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The evolution of the school program in computer science


And yet again September came again, and thousands of students with contradictory feelings went to school - someone in the first grade, and someone in the eleventh. Once we were among them; That is why the type of white bows and bouquets in the hands of first-graders causes us nostalgia for carefree childhood, favorite teachers and subjects - I am sure that for many on Habré computer science was definitely such. We take advantage of the moment and remember that we studied it - ten, twenty, and some more years ago.

First experiments

Probably, it will seem unexpected to someone, but the first experiments in teaching informatics in the Soviet school began almost thirty years before the subject was brought to the masses of educational reform. Indeed, it is hard to believe that already in 1959, in a number of schools in Moscow and Novosibirsk, high school students were taught programming, information theory and mathematics. parts of the then computers. Meanwhile, neither in the emergence of such a subject as computer science, nor in the geographical location of the first experimental zones is not surprising. Literally from the very beginning, the experience of operating Soviet electronic computers revealed an urgent need for qualified service personnel who understand the principles of computer operation and are able to interact with it. It is for this reason that the Union’s two “cybernetic capitals”, which had the maximum computer park, under the guidance of well-known scientists Andrei Petrovich Ershov (in Novosibirsk) and Semyon Isaakovich Schwarzburd (in Moscow) quickly developed school curricula to solve current problems. By the way, subsequently, it is Ershov who will become the author of the first general course of computer science.


Demidovich's pre-reform textbook for electives (left) and Ershov's canonical textbook - the first experimental manual for a new program

Over time, the coverage of computer science population expanded, primarily due to the specialized mathematics classes and schools, as well as training and industrial complexes (CPC). The methodology of the course was continuously improved, but one thing remained unchanged: a “machineless” way of learning. In other words, the future computer operators themselves were extremely rarely seen by computers, except that some factory or institute computer center would use humanitarian aid for an hour. It was unrealistic to get a lot of computer time, it was chronically lacking in the EC itself.
What did the schoolchildren study in those years? Here is the plan for the computer science course of the late 50s.


School computer center - students of the 60s never dreamed of such a thing
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As we see, the children of that time studied a lot of things that even adult programmers are not aware of now. Nothing can be done, because the process of programming and debugging at that time was very low-level and time consuming.

The process has begun

From September 1, 1985, informatics (or rather, “Fundamentals of Informatics and Computing Machinery”, JIHT) became a compulsory subject in all general education schools of the Soviet Union. Surprisingly, the problem with personnel, at least in big cities, was resolved rather quickly: the teachers' corps was formed not only from teachers of natural science subjects, but also from engineer-mathematicians and programmers of specialized research institutes who felt a pedagogical ability.
Computer science as an academic discipline has by that time gone a long way of development, therefore the new program has become a logical continuation of the previous ones. The course studied:


Three textbooks recommended for schools by the USSR Ministry of Education in the course of informatics. From left to right: Hein / Zhytomyr, Kushnirenko, Kaymin

As for the programming itself, the initial version of the course was not tied to any particular language. Instead, it was proposed to use an abstract Russian-language algorithmic language (PARADISE), which was essentially a symbolic sweep of flowcharts - school pranksters called it "if not that - that's all."

image
Sample program in school algorithmic language

As a next step, the founder of Soviet informatics, A.P. In his textbook, Ershov recommended the use of the Rapier language, a machine-executable adaptation of an algorithmic language. There were other proposals - for example, the “Moscow school” of teachers actively promoted the then popular Algol language. However, after 2-3 years, Basic became the de-facto basic programming language of the school - simple enough for children, but at the same time having the necessary functionality and, most importantly, adapted to the entire computing zoo that appeared in computer science classrooms. By the way, BASIC did not surrender their positions in school today.


Algorithm for finding the intersection point of a graph of a function with a straight line y = x using the iteration method, the Rapier language

The former "machineless" method of teaching computer science gradually gave way to the "machine", children had access to technology and the ability to write their own programs. The history of equipping schools with computer equipment I described in detail a year ago , now I just want to note that acquaintance with computers, and not the subject as such, became for many of us a turning point in our life. The best teachers understood this perfectly, and actively stirred up interest in creativity, overcoming methodological obstacles - textbooks “not for that language”, differences in dialects, and so on.

The 1985 informatics course remained virtually unchanged for almost 15 years. Meanwhile, the world around us during this time was completely different - and school computer science also needed changes.

Recent history

Around the 2000s, computer science began to expand its presence in the school curriculum, they began to study it from the 7th grade, starting at one o'clock a week, and in the ninth, two each. Thus, the total number of hours has increased significantly, while the program has not changed significantly. Teachers had the opportunity to delve into the material being taught and pay more attention to practice.

One of the main innovations in the subject matter (which by that time was called differently - “Information and Communication Technologies”, ICT) became just these very communications, that is, local and global data transmission facilities. Unfortunately, this very important, in my opinion, section where, in principle, both the basics of web programming and the theoretical aspects of building computer networks can enter, to this day it is difficult for itself to find a place in the program, mainly due to the lack of proper knowledge of the teachers themselves.


Modern ICT textbooks

As before, at least a quarter of the school time was allocated for the study of programming languages. By that time, the transition to the modern x86 platform in schools had already been completed on the whole (although, as we found out last time, in rural schools it stretched for many more years), which made it possible to unify the learning environment. For the sake of compatibility with the existing code, the masses of the masses were drawn to the ancients, like the mammoth's litter, versions of BASIC - as long as they worked under the current operating systems. Advanced educational institutions were able to accommodate additional programming languages ​​such as C or Java, which were previously taught separately. However, the obligatory basic languages, as already mentioned, were BASIC and Pascal.


Microsoft Quick Basic - the eternal "our everything" for schoolchildren

The study of application software, which was part of the computer science course initially, at some point it became dangerous to roll towards the standard and office tools of Microsoft Windows. The trend, however, was brought down by the inconsistency of the authorities in education on the choice of school program platform. I also already told about the peripeteia of this process and, in particular, about the long-suffering program “First Aid”. Now, in principle, everything is back to normal - the functional is studied, but not the product (for example, text, spreadsheet, graphics editor, etc.), although the list of approved specific implementations of the functional is still limited.


Attempts to introduce junior schoolchildren to computer science were made in the Soviet Union, but there they were rather exemplary.

The trend of today is the further rejuvenation of the course of informatics. Two years ago, an experimental program was approved, involving the study of the subject, starting with the second class. I can’t say how widely it has spread during this time, but I know for sure that a number of schools in Nizhny Novgorod accurately work on it.

During the whole post, I tried to refrain from any assessments, because I do not consider myself a great expert in this subject, but I want to end it with a purely personal opinion. It is this: the mastery of computer knowledge in our time is one of the bases for the success of a student’s future professional life - whatever he chooses to do. School informatics should be given the task of growing a fully-developed person in terms of IT. A person who does not get lost in our high-speed digital world.

I thank my computer science teacher, Nadezhda Valentinovna Solicheva, for everything I have said for this post.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/191674/

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