USING MODEL-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING EDUCATION

Hong P. Liu and Sirani M. Perera,

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32114, USA
Jerry W. Klein,
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY,13244, USA

Abstract
Digital technology in the 21st century is characterized by omnipresent smart devices and
ubiquitous computing that enable computation to occur almost anytime and anywhere. This
contributes to increased complexity, rapidly changing technologies, and big data challenges to
professionals in almost every disciplinary field. In this environment, computational thinking (CT)
becomes a fundamental skill to empower the next generation of the American workforce.
Consequently, CT education across all disciplines and grade levels is being advocated by academic
institutions, governmental agencies, and private industrial corporations. However, existing
academic programs in K-12 schools and small teaching universities are inadequately structured to
prepare students with the needed computational thinking skills and knowledge. In addition, there
is a scarcity of research on learning CT to guide the development of CT curriculum and
instructional practices across all grade levels. To mitigate this problem, we propose several model-
based learning programs that the authors have been exploring since 2012 to promote active
learning of CT for students of different age groups. Most of the programs were designed to exploit
out-of-school time education and hands-on team research projects to advance CT education from
K6 to K16 students. Under the CT context, the proposed and existing programs emphasize
cultivating student problem-solving ability through problem-based learning (PBL) in which
students learn computational thinking by completing team projects. We also illustrate how small
universities and K-12 schools can cost-effectively offer CT education by forming coalitions,
leveraging emerging cyberlearning technology, and sharing educational resources.
Keywords

Informal Learning, Learning-on-Demand, Deep Learning Assessment, Model-based Learning, and

Problem-Based Learning.

USING MODEL-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING EDUCATION

1. Introduction
Four years after Wing’s influential short paper about Computational Thinking (CT) Cuny, Snyder,
& Wing, (2010) offered the following definition of CT:
“Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating problems and
expressing its solution as transformations to information that an agent can effectively carry
out”.

By its definition, computational thinking involves multiple disciplinary fields including computer
science, mathematics, and various application disciplines. Currently, relatively few K-12 teachers
have such multidisciplinary knowledge which seriously delays the spread of CT education.
However, it is not only secondary schools that lack the resources and qualified teachers to provide
CT learning opportunities, most small teaching universities are also inadequately structured to
prepare students with the needed computational thinking skills and knowledge. This chapter
illustrates how small universities and K-12 schools can cost-effectively offer CT education by
forming coalitions and leveraging emerging cyberlearning technology. Reforming in-school K12
CT education takes too long to effectuate, and consequently, we argue that first implementing CT
in out-of-school time education can provide an efficient path for implementing CT K12 education
(Liu & Klein 2013) and the K12 programs we explore in this chapter were designed to exploit out-
of-school settings. This strategy is similar to corporations that have research and development
organizations creating next-generation products, after-school programs can be used to develop and
refine CT programs and then migrate them into the in-school curriculum as either new courses or
by integrating lessons and learning activities into the existing mathematics and science courses
such as algebra and chemistry courses.
To promote active learning of CT for students of different age groups and diversified academic
backgrounds such as different majors and experiences, we propose several model-based learning
programs that emphasize cultivating student problem-solving ability through problem-based
learning (PBL). Mathematical modeling plays a central role in helping students abstract and
formulates complex real-world problems. In our programs, an R&D process was used to provide
a coherent framework for designing instruction and assessing learning in which the instructional
and assessment methods were aligned with a common idea: Model-based learning and reasoning.
To be more specific, we use the term model-based learning to refer to learning from models,
learning with models, and learning by modeling (Spector 2009). On the other hand, model-based
reasoning is associated with the mental models that constitute the fundamental basis for qualitative
reasoning (Johnson-Laird, 1983). Seel and Blumschein 2009 note that model-based reasoning occurs
when an individual mentally manipulates an environment in order to simulate (in the sense of a
thought experiment) specific transformations of the system which may occur in real-life situations.
In our model-based learning programs, conceptual modeling is emphasized to precede
mathematical modeling because it provides the traceability of the underlying assumptions of the
mathematics models, and hence facilitates model validation(Liu and Raghavan, 2009).In addition,
conceptual modeling is essential for model-based learning assessment because it helps the observer
know how learners approach a problem and provide an external representation of their mental
models (Seel and Blumschein 2009).
Besides this introduction, the rest of the chapter is organized as follows: The next section discusses
what to teach and how to teach in order to facilitate CT learning. The section also surveys prior
funded CT programs for secondary and postsecondary schools. Section 3 describes two projects
to promote CT for undergraduates. Section 4 discusses methods for developing CT in middle
schools within the context of programming and creating simulations. Section 5 presents future
work in providing CT programs in local secondary schools as well as colleges. In section 6, we
conclude the chapter with our vision of the next steps for implementing CT education by
employing emerging educational technologies.

2. What to Teach, How to Teach, and Relevant CT Programs

The report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Prepare and
Inspire: K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education for America’s
Future (2010, p.46) proposed a definition of K-12 STEM education that includes computer
science, and states that students need

“a deeper understanding of the essential concepts, methods, and wide-ranging applications

of computer science, students should gain hands-on exposure to the process of algorithmic
thinking and its realization in the form of a computer program, to the use of computational
techniques for real-world problem solving, and to such pervasive computational themes as
modeling and abstraction, modularity and reusability, computational efficiency, testing and
debugging, and the management of complexity. Where feasible, active learning, higher-level
thinking, and creative design should be encouraged by situating new concepts and techniques
within the context of applications of particular interest to a given student or project team.”

Critical thinking, analytical thinking, and problem-solving are consistently ranked in the top list
of the 21st-century cognitive skills needed to tackle the challenges of increasingly complex
technology and big data (Finegold & Notabartolo, 2011, Liu, Ludu, and Holton 2015). As the
crucial problem-solving skills for the next generation of the workforce, students need to learn how
to leverage computing resources, how to abstract the relevant problems in mathematics formalism,
and how to make sense of data. Wing (2006) summarized that the two cornerstones of CT abilities
are abstraction and automation. Abstraction depends on the mathematical modeling ability to
conceptualize a problem, reduce its complexity by vetting the nonessential factors, and breaking
it down into manageable smaller problems. Automation depends on the engineering ability to
formulate tasks that the computer or smart devices can execute.

It is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss computational skills for specific STEM domains
such as Computational Biology, Physics, etc., and we limit our discussion to generic skills such as
mathematical modeling for problem abstraction and the engineering principles for task automation.
In order to address “how to teach”, we focus on out-school-time learning and project-based
learning. Our literature review and survey of prior funded CT projects will be limited to the most
relevant programs from a computational mathematics perspective and their corresponding learning
platforms.

2.1.What Can We Teach to Enhance Computational Thinking Abilities of Students?

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) workshop on modeling across the
curriculum II made the following two recommendations to math teachers and STEM education
policymakers (Turner Levy, & Fowler 2015): (1) Build a pipeline for K-16 education in
mathematical modeling and (2) connect math to reality. Levy (TPSE, 2015) summarized one of
three major SIAM educational initiatives as:
“The Modeling Across the Curriculum was built around the idea that modeling can build
many job skills students need and can be an important educational tool at not only the
secondary and undergraduate levels but throughout the educational experience”.
The Applied Mathematics Education Activity Group of SIAM is the task force advocating
Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) education which is an emerging multidisciplinary
field of study that focuses on the integration of knowledge and methodologies from computer
science, applied mathematics, engineering, and science to solve real-world problems. CSE
provides the critical mathematical modeling skills and data analytical skills that apply to all STEM
fields. Therefore, Turner & Petzold, (2011) advocate that CSE courses and curricula should be a
viable option for every undergraduate STEM major. A careful inspection of the definitions of CT
and CSE shows that CSE contains the essential knowledge and skills for helping learners develop
CT thought process and problem-solving abilities (e.g. abstraction and automation) and that the
essential difference between CT and CSE is one of perspective: CT looks at the overarching
thought process and problem-solving ability while CSE focuses on computational methods and
relevant domain-specific knowledge. Our goal is to equip students with the CSE skills that will
enable them to solve open-ended science, engineering, and technical problems which in turn
enhances their CT ability.

2.2. How to Teach Computational Thinking

CT programs have mushroomed since Wing promoted the concept of computational thinking in
2006 (NRC 2010). However, according to a report by the National Research Council (NRC, 2011c,
p.4), there is a scarcity of research informing how to teach computational thinking in the early
grades, and computer science is often taught without consideration of age-appropriate learning.
Consequently, we will rely on generalizing from successful instructional programs and learning
activities from closely related and similar subjects such as Algebra and Calculus. We briefly
review the history of mathematical education reform which provides insights into teaching
methods for developing CT.
Edmund F. Robertson (1968) quoted the following message from the biography of Richard
Hamming:

“We live in an age of exponential growth in knowledge, and it is increasingly futile to teach
only polished theorems and proofs. We must abandon the guided tour through the art gallery
of mathematics, and instead, teach how to create the mathematics we need. In my opinion,
there is no long-term practical alternative.

The way mathematics is currently taught is exceedingly dull. In the calculus book, we are
currently using on my campus, I found no single problem whose answer I felt the student
would care about! The problems in the text have the dignity of solving a crossword puzzle –
hard to be sure, but the result is of no significance in life.”
The essential problem is that our Mathematics curricula condense too many assumed indispensable
concepts, which were developed over three centuries, into a course of three semesters. However,
30 years of college mathematical education reform, have resulted in new instructional practices
such as Project-Based Learning (PBL), Rule of Three which includes graphs, analysis, and
numerical representation (Schoenfeld 1995), inquiry-based interactive teaching (Eseryel & Law
2012), and learning management practices such as the flipped class (McGivney-Burrelle & FeiXue
2013) have become popular in research and development grants. In practice, however, most
mathematics teachers still use the least common denominator approach defined by Schoenfeld
(1995): lecturing and assigning homework which results in dull and meaningless instruction.
However, the approach is still popular because it is the most efficient way to cover information
(FeiXue, 2013) and the easiest way to manage learning (Schoenfeld, 1995). We are not suggesting
that this method should be replaced. But it needs to and can be improved. For example, we can use
query-based teaching to enhance interactive learning within the context of the traditional setting
(Eseryel & Law 2012, Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006). Generally, PBL and other instructional
schemes are being employed within the context of the traditional classroom and are slowly but
steadily gaining ground in mathematics education. However, given the slow pace of reform, we
are convinced that the best way to improve K12 CT instruction is through out-of-school time
education (Liu and Klein, 2013). At the college level, CT can be improved by (a) forming
coalitions such as networked improvement communities (Carnegie Foundation, 2016) and
coalitions for undergraduate CSE education and (b) providing research and development projects.
These two approaches for creating and deploying computational thinking instruction are
exemplified in the next two sections.

3. Promoting Computational Thinking at ERAU

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) has been offering a B.S in Computational
Mathematics since 2008 and in order to provide CSE courses and learning experiences for students
pursuing various majors (e.g. engineering, meteorology), the mathematics department initiated two
projects: The Coalition for Undergraduate CSE Education and the Eco-Dolphin Project.

3.1 Coalition for Undergraduate CSE Education

Because of low enrolment, most small universities cannot cost-justify providing undergraduate
CSE courses. Consequently, in order to offer CSE courses within the justifiable costs, ERAU
initiated an NSF-sponsored project in 2013 to create a cluster of collaborating institutions that
combined students into common classes and used cyberlearning technologies to deliver and
manage instruction.

The project resulted in the establishment of a coalition among ERAU’s Daytona Beach and
Prescott Arizona Campuses and Adams State University (ASU) in Colorado. A faculty member
from each of the colleges took turns developing, reviewing and teaching courses. Two courses in
Mathematical Modeling & Simulation and a course in Data Mining and Visualization were
developed and offered twice. More than a hundred students completed the CSE courses which
were otherwise unavailable at any of the campuses. The courses were taught by a professor in the
classroom at one location and students in the other two universities attended class in a classroom
using live two-way communications. In addition, the professor at the distant campus sat in on the
class which greatly reduced student anxiety about taking a course from an unknown teacher. In
addition, three summer research workshops were offered to 18 students from 2013-2015. The
project also contributed Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and multimedia course materials
for all three courses which are available at www.gps2dreamcollege.com.
The R&D process employed in this project provides a coherent framework for designing
instruction and assessing learning in which all the processes and methods are aligned with a
common idea: Model-based learning and reasoning. The learning goals are aligned with the three
CSE learning goals set by the SIAM Working Group for CSE Undergraduate Education. These
goals essentially advocate reasoning from first principles and learning to generate mathematical
models. This alignment is consistent with recommendations by Sabelli (2008) that STEM
education should focus on a small set of models and avoid the “inch deep, mile wide” problem in
designing instructional programs. For example, in order to help the students, gain a deep
understanding of the critical concepts of eigenvalue and eigenvector, the concept is taught in three
modules spirally with increasing depths and complex contexts. In the first module, the concept
occurs in a very intuitive and natural way as the stable long-term population of the Leslie
population model. In, the second module, it is defined formally using matrix algebra, and the
concept is applied in solving the Google Page Ranking problem (Bryan and Leise, 2006). In the
third module, the same concept is taught to solve linear ordinary differential equation systems and
to visually explain the stability of the system of equations.

In order to further reinforce deep learning and facilitate learning assessment, research experiences
were integrated into the three courses using a process called ACE (Analysis, Computation, and
Experimentation). This research and development process was used to provide a coherent
framework for designing instruction and assessing learning. Course design centered on model-
based learning which proposes that students learn complex content by elaborating on their mental
model and class projects required students to develop a conceptual model, generate a mathematical
model, and conduct experiments to validate and revise their conceptual and mathematical models.
All courses included mandatory team research projects and the students had the option to
participate in a two-week summer research workshop. Student projects in the Mathematical
Modeling & Simulation course focused on mathematical models and computer-aided simulation.
Data Mining and Visualization course projects focused on applying data mining to analyze large
data sets and render prediction models. The summer projects extended the projects conducted
during courses and produced peer-reviewed publications. For example, five students at ASU
completed a team project using Stella to model and simulate a landing system of small spacecraft
when they took the Mathematical Modeling & Simulation course. They then constructed a payload
gear for a weather balloon and tested it at the Wave Motion Lab of Daytona Beach Campus. The
team successfully used their experimental data to validate their computational models. Based on
the course projects and the summer research project, four articles coauthored by students were
published and five student-coauthored papers were presented at technical conferences.
A software tool called HIMATT was used for deep learning assessment by evaluating how students
think through and model complex, ill-defined, and ill-structured realistic problems (Pirnay-
Dummer, Ifenthaler, & Spector2010). Traditional learning assessments (e.g. rubrics and quizzes)
and student feedback demonstrated that all three cyberlearning courses achieved the project’s
major goal: fostering student computational skills and developing computational thinking ability.
In the Mathematical Modeling & Simulation I course, students learned how to use the system
engineering modeling methodology and procedures to translate real-world problems into
mathematical models. Students also gained hands-on experience in using software tools such as
MATLAB and STELLA to model and simulate real-world projects with team members. In the
Data Mining & Visualization course, students learned how to use data mining techniques and
software tools such as R, Weka, and MATLAB to conduct research to solve real-world
applications. Research projects included using data mining to predict student retention based on
the records of a cohort of 973 students, classify seagrass and macro algae based on satellite image
data, and adjust real-estate book values based on GIS data and official appraisal data. Results of
the project indicated that the courses were effective and appealed to students majoring in math,
computer science, physics, engineering, and meteorology.

Built on the success of the prior project, we are scaling up the project by adding two more
universities to the coalition and adding four new CSE courses. These courses are a database course
and three domain-specific courses: Problems in Atmosphere and Hydrosphere, Computational
Biology, and Genomics and Bioinformatics. For all courses, we will use a similar framework for
deriving and organizing content. This framework is illustrated in Table 1 for Mathematical
Modeling & Simulation I.
Table 1, Modular Couse Content Layout
Table 1: Modular Structure of Course Content for Mathematical Modeling and Simulation
Module 1
Module 2 Module 3 Module N
Matrix
Content Matrix Calculus Methodology Dynamic System
Algebra
Jacobian and Model Linear and nonlinear
Linear
Hessian Matrix, Classifications ODE Systems, Eigen
Topic Transform
Multivariate Modeling Process Method to Solve
Eigenvector
Objective Approximation, and Methodology Linear System ODE
s, Single
Regression, Least Conceptual Vector Field and
Value
Squares Models Phase
 Population Curve Fitting, State Diagram of Dynamic System of
Geometry, Linear and nonlinear Traffic Light Interactive Population
GPS optimization, State Model of Models, Disease
Prototype Coordinate Simplex Method Cruise Control Spread Model,
Transform, Kalman Filter for Matrix Robotic Navigation
Problems Google GPS Computation, Representation of Control Dynamics
Page State transitions
Ranking
Tools OPCAT,
MATLAB MATLAB STELLA
STELLA

3.2. Eco-Dolphin Project

The mathematics department of ERAU hosts two hands-on research labs, the Wave Motion Lab
and Leverage Robotics Lab. The Wave Motion Lab has 32 ft. long, four feet wide, and six feet tall
wave tanks and computer-controlled wave generators. These two labs facilitate the
experimentation component of our ACE Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program.
Hosted in the Leverage lab and supported by the Wave Lab, the Eco-Dolphin project was co-
sponsored by internal REU grants and industry donations during the past four years as well as a
research grant from an Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). The project is building, maintaining, and
using a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) called Eco-Dolphins to collect coastal
environmental data (Liu & Shi et al. 2015). This project serves as a platform to support hands-on
REU for the SIAM Student Chapter. The various projects will be used to compete for additional
external grants to support the REU program and environmental research.

Since the Eco-Dolphin started in 2012, graduate assistants and undergraduate students from several
academic departments (e.g. engineering, physics) have been involved in conducting research in
the Leverage Lab. The graduate students and faculty from the mathematics department serve as
mentors. As a robotics research project per se, there are numerous challenging problems across a
range STEM domains including mechanical engineering problems, electronic, computer and
software engineering problems, and computational mathematics problems. There are no reference
textbooks or courses for students and mentors to use in designing and constructing such a complex
system. However, there are open source tutorials, how-to videos, and instructions scattered across
the web and the mentors and students use these resources to learn as needed (i.e. learning on
demand) in conducting their projects. We observed that this learning method is most effective and
time efficient compared to traditional course-based instruction which results in “just-in-case”
learning and consequently students do not know where and when the knowledge will be used.
Another benefit of the Eco-Dolphin project is that it provides a platform for solving computational
mathematics problems spanning undergraduate research to a PhD thesis. For example, since a
submerged AUV cannot receive GPS signals, the Eco-Dolphin project uses different positioning
methods from simple triangulation based on acoustic sonars to sophisticated photogrammetric
computation based on dynamical video images. Other computation-intensive research problems
include navigation control problems, which can be as simple as 2D linear control using only
trigonometry to the complex 3D rigid body dynamic control using nonlinear ordinary differential
equation systems. In addition, the project involves image processing and data mining problems
such as classifying seagrass and macro algae from satellite images and identifying marine animals
such as sea turtles, dolphins, and manatees. The Eco-Dolphin project is not only a platform to
facilitate REU programs, but also the fuel to drive computational mathematics research.

1. Middle School Computational Thinking

Middle school students are at the age where they make up their minds on what they can or cannot
do and our primary intention in our projects is to develop computational thinking abilities and
STEM professional identity which can be described as students seeing themselves as an engineer,
mathematician, or some other STEM professional. As discussed in Section 1, computational
thinking involves applying computer science and mathematics in various application disciplines
and there are multiple application domains that can be used to develop computational thinking at
the middle school level including robotics and computer games which are currently very popular.
However, our project has selected modeling and simulation as the target application. We will
develop computational thinking within the context of modeling and simulating environmental
science phenomena because it appeals to both male and female students and environmental science
encapsulates most traditional STEM domains including biology and robotics (students build an
underwater robot with sensors to collect environmental science research data).

Specifically, the authors proposed to create a community-based computational thinking network

designed to develop computational thinking skills, STEM professional identity, persistence, and
proportional reasoning by adapting existing instructional materials. The project will focus on after-
school and out-of-school time middle school programs such as local environmental science
centers.
Introducing Programming
Creating computer programs is one of the most effective ways to develop computational thinking
and one effective tool for introducing students to programming is Data Harvest’s ACE system
(ACE, 2016) which develops the notion of algorithms by enabling students to create flow charts
to control physical devices and observing program execution. An example of a program to control
a traffic light is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Flow Chart View Text View Input/Output (State) View

Graphical Simulation View

The student creates the flow chart by dragging and dropping two predefined elements in the flow
chart: Outputs and Processes. When students execute the program, each step in the process is
highlighted. ACE also provides a text view of the program and a database view of light changing
states. ACE also provides graphical animation showing the traffic light switching between red,
green, and yellow. The student can also attach a small physical traffic light that is controlled by
their computer.

In addition to constructing simple flow charts, students learn programming concepts of

encapsulation and decomposition by creating procedures composed of multiple flow charts. This
is illustrated in Figure 2 for another ACE project in which students create a simulation of a washing
machine. In this project, students create procedures that encapsulate multiple sequences of
processes and outputs specified in a flowchart. Students first create a flowchart for each procedure
and then construct a higher-level flowchart of procedures executed by the computer. In the
example shown below, students create a procedure for the wash cycle, spin cycle, and rinse cycle
and then create a flow chart of procedures.

Figure 2
Levels of Abstraction

Procedures Flowchart of Procedures

Flowcharts for each Procedure

By employing this software, middle school students learn how to construct algorithms in the form
of a flow chart, develop the concept of a database, the notion of loops, and the concepts of
decomposition and encapsulation all of which are core concepts in computational thinking.

Modeling & Simulation

Creating simulations is an effective way to develop mental models and deep learning across the
range of STEM domains (Eseryel & Law, 2012, Furhmann, T., Salehi, S., & Blikstein, P. 2013).
In addition to developing deep learning of STEM content, modeling is a core practice in science
and is included in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The intention of the project is
to develop and implement a curriculum that addresses this standard. More specifically, our primary
learning objective is that students will be able to build causal loop diagrams, agent-based
simulations, and bifocal models of the environmental phenomenon.

CAUSAL LOOP DIAGRAMS: Causal loop diagrams elicit and capture mental models of individuals
about a complex system. They can be used as preliminary sketches of causal hypotheses during
the model development of a complex system and provide a simple illustration to communicate
cause-effect relationships and feedback loops responsible for complex system behavior. A causal
loop diagram consists of arrows denoting the causal links among system components with each
link assigned as having a positive (+) or a negative (-) symbol to indicate the type of effect: direct
or inverse proportional relationship as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3
Glacial Melting Causal Loop Diagram

ICE Case Studies (2013)

AGENT BASED MODELING & SIMULATION: StarLogo is another programming system used in
developing computational thinking in middle school instructional curriculum and a complete
instructional program is available from the Girls Growing Up Scientifically (GUTS) project
developed by the Santa Fe Institute(GUTS, 2016).

StarLogo is an agent-based modeling approach in which the student identifies entities called agents
(people, molecules, trees, etc.), defines their behavior (e.g. reactions), establishes connections, and
runs the simulation. Next, global behavior emerges as a result of interactions of many individual
behaviors. For instance, to study the behavior of a chemical reaction, a student would define the
behavior of individual molecules, assign rules to agents, and then set them into motion. (Blikstein,
P., Greene, D., Furhmann, T., &Salehi, S. 2012). Wilensky and colleagues associated with the
ModelSim project have produced a large body of research showing the power of this technology
for learning and view agent-based modeling as a fundamental new way of thinking. The agent-
based approach is successful in promoting deep learning because it taps into student intuitions in
subject areas that are traditionally experienced as non-intuitive. Once learners can identify and
computationally interact with entities at the agent level, they can use their intuitions to reason
about the properties of the larger system. (ModelSim project, 2016)

Creating agent-based simulations using visual programming languages such as StarLogo makes
learning programming concepts more intuitive and visual by dragging and dropping graphical
objects which reduces programming complexity and consequently makes programming accessible
to middle school students.

BIFOCAL MODELING: While agent-based modeling develops deep learning of science phenomenon,
they develop an incomplete picture of the phenomenon under study: Making the connection
between the simulation and the physical world. Bifocal modeling addresses this issue by having
students conduct research and collect data. (Blikstein& Wilensky, 2007).
In bifocal modeling, students connect computational behavior in virtual simulations with
phenomena detected by physical sensors or produced in the physical world by motors or
other output devices. The similarities and contrasts between virtual and physical systems
stimulate conceptual reflection and “debugging” processes through which student adjust
their physical and virtual models simultaneously. Bifocal modeling activities thus provide a
critical “missing link” between laboratory experiences and the construction of explanatory
models and theories. (ModelSim project, 2016)
Students can make the connection between their simulations and the physical world by collecting
data from research projects. They discover discrepancies between their simulation and their
research results, explain why a mismatch between their model and their data exists, and, if
appropriate, revise their simulation accordingly.

Proportional Reasoning & Multivariable Models of Causality

Proportional reasoning is essential in modeling and simulation tasks and is considered as one of
the most important skills that middle school students develop. In addition, it is deemed as the
turning point in K12 math curriculum in which students move from elementary mathematics to
higher mathematics (Lesh, Post, Behr, 1988). In order to provide the context for developing
proportional reasoning, schools and out-of-school programs have been using project-based
learning. Building robotics in particular have become a popular project across the education
landscape and a number of educators and researchers have highlighted the potential use of robotics
project to reinforce students’ mathematical understanding (Benitti 2012; Vollstedt et al. 2007).
However, staff at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (2016) have noted while many teachers
say they were using robotics to teach mathematics, they found that few actually taught robot math
in ways that were effective and many teachers avoided talking about mathematics at all. The
Academy also observed that when teachers tried to teach robot math and robot programming, at
the same time, many students were confused and the Academy staff were not able to measure
significant learning gains. In addition, they concluded that teachers should teach math before they
begin teaching students how to program their robots. Consequently, the Carnegie Mellon Robotics
Academy developed Expedition Atlantis in order to motivate students to use math rather than
"guess and check" as their way through robot programming. Expedition Atlantis is an underwater
robotics game that develops both proportional thinking and proportional methods and provides
tutorials and contextualized practice. It also includes a teacher guide. It currently is in beta testing
but the program is available now athttp://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/atlantis/why-use-it/.

Scale City is an interactive game-oriented set of instructional materials designed to develop

proportional reasoning that focuses on scale and scaling. Its development was initiated by the
Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and developed in collaboration with three other state
public television networks, and a task force of teachers, university professors, and the Kentucky
Department of Education staff. Scale City is organized around a road trip in which students explore
roadside attractions and learn about the mathematics of scale. At each stop, a short video field trip,
an interactive simulation, and a set of instructional materials are provided to help students learn
proportional reasoning. For example, students explore what happens to the area of a two-
dimensional figure like a mural and what happens to the surface area and volume of three-
dimensional scale models when different scale factors are used. All of these are done in a hands-
on manner, manipulating interactives or concrete objects to develop a deeper understanding of
these concepts. The materials can be downloaded from the Scale City website:
https://www.ket.org/scalecity/

An important attribute of the program is that it focuses on using tables and graphs rather than the
standard “cross-multiplication” method for understanding proportional relationships. This
teaching philosophy is aligned with the NCTM Standards: “Instruction in solving proportions
should include methods that have a strong intuitive basis. The so-called cross-multiplication
method can be developed meaningfully if it arises naturally in students’ work, but it can also have
unfortunate side effects when students do not adequately understand when the method is
appropriate to use. Other approaches to solving proportions are often more intuitive and also quite
powerful.” (NCTM, 2000, p. 220)
MULTIVARIABLE MENTAL MODELS OF CAUSALITY: Conducting research projects on complex
systems can be very challenging for middle school students due to the multivariable causal analysis
required in understanding the relationship between several factors. Our instructional methods are
similar to the Food Chain program which effectively develops multivariable mental models
(Eseryel & Law, 2012). Food Chain is an interactive simulation program that develops deep
learning by scaffolding each step in the inquiry process by providing relevant information as
needed and prompting students. For example, in the develop hypothesis step, it provides relevant
content and at the end of the test hypothesis step, it provides charts and graphs depicting the states
of different variables which are intended to help students discover the interrelationships among the
variables. Our project will use similar instructional methods except that students select an
ecosystem problem of local interest, implements scaffolding by providing instruction as needed,
and employ college students as mentors who provide question prompts to guide reflection. In
addition, students will (a) collect real data, (b) use InspireData to record the data in tables, (c)
graph the relationship of each variable to the factor under study, and then (d) graph the relationship
of pairs of variables. This method is based on instructional strategies developed by Ramsey and
Kuhn (2012) which are aimed at directly helping students progress from univariable to
multivariable mental models of causality.

In summary, the project will develop computational thinking within the context of modeling and
simulating environmental phenomena which provide students the opportunity to engage in
meaningful projects. Students will develop causal loop diagrams, agent-based simulations, bifocal
models, proportional reasoning skills, and multivariable causal models. They will also develop
professional identity and persistence by conducting small team projects and having access to
college students who will mentor and tutor them. In addition, staff from local corporations and
government agencies will meet and discuss their work with students and students will conduct
research projects at local environmental centers or preserves.

3. Future Work
Section 3 discussed a prior CT project as well as ongoing CT education projects for college
students. Section 4 presented the ideas on how to use agent-based modeling and bifocal modeling
to scaffold CT education for middle school students. In order to further investigate how to teach
CT in age-appropriate pedagogy and application contexts, the authors proposed two projects
including more diverse applications and age groups. One is the SeaEdger Project designed to
support an REU program and a middle school summer camp in computational math with
environmental science applications. The other is the MAKE-MS-EC Program that provides
research experiences in computational mathematics with diverse application contexts for local high
school students.

5.1 SEAEDGER Project

SEAEGDER stands for Surveillance of an Estuary Area for Environmental Data Gathering,
Education, and Research. The goals of the SEAEDGER project are to use a buoy-based sensor
network system to gather data in the Indian River Lagoon and provide data-enabled environmental
research experiences for undergraduates as well as an environmental education summer workshop
for local middle school students. There are four project objectives:
1) Extend and test a smart data acquisition network (SDAN) system including a ground station,
three Eco-Dolphins, and 9 sensor buoys. The major tasks are to design, purchase, assemble,
and program microcontrollers to control hydrophones and GoPro cameras. The SDAN system
will have three clusters of buoys, each consisting of three sensor buoys. Each cluster will be
anchored at three vertices of an equilateral triangle in one site. Altogether, 9 buoys will make
three clusters and will be deployed to three sites. The sensor buoy clusters will collect images
for one to two weeks each season.
2) Train 10 undergraduates to collect imagery data using the SDAN system in 12 sites in Indian
River Lagoon and use machine learning algorithms to identify seagrass, dolphins, manatee,
and sea turtles. After the volume of the image data is reduced to a manageable size, we can
label the verified data and use them to train a machine learning tool, which can then be used to
efficiently classify the targets.
3) Once images are processed we can distinguish: (a) manatees, sea turtles, and dolphins from
other marine animals and (b) seagrasses from macroalgae. We can also collect benthic
vegetation data.
4) Conduct a one-week (six days) summer workshop on SeaPerch Robots and environmental
science education for middle school students. During the workshop, we will demonstrate fun
and inspiring environmental science projects in the morning and tutor students in constructing
 their own SeaPerch robot as a team project in the afternoon. Each team will have three to four
students. To encourage the participation of parents, we will use Saturday to host a SeaPerch
Robotic competition and an environmental science poster competition.

5.2 MAKE-MS-EC Program for local High School Students

Over a two-year period, the Mathematical Application Knowledge Enhancement of Marginal
Students to Empower Community (MAKE-MS-EC) is proposed to enhance the learning of
mathematical knowledge using hands-on research, exploratory studies, and guided discovery.
MAKE-MS-EC includes activities that enrich high school students’ learning, especially females
who are discouraged by the gender bias of our culture for their mathematics ability, through trifocal
mathematical modeling (tm2) while ensuring cognitive skills have been internalized. Trifocal
mathematical modeling focuses on the derivation of mathematical models using real-world
experiments, verification, and validation of models with computer tools, and peer competitions in
a virtual environment. MAKE-MS-EC will enhance and foster a kinaesthetic learning environment
by utilizing the Wave Laboratory and Leverage Robotics Laboratory at ERAU.
Through the MAKE-MS-EC program, students will explore real-world research problems in
mathematics via novel mathematical models: the traffic monitoring interpolate model, carry-on
Aero capacity model, fashion mannequin model, population model for sea turtles, payload carrying
capacity of autonomous underwater vehicles, and the water wave model for low and high tide
seasons in connection to the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Arts pipeline. There will be
two tiers of student involvement within the MAKE-MS-EC program: the first tier consists of
students, with a focus on females, actively participating in the research of applied mathematics
problems based on Wave and Leverage Robotics Labs and other activities taking place through a
tm2 website. The second tier will consist of students observing ongoing research activities
conducted at ERAU that are intended to inspire the students to enter the STEM pipeline. The goals
of MAKE-MS-EC are to:
• Explore mathematical concepts in connections to real-life problem solving via data analysis,
experiments, computational tools, and an open virtual environment
• Enrich critical, analytical, and logical thinking in mathematics through guided mentoring
• Foster student conceptual mathematical knowledge in a creative and original manner
The overall intention of MAKE-MS-EC program is to develop analytical, critical, and logical
thinking skills and cultivate problem-solving capabilities enabling the community to:
• Bring novel pedagogy to mathematics education in the Science, Engineering, Technology, and
Arts pipeline
• Educate, advise, and stimulate high school female students to pursue a STEM career
• Develop mathematical concepts within the context of solving real-world problems in STEM
• Build a virtual tm2 learning environment
• Enhance SIAM, KME (Kappa Mu Epsilon), and ERAU collaborations

4. Conclusion
This chapter presented a brief literature review and case studies of CT education programs. We
propose that CSE provides the educational content to enhance the CT ability of learners. We
believe a pragmatic approach to promote and improve K12 CT education is to through out-of-
school time programs and improve college-level CT education by forming coalitions and providing
research projects. Out-of-school time, project-based, and inquiry-based programs engage students
and promote learning on-demand as students take responsibility for their own learning. The
literature consistently shows that innovative education practices such as model-based REU
programs and robotics research problems have advantages in motivating student learning and
facilitating deep learning. However, in their current stage, these methods are still perceived as
more expensive than the conventional lecturing method. We presented a cost-effective CSE
program that uses cyberlearning, crowdsourcing, and co-developed courses to reduce costs without
compromising quality.
In the ten years since Wing promoted the notion of computational thinking, CT education programs
have flourished with support from government and private foundations. These projects have often
resulted in “best practices”. The task before us now is to move these “best practices” to “common
practices” in both K-12 schools and colleges which will require a substantial investment in teacher
training and the development of instructional resources.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The cyberlearning project for CSE and summer REU workshops described in section 3.1 was
sponsored by the NSF TUES grant (1244967) and the Eco-Dolphin project described in 3.2 was
partially sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab under award FA8750-15-1-0143.

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Author Information
Complete name of the author: Hong P. Liu
Institutional affiliation Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Institutional address: 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32114
Permanent address: 15 Pine Shadows Trail, Ormond Beach, Florida, 32174
Telephone number: (386) 226-7741
Fax number (optional):
Email address: [email protected]
Website (optional): www.gps2dreamcollege.com
Short biographical sketch – Hong Liu was awarded PhD in Mathematics and M.S in Computer
Science at University of Arkansas Fayetteville in 2000. He currently serves as a professor in
Mathematics and Computing at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida.
He taught a wide variety of mathematics courses ranging from lower-division undergraduate
mathematics to graduate courses, including statistics, computer sciences and software engineering
courses. He published 30 articles and book chapters in partial differential equations, software
engineering, data mining, and computational science education. He also serves as the adviser of
the SIAM student chapter at Embry-Riddle and mentors a team of student researchers in SIAM
chapter to build a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicle called Eco-Dolphins.Hong Liu served
as the PI and Co-PI of 15 funded projects in software development, robotics, and mostly
undergraduate STEM Education.

Complete name of the author: Sirani M. Perera

Institutional affiliation Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Institutional address: 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32114
Permanent address:
Telephone number: (386)-226-7257
Email [email protected],
Website, http://sperera.com/
Sirani M. Perera has received a B.Sc. special degree in Mathematics with first class honors from
the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka in 2004, a Masters of Advanced Study in
Mathematics with honors from the University of Cambridge, UK in 2006, and a PhD in
Mathematics from the University of Connecticut, USA in 2012. She works as an assistant professor
in Mathematics Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University while working in the field
of numerical linear algebra. Her research focus is to derive fast algorithms and use those in signal
processing, image processing, solving systems of questions, theories of interpolations,
approximations, orthogonal polynomials, and eigenvalue problems. As an early career woman in
mathematics she has been received fellowships and scholarships including: Advanced Doctoral
Fellowship (2012), Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2012), Predoctoral Fellowship (2010) by the
University of Connecticut, USA; Industrial Research Scholarship (2008) by City University
London, UK; Shell Centenary Scholarship by the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust (2005-2006),
University of Cambridge, UK.

Complete name of the author: Jerry W. Klein

Institutional affiliation: Syracuse University
Institutional address: Department of Instructional Design, Development, & Evaluation, 330
Hunting Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244
Permanent address: 2612 Sycamore Drive, Clearwater, FL 33763
Telephone number: 727-796-7567
Fax number (optional):
Email address: [email protected]