Authors:
Pia Niemelä
1
and
Antti Valmari
2
Affiliations:
1
Tampere University of Technology, Finland
;
2
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Keyword(s):
K-12 Computer Science Education, Computing in Math Syllabus, Digital Skills Gap, Professional Development of Software Professionals, Effectiveness of Education, Continuous vs. Discrete Math.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Computer-Supported Education
;
Course Design and e-Learning Curriculae
;
Domain Applications and Case Studies
;
Educating the Educators
;
e-Learning
;
Higher Order Thinking Skills
;
Instructional Design
;
Intelligent Learning and Teaching Systems
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Lifelong Learning: Continuing Professional Training & Development
;
Social Context and Learning Environments
Abstract:
All-encompassing digitalization and the digital skills gap pressure the current school system to change. Accordingly, to "digi-jump", the Finnish National Curriculum 2014 (FNC-2014) adds programming to K-12 math. However, we claim that the anticipated addition remains too vague and subtle. Instead, we should take into account education recommendations set by computer science organizations, such as ACM, and define clear learning targets for programming. Correspondingly, the whole math syllabus should be critically viewed in the light of these changes and the feedback collected from SW professionals and educators. These findings reveal an imbalance between supply and demand, i.e., what is over-taught versus under-taught, from the point of view of professional requirements. Critics claim an unnecessary surplus of calculus and differential equations, i.e., continuous mathematics. In contrast, the emphasis should shift more towards algorithms and data structures, flexibility in handling m
ultiple data representations, logic; in summary -- discrete mathematics.
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