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Computer Science Reshapes Curriculum Design as Coding and Programming are Threaded across Disciplines

From Bee-Bots programming and Robotics electives in the Lower School to coding classes and a growing Robotics curriculum in the Middle and Upper Schools, Ranney’s Computer Science programs are evolving and growing at an exceptional rate.
 
Starting as young as Pre-Kindergarten, Ranney students are using technology across their curriculum with SMARTTables, iPad apps and Bee-Bots (see video), as well as coding programs, such as Scratch Jr. and RobotC. Combining math skills like measurement and basic calculation with strategy, visual-motor integration and teamwork, they are learning the foundations for computer programming – skills they can take with them into the fourth and upper grades, when technology courses at Ranney begin to focus on coding through VEX/VEX IQ robotics and computer electives. 
 
In fact, enrollment in computer science courses in Ranney’s Upper School has grown steadily over the past 4 years, from less than 20 students to more than 80. In addition to our current offerings – introductory programming, AP Computer Science A, and AP Computer Science Principles – courses  are being added in web design and app development. Ranney students (and even our Head of School Dr. Griffith) also participate annually in the national Hour of Code.
 
With three computer science teachers on the faculty and a new hire joining the community in September 2016, the school is formalizing a Computer Science Department that will begin to reinforce the importance of coding and programming skills for strong computer literacy. While computer science classes have been part of the curriculum for years as a special subject and an elective, the expansion of computer science in 2016 speaks to the importance of curriculum at Ranney School not just for computer literacy, but also as a subject that integrates across the entire curriculum to support skills in math, science, physics, visual arts, robotics and overall design concepts being taught throughout the school.  “The growth that we have had in these areas, combined with high levels of student interest and cross-disciplinary integration have called for a Computer Science Department of its own,” explains Patricia Marshall, Assistant Head of School for Academics.

Computer Science is just one of many tech-based fields that Ranney graduates will face when they enter college and the workforce. For example, according to Cathy Davidson’s book “Now You See It,” 65% of students entering elementary school today will end up doing jobs that do not currently exist.

“Programming and coding are no longer skills needed only for engineers, but for nearly every profession familiar to us as well as emerging professions,” adds Upper School Division Head Katie Gibson. “Having computer science skills will be similar to having the ability to understand and speak a world language, providing advantages in business, marketing, engineering, teaching, art and design, research and medicine, to name a few.”

Take art, for example. Ranney AP Computer Science Principles course students are using coding in an interdisciplinary way in their classroom. They have generated the art scenes shown herein using JavaScript. “While the images may look rather primitive, these scenes are based on very sophisticated programming language,” says Upper School Computer Science Teacher and advisor of Ranney’s award-winning Robotics Program Chiara Shah.
 
Designed by the College Board, the course’s curriculum encourages collaboration and creativity. Students work in groups of four and each member writes a code for a different piece of the scene. The pieces are then assembled to create the completed work. “This is an example of what happens in large software companies, where programmers write pieces of code that must work together,” explains Mrs. Shah.
 
The BEACH scene, compiled by Olivia Eaddy (who started Ranney’s Girls Who Code chapter this year), Jason Wu, Asher Kraut and Nicole Rasmussen (who recently helped lead a Girl Scouts Robotics workshop on campus), contains nearly 300 lines of code and the SPONGEBOB scene, created by Andrew Denton, Grace Economou, Ashton Clancy and Sarah Awad, has more than 500 lines of code. Each work includes an element of randomness, so that certain pieces of the scene change each time the code is run. For instance, in the BEACH piece, the whale may have a blue mouth one time and a pink mouth the next. In the PARK scene, written by Chris Weiland, Ryan Pelman, Jacob Greller and Jon Kelly, a boolean variable takes on a random value of either 1 or 0. When it is set to 1, a daytime scene is generated, and when it is set to 0, a nighttime scene is drawn. The trees, the path, and the pond also appear in random locations. “Senior Grace Economou spent days figuring out the mathematical equations and curve angles for drawing the curvy flowers that randomly pop up in the background,” says Mrs. Shah.
 
Computer-generated art is just one example of how Ranney students are—and will be—using computer science in their everyday classrooms. “Ranney School has always been a leader in technology, especially in making sure teachers and students have the resources and tools they need to advance teaching and learning,” says Mrs. Marshall. “The launching of the Computer Science Department takes our program to the next level across all disciplines. We are giving our students the skills they need to design new ideas founded in classic subjects. Looking ahead, ‘computer science’ will not be a standalone department, but rather, a curriculum domain for all teachers to thread through their instruction and assessment.” 
 
 
 
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.