HIGH SCHOOL COMPUTATIONAL
SCIENCE COURSE OPTIONS
This high school computational science text was originally designed to be used
in a year long course when taught in a setting where
the class meets approximately 50 minutes each day. We
soon realized that the content was so extensive that it could easily be
expanded to a two-year program. We also want to accommodate various needs in
regard to course content and schedules. For these reasons, we have developed
two curricular options and suggested timelines.
Option One
Option one consists of
Computational Science I and
Computational Science II each as a full year course
taught in a setting where
the class meets approximately 50 minutes each day.
In Computational Science I students participate in an Internet
project that does not include the use of a programming language. Computational
Science II involves the development of a computational science project
(project oriented course).
This option could be
extended to include a third year by including a different programming language
and new student projects.
Option Two
Option two is a one-year
course
that carries with it a pre-requisite of computer programming or
Computational Science I. In this option, students are required to
develop projects with more difficult mathematical and computational
models and to include the use of more sophisticated visualization tools.
We encourage you to adapt what is suggested here to meet your
particular needs as you introduce computation science into your school's
curriculum.
