Use of ALICE programming language to aid reading comprehension and to introduce computer science skills in elementary school students
Mercedes Rodríguez López, Cra-Dmp Intern · 2007
Use of ALICE programming language to aid reading comprehension and to introduce computer science skills in elementary school students Mercedes R. Lopez CRA-DMP Intern, Summer 2007 Department of Computer Science, Duke University Introduction The demand for computer scientists is growing much more rapidly than schools are producing qualified candidates to fill the growing industrial need. Interest in computer science as a major is declining among incoming students nationwide; the percentage of college freshmen that listed computer science as their most likely major dropped 70 percent from 2000 to 2004. 1 The statistics regarding females are even more staggering. Although there are more females than males enrolled in colleges, only 28 percent of bachelor degrees in computer science are awarded to females. 1 Many studies have indicated that most students who drop the major, do so during the freshman year, and that the number of students remaining in the major decreases drastically with every successive year in college. 2 The demand for computer scientists will continue to be a problem until the causes for the decline in student interest have been addressed. Causes for the decline in the number of students graduating with computer science degrees have been attributed to a number of factors, such as students entering the major without previous programming experience. 3,4