alice-teacher Help! Alice being replaced by Python in my intro classes

[Art Lopez]

Hello Carlos and all,

My name is Art Lopez and I serve on the Board of Directors for the Computer
Science Teachers Association as the 9 - 12 representative. I am involved
with CS for All and advocate for Equity Access and broadening participation
of underserved and underrepresented groups (women, diversity or children of
color, and other groups) in computer science. I think this is a really
great topic of discussion for this list-serve, and appreciate the
contributions from everyone on this thread.

Dr. Jeff Gray of the University of Alabama and his colleagues, including
co-author Caitlin Kelleher, had written a paper in Communications of the
ACM ( Association of Computing Machinery) about the benefits and
opportunities for using block languages for teaching students about
programming and computer science; there is also a video provided by
co-author Caitlin Kelleher.

   - Video: http://bit.ly/cacm-2017
   - Paper (full text):
   https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2017/6/217743-learnable-programming/fulltext
   <http://bit.ly/cacm-2017>

Carlos, I have used this article and video to demonstrate to many
administrators and district leaders that for students who have little or no
experience (or even very experienced) and are exposed to programming for
the first time can avoid the typical struggles with and frustration of
learning syntax of programming languages such as Python or Java.

I have been using Alice for years teaching AP Computer Science Principles
for many years, and many of the students that are taking this introductory
computer science course are learning about programming and computer science
for the first time. Many of the students get engaged because learning to
program with Alice is fun and allows them to be creative. It engages the
students and many become interested in continuing to take computer science
courses such as AP CS A, which for me is the benchmark of success.

The following is anecdotal, but many of the students that first took the AP
CSP course with Alice have told me that they struggle less and are much
less frustrated with learning and understanding Java as compared to
students who are taking AP CS A without first taking the AP CSP course with
Alice. I also have had discussions with other AP CSP teachers as I also am
a College Board APSI instructor for AP CSP; those teachers that teach with
block languages first, such as Mobile CSP with App Inventor, the Beauty and
Joy of Computing with SNAP!, Code.org App lab, Scratch, Pencilcode.net, and
other block languages report similar feedback from students that progress
from AP CS Principles to AP CS A.

I also have some colleagues that first start with block languages, then
migrate into text based or syntax-based languages such as Python teaching
AP CSP; Alilce 3 is also an example of being able to go back and forth from
blocks to syntax in Java, which some of my colleagues also use.

Carlos, I hope that you would be able to use the paper and video to explain
why it would benefit students with little or no experience in programming
to first start with block languages; then, as they enjoy the creativity and
gain confidence in their programming and logic skills, introduce them to
syntax-based languages; this has been especially true for the underserved
and underrepresented groups in computer science that I teach.

If you have any questions about this, please let me know.

Thanks a lot and wishing you and everyone the best on this thread.

Art Lopez

On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 9:55 AM Barnum, William via alice-teachers <
alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:

> Carlos,
>
> I'm actually much better at argument than programming, so this is my kind
> of question. 😃
>
> My guess is your administrator, like most administrators probably doesn't
> know much about programming.Probably someone convinced him/her that Python
> is more "real-world."
>
> I would encourage you to ask probing questions to understand his/her
> thought process and engage him/her in a problem-solving exercise.
>
> 1. Why Python as opposed to many other languages? What other languages
> should we consider, and how should we evaluate them?
> 2. In our introductory class, do you think the language-specific syntax is
> more important, or would you like us to focus on underlying programming
> concepts?
> 3. How important is student engagement in the introductory course?
> 4. How important are accessibility of curriculum and student diversity in
> the introductory course?
> 5. What disadvantages might there be in switching to a Python curriculum
> for Intro?
> 6. Are there other places in our course progression where Python might fit
> fell?
>
> I'd recommend doing mainly listening during the first meeting and
> schedule a follow-up appointment after you've learned his/her preferences
> and had a chance to do some research.
>
> If you'd like to talk off-list, feel free to send me an e-mail.
>
> Bill Barnum
> Computer Science Teacher
> York Community High School
>
> On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 9:07 AM Carlos Bovell <cbovell at nburlington.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Somebody has convinced my administrator that we should really be using
>> Python in our intro courses. I could use some reasons why Alice makes a
>> great alternative. Any and all arguments would be welcome!
>>
>> Carlos Bovell
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