer. Often the deeper concepts of CS have been considered as being too difficult for elementary and middle school students, and many educators teaching "IT" are not even aware of the richness of the topic. CS Unplugged methods have been used successfully with students of a wide range of ages. In this paper, we analyze the structure of CS Unplugged activities to identify the elements that make them work well. Based on the analysis, we propose a design pattern which will be useful as a guideline for developing new activities, and to revise existing ones. We also describe our experience developing original teaching material, using the pattern as a benchmark for evaluation.