The course has been designed to prepare students for the demands of the IBDP in a number of ways.
One of the key developmental areas of the Computing & Digital Literacy FIB course is to build a more robust segue for those students who wish to study Computer Science at Standard Level or Higher Level. In another, it is designed to prepare all students, regardless of the suite of subjects they choose to study. As such, the course comes in various, related, flavours:
Strand 1
- Computational Thinking
- Problem-Solving
Strand 2
- Communication
- Data Analysis
- Digital Literacy
Course content
All students will develop their understanding and competencies in:
Strand 1
- Computational Thinking
- Pattern Recognition is the ability to identify - and to exploit - recurring patterns in solving problems more efficiently. Students will begin to develop the ability to recognise recurring patterns in problems, if they exist.
- Algorithm Design is used to define how a problem can be solved. In some cases, students will use Pseudo Code as a tool for designing algorithms; in other cases, they will use Flowcharts as a tool for designing algorithms.
- Decomposition is the process of organising problems into smaller, connected, solvable parts. Students will come to learn, quickly, why big problems are difficult to solve in one go. Students will also develop techniques for identifying the parts of a problem.
- Abstraction is defining a model of the problem that will be solved. Students will learn to identify the important parts of a problem; and to identify and recognise other aspects of a problem that are not important enough to solve.
- Problem-solving
- Students will use Computational Thinking to solve problems. They will also solve problems in a High Level Language.
Strand 2
- Communication
- regardless of whether a student has an interest in studying Computer Science next year, another key area is to develop a thoughtful and critical approach to communication. Communication takes many forms and, in preparing FIB students for the Diploma, the course helps students compare, contrast and evaluate communication strategies; as well as developing a much broader and deeper skill-set in various tools.
- Data Analysis
- as part of the Diploma, IB students often need to collect, analyse and evaluate data. To support this, we aim to develop in students a more sophisticated understanding of what it means to ‘analyse data’ and in the various approaches that data analysis can take.
- Digital Literacy
- underpinning this course, there is an on-going emphasis and development of digital organisation. More than simply ‘making folders’, students will draw upon a range of tools to help them manage their commitment to work, schedules and people.
Skills developed
Communication could be confused with ‘learn MS Word’. It is important to note that, while the use of word-processing tools, spreadsheets and other applications do form part of this course, it is not a course in MS Office or Google Suite. By the end of this part of the course, students should feel more confident and more prepared to meet the demands of all their Diploma subjects, as it relates to communicating information and analysing data.
Also, while problem-solving and programming are essential elements of Computer Science, the course does not intend to explore theoretical aspects of the discipline. The aim of this part of the course is to develop students’ ability to identify, organise and solve problems. By doing this, they will learn and use a range of problem-solving and programming tools and techniques, both formal and informal.
Assessment
As a principle, assessment is on-going: observation, questioning, board work, activities, portfolios and projects. In some cases, formal assessments are also taken. In all cases, assessments are used to help students identify gaps in their knowledge, application or skills. By identifying these, students can reflect, more intelligently, about the processes they use to learn; and about the effectiveness of these processes.