Using Arts and Crafts to teach Computer Science at the YMCA After-School Program

Dejene, Metasebia Awlachew; Figueroa, Matthew Tyler; Jariwala, Neer Manish

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Using Arts and Crafts to teach Computer Science at the YMCA After-School Program Public

Computer Science (CS) is a popular, flourishing field. To prepare young students, CS is now being taught in middle school. Our team created a curriculum that delivers CS education using arts and crafts. We crafted a multi-week program that taught CS concepts including pseudo code, debugging, functions, and algorithms using art activities involving navigating a maze and drawing pixel art. We piloted the curriculum with 6th/7th graders at a YMCA after-school program, where we observed the students’ perspective, interest, and knowledge of CS. After the pilot program, we analyzed the results to measure the curriculum’s effectiveness and found the students better understood CS. The project resulted in a curriculum and set of recommendations for future groups conducting similar projects.

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