Computer Science and Engineering

Dalton is extremely proud of its long history in computer science. On December 5th, 1969 four research universities transmitted the first word over the Internet. Eleven months later, Dalton was the first school in New York City to have its own mainframe computer. The following year the school received a grant from IBM to further continue its exploration in the field of computer science. That spirit of risk and innovation continues.

The Computer Science and Robotics programs at Dalton today provide an opportunity for students to learn how to break down and tackle large challenges. By emphasizing how to embrace experimentation and failure, the program gives students a system for meeting future challenges. While it is not the goal of the program to have every student become a professional engineer or computer scientist, the program does provide the technological literacy necessary to understand and interact with the modern world. K-12 programs are linked together by the belief that Dalton students should have experience applying critical thinking and computational analysis to realworld problems. Each grade has an engineering experience.

In the First Program, educational technologists from the New Lab work closely with faculty to introduce technology tools for learning in purposeful, responsible, and developmentally appropriate ways that support the core curriculum. Within this context, New Lab collaborates with First Program teachers and computer science department colleagues to introduce all K-3 youngsters to the field of computer science. In addition, technologists work with teachers to introduce students to engineering activities. Often these explorations begin as an individual class project that is then shared with the rest of the grade and division for potential expansion in subsequent years. Critical to both pursuits is a value on the iterative process. Computer science and engineering experiences are seen as tools for Assignments in all subjects for problem solving, self-expression, and collaboration.

In the Middle School, the robotics/ engineering work takes place in an afterschool program as well as in engineering projects in the core science curriculum. This program is an effort to engage students with real-world and competition-based challenges to spark their interest in STEAM and develop problemsolving skills. In recent years, the program has tripled in size to include more than one hundred students. Each year the program staff optimizes the progression of design concepts and skills students develop over the five Middle School years. Examples of Middle School programs include FIRST FLL robotics, Robosoccer, Lego engineering, and Maker club. The school introduces the engineering cycle in the fifth grade history curriculum, as well as in engineering classes in the seventh grade, and an offering for computer science in the eighth grade. At the High School level, students achieve familiarity with the field of computer science through four increasingly complex courses. For students who want additional challenge, a robotic engineering course is offered for all grade levels as well as a series of electives in topics such as database design and interface design. Learning goals include how to structure a problem toward a solution that others can understand; how to select the solution which best fits the situation; how to use a programming language to solve these structured problems; how to become aware of the principles of digital electronics behind the computer science field; how to apply computer technology to support other fields of study; and how to understand the complexities of communication and information processing.

In the High School, each Assignment contains a brief introduction on a narrowly focused topic followed by an extended period of development in class. The Assignment is structured so that students are also encouraged to expand the work depending upon their interests. Students often extend their work to the Lab, which is especially important in the computer science department. Labs are for students who want support solving a problem at any level and are a key resource for individualized advancement in STEAM possibilities. In line with Dalton’s mission statement promoting equity within the school, there is a clear recognition of the current inequities in engineering culture, specifically with regards to gender and race and the school creates initiatives each year in response to these challenges. An example is an annual city-wide conference called Bit By Bit that Dalton female High School students develop and conduct for girls in public and independent schools who are interested in computer science. From the earliest inception of computer science at Dalton in the 1960’s to what it has evolved into today, the program clearly illustrates Helen Parkhurst’s directive in 1919 to future educators: change with the times; prepare students with skills they will need for the future; and teach them to be innovative original thinkers who experiment, take risks, and understand the benefits of failing at one approach so they can develop new approaches to a challenge.