Page 58 - Getting the Picture Modeling and Simulation in Secondary Computer Science Education

Chapter 2
2.3.2.3 Lorentz Workshop
At the same time when The Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development
inquiry took place in 2013, but independently of it, a number of leading Dutch scholars proposed to organize a Lorentz Workshop.17 By the time the workshop took place in September 2014, the committee for the reform of the CS curriculum had already been appointed.
The aim and goal of the Lorentz workshop were described as follows: “secondary education on CS and digital literacy urgently needs thorough improvement. The workshop intends to develop a contemporary design for the discipline, following and learning from similar efforts in other countries.” The attendees were international experts from Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, UK and USA and Dutch computer scientists, teachers, education specialists, students and policy makers. During the five-day workshop, the international experts presented their country reports and various topics were discussed in focus groups:
• Definition: what comprises an ideal curriculum for a “digital literacy” course in the lower grades of secondary education and an “CS” course in the upper grades;
• Sustainability: how to make “the curriculum sustainable in a rapidly developing field”;
• Concepts and contexts: context-based teaching approach similar to the one adopted for other science subjects;
• Diversity: catering to the needs of students with different educational backgrounds and interests;
• Integration with other subjects in secondary education;
• Teacher training (Center for Scientific Workshops in All Disciplines
- Computing in Secondary Education, 2014).
On the final day, the results of the workshop were presented and discussed in
a meeting with a representative of the Ministry of Economic affairs, a member of parliament specialized in education, a representative of the Dutch CS teacher association,18 representatives from higher professional education and universities, a CEO from industry and the chairman of the KNAW committee who authored the KNAW report (2012).
17 “The Lorentz Center is an international center that coordinates and hosts workshops in the sciences, based on the philosophy that science thrives on interaction between creative researchers.” http://www.lorentzcenter.nl/aim.php
18 http://ieni.org
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