[Haskell & FP in Education] Welcome and introductions

[Nick Bathum]

Greetings everyone,

I'm Nick Bathum. These days I work as a software developer and do some
volunteering for the VEX robotics community in northern Michigan. I'm an
action oriented person, and I am here to connect with educators, and
especially those with an interest in mathematics or functional programming
enthusiasts. I also have to say that as a person currently far outside of
academia, I am looking forward to hearing perspectives from folks who are
closer to that world.

I'm currently endeavoring to become connected with the teachers in my area
who are teaching the new "STEM" or computer science classes that our K-12
schools in the region have recently adopted. My intent is to see what sorts
of issues they are struggling with and if there is an opportunity where I
can plug in and assist them.


So what is the motivation or reason for introducing CS as a new curriculum
in K-12 programs? I'd like to share some of my thoughts on that matter, not
to provide an answer, but to get some feedback.


The K-12 mathematics curriculum in the USA seems to be very structured and
established, especially since the adoption of the common core initiative. I
know not all states have adopted the core mathematics -or any of the core-
standards, but at least where I live this is true.

At the same time schools have begun offering extracurricular programs like
robotics or hiring new teachers and offering regular classes under the STEM
banner such as AP Computer Science. These new course offerings seem to be
less structured, sometimes logistically complicated -- like teaching 4
different sets of course content to one "class", and overall the teachers
of these courses seem to have less support in terms of community and
teaching tools.

My aim is to connect with a local teacher, learn from them and help them
any way I am able, and additionally pursue a larger goal of exploring how
to help reinforce the mathematics curriculum rather than take away from it.

In terms of FP in education, my sense is that both functional and
declarative languages would seem to be the most aligned with mathematics,
conceptually and linguistically. However it seems the exception that
computer programming courses begin with that content rather than the most
used or popular language du jour.

I also see some of Johannes points, and agree that simply exploring
mathematics without a computer would perhaps be most effective way for
students to learn mathematics. My thought is that if schools are going to
introduce new computer programming classes, can we find ways for these
classes to become companions to the existing classes and attach to the
existing bodies of knowledge?


Regards,
-Nick

On Sat, Dec 15, 2018 at 5:20 PM Chris Smith <cdsmith at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello, everyone!  Welcome to education at haskell.org.
>
> This mailing list grew out of discussions at ICFP 2018 about creating a
> space for collaboration and discussion of using Haskell and other
> functional programming languages in general education.  To jump-start that
> process, I'd like to invite everyone to introduce themselves and
> specifically share your goals, opportunities, vantage point, and
> interests.  The hope is that we'll be able to sort ourselves into
> compatible interests and ideas, to kick off more detailed discussion or
> collaborations.
>
> Some suggested questions to spur discussion:
>
> - What education-related projects are you involved in, or have you been
> involved in previously?
> - What other projects do you find exciting, intriguing, or worthy of
> emulation?
> - On the other hand, what projects or conversations should be happening,
> but are not happening yet?
> - Is there anything specific that you are definitely looking for from this
> space?
> - What vision do you have for functional programming in education?  That
> is, what general principles guide your thinking?
>
> I will reply with my own answers, and encourage you to do the same.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
> P.S. I realize this email is long past due.  Between my job as a software
> engineer, volunteer teaching, and recent development on CodeWorld, I have
> again fallen into the trap of over-committing myself and falling behind on
> outside commitments.  I hope that late is still better than never.
> _______________________________________________
> Education mailing list
> Education at haskell.org
> https://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/education
>


-- 

Regards,
-NB
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