Computational Schoolkit

The organization is a for-profit company; for this initiative we are partnering with other organizations and individuals.

Computer science (CS) education across Sub-Saharan African countries is evolving rapidly. As countries develop more capacity for university programs and technical training for the IT sector, more people have opportunities to pursue careers in CS and other technology-related fields. These jobs can be meaningful, perpetuating upward mobility and often provide career opportunities within one’s home country that can in turn have a powerful impact on a local level. 

For our pilot study, we are partnering with St. Dominic Savio Nursery and Primary School in Kampala, Uganda in order to co-create our model for a tangible toolkit for computational thinking that can be adaptive to serve other communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, there are currently 28 institutions that offer degrees in computer science, with many other programs offering Software Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Business Computing and Computer Security. 

Computer science is considered a major component of the broad ICT sector and digital transformation agenda that has been flagged as a key priority area for Uganda’s Third National Development Plan. Uganda’s national development plan has projected a demand of over 500,000 jobs in the ICT sector, including in the CS specific jobs in software development and software engineering, embedded systems, machine learning, data science, computer vision, and computer security. (Bainomugisha et al., Computer Science Education in Selected Countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, ACM 2023)

As Uganda and other African countries prioritize the development of the ICT and CS sectors as part of their digital transformation agenda, there is a growing need to begin foundational computational thinking education for the younger ages. While there are an increasing number of university opportunities to pursue computer science, there is often a lack of foundational knowledge on the part of incoming students. There is a need for a curricular pipeline, one that is developed across ages in order to lay a strong foundation for later exploration into computer science. 

However, schools often lack the resources required to effectively teach computational foundations in their schools. Many teachers are not trained or feel unqualified to teach this content. They often do not have access to digital equipment such as computers or tablets, and may not have reliable internet connection or access to app-based learning methods. Additionally, in countries such as Uganda or Zambia, in an effort to incorporate English, content is often not presented in the local language. This means that for children who are not yet fluent English speakers, they are not retaining or comprehending these concepts. 

Computational Schoolkit is an adaptive, agile set of resources designed with and for Sub-Saharan African schools to learn computational foundations, without the use of computers or digital technology.

Our Computational Schoolkit is comprised of 3 parts: 

a. A curriculum handbook with DIY, tactile activities

This handbook includes unplugged activities, and DIY instructions for making simple educational materials from local, accessible materials. 

b. Computational thinking children’s books, presented in both English and the local language

These books link concepts with contextual examples so that children and teachers can apply these concepts in relevant ways. We believe in inspiring young people through the knowledge of what is possible, and so these books are intended to expand basic knowledge of computing and the role it plays in our lives. These books are simple and short, and are presented in both the local language and English.

c. A series of short online teacher videos for guidance on the content.

We present short videos that offer simple instruction and demonstrations for the lessons and the materials. These are available online.

Our approach is embedded in research of proven-effective methods of learning such as the Montessori Method. As such, learning is centered on a physical, multi-sensorial approach in which children learn through active play and doing.

Our Computational Schoolkit is designed to serve students and teachers in Sub-Saharan African schools. 

Our pilot school is in Kampala, Uganda. We have received funding to partner with this school in order to gather more information, test and further develop our resources. Our hope from this pilot is to create an adaptable set of resources (activities, lessons, curriculum, DIY materials) that can be disseminated to other communities through physical books and simple training videos. 

When we spoke with our counterpart in Kampala, he expressed his initial desire to start his school (~500 students). His vision was to create a springboard from which children can grow and learn and envision the outcomes of a strong education. 

Computational Schoolkit provides a foundational approach to understanding the basics in computer science, so that children can be both inspired and equipped to learn more. We know that few schools have access to reliable internet and computers; and further, when they do, teachers in local communities may not feel equipped to teach computer science and make the most of this resource. 

By creating a simple toolkit, along with easy-to-understand video guides for teachers, we hope to provide meaningful engagement with computer science concepts. By providing these foundations, and inspiring them through this knowledge, we hope to empower them to further their journey, and allow them the early foundation should they opt to pursue a career in technology or computer science.

Our team has extensive experience working in sub-Saharan African communities, as well as years researching and developing hands-on methods and materials to teach computer science. Project leads Kyle and Kim are both servant leaders, beginning their efforts with empathy and adaptability, and the differing expertise they share well positions the project to be shared and delivered. 

Kyle Hammond, a current undergraduate student-athlete at Tufts, has experience with individuals from all walks of life and has undergone and completed climate awareness and research across Uganda, which brought on the opportunity with the specific school for our pilot study. In July, Kyle will travel to Kampala to conduct a 6-week pilot project with our partnering school. 

Kimberly Smith-Claudel, with her vast knowledge of learning styles and solutions, bridges a necessary gap in understanding and knowledge that Ugandan students and educators need alike. Kim worked as a health extension agent with the Zambian Ministry of Health through the US Peace Corps. During her 2+ years of service, she partnered with local counterparts to lead the formation and development of Hope Community Preschools, a rural community school in Luapula Province. She also partnered with local counterparts to train community health agents and conduct basic health education trainings in the local language across the catchment area. 

Stephen Koma, Local Counterpart. Stephen is an administrative official and Director of St. Dominic Savio School in Kampala, Uganda. He built the school in his hometown to aid refugees and rural students in receiving quality education. 

This initiative is a new project within Learning Beautiful, a company designing tactile, Montessori-inspired materials for children ages 3 to 9 to learn computational thinking foundations. This work was first initiated at the MIT Media Lab, and today, these materials are in hundreds of classrooms around the world. The basic concepts behind Computational Schoolkits are the product of several years of research and testing in early childhood settings. Computational Schoolkits builds on this prior learning to develop an adaptive model to teach computational foundations to children in African communities. 

Through the Laidlaw Fellowship, Kyle has received funding to travel to Kampala for this pilot study. Last year, Kyle traveled to Kampala to meet with local counterparts and begin work on ideation for this project. Since then, we have had regular meetings to better understand and design our resources.

We are very excited about this project. With a pilot study slated for July (with funding support through the Laidlaw Fellowship) we are eager to gain more information and answer key research questions that will enable us to build on these findings to create a modular, adaptive toolkit to distribute to other schools in the region. We are interested in Solve because of its global perspective and connections. We seek assistance in defining a social impact business model, one that allows us to create key partnerships in order to distribute our content to as many schools as possible.