Page 11 - Getting the Picture Modeling and Simulation in Secondary Computer Science Education

Preface
As a beginning computer science (CS) teacher in secondary school, I had a vague notion that familiarity with computer science was going to be important for my students because it was going to somehow empower them, and fun to do anyway. During the two decades since, computer science, its impact on all aspects of our lives, and, ultimately, my thinking about the goals and aims of teaching computer sciences evolved drastically.
Throughout my career as a computer science teacher in secondary education, my primary drive has always been to provide my students with knowledge, skills and a curious mindset which would be useful to them for the rest of their lives. I find teaching modeling and simulation to be perfectly aligned with this goal.
In this thesis, I describe my journey to explore pedagogical aspects of teaching modeling and simulation within the elective Computer Science course in the upper grades of secondary education in the Netherlands.