WPI program part of White House computer science initiative

WPI Kathi Fisler, WPI computer science professor and Bootstrap co-founder

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By Sam Bonacci

Bootstrap, a program developed by faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Brown University, will be part of a new White House initiative to enhance access to computer science education across the country.

The White House has announced a major nationwide effort to bring computer science education to all students across the country, noting that computer science skills are considered "a new basic skill necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility," according to the release. A computer science curriculum developed in part by faculty at WPI and Brown University will play a role in the Science for All Initiative, as it is called.

Bootstrap is a middle and high school curriculum in which students learn key concepts in computer programming and algebra in the process of creating their own video games. Bootstrap creators are also using the program to help train math teachers in computer science education.

"Bootstrap harnesses kids' love of video games and uses it to teach not only critical computer coding skills, but key concepts in algebra as well," Shriram Krishnamurthi, a computer science professor at Brown and one of Bootstrap’s principal developers, said in a statement. "The skills that students learn are surprisingly sophisticated: not only basic programming but also event-driven programming, testing, participating in code reviews, and more. These are usually thought of as skills acquired in the workplace, but we're teaching them to middle and high schoolers."

In support of the White House initiative, Bootstrap will partner with two other computer science education programs, Exploring Computer Science (ECS) and CS:Principles, to prepare an additional 300 middle and high school educators to use Bootstrap and other computer science curricula.

The work is of critical importance, according to WPI, as implementing computer science courses in schools poses a significant challenge: Few middle schools and high schools have computer science teachers on staff, and few states offer teacher certification in the area.