The Computer Science classroom has no choice but to embrace failure.

When we wri
te programs and work with various devices, we ve got to rely on trial and error an
d failure to help us figure things out. The messages we get, the things we see o
n the screen, the incorrect outputs we generate, and the crash reports are our t
ools for success. In a typical class a student will fail 20 or 30 times. In fact,
it s hard not to fail. Most computer programs can be solved in a variety of ways;
rarely is there a right way to do it.
If you talk with successful project-based Computer Science teachers, you ll get th
e same stories about how kids love class, enrollment numbers are going up, the e
nergy in their classrooms, the collaboration, how they create some incredible pr
ograms, how they also come up with solutions and strategies that we never expect
ed. Why is that? Well, think about it this way for most students they are told wha
t to do every day of their life. From the moment they wake up, they are told wha
t to wear, where to go, when to go and when to stop, what to do when they get th
ere. When they get to class, the teacher tells them what to do and for how long.
At practice after school, coach tells them exactly what to do. At home that nig
ht, mom and dad make them study then say when to go to bed. The Computer Science
classroom offers an escape from that. We say come into our room. Here are some
challenges to attempt. There is not necessarily any one answer to our problems a
nd projects. In fact, even what we are assigning can be interpreted differently.
Finally the students are in control not just of their own life, but of their own
learning. They get to decide exactly what the computer will do, how it will do
it, how long it will do it for, and how it will communicate that it did it. And
they can change it right there and instantly see the effect. They can fine tune
it, or they can overhaul the entire project. All right there. right in front of th
eir eyes. They are encouraged to try it, let s see what it does It s one of the few ti
mes in a student s life like where they have complete control. That s partly why the
y love Computer Science.