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A High School Camp on Algorithms and Coding in a Small Island Developing State

Published: 07 March 2024 Publication History

Abstract

This is a report on JamCoders, a four-week long computer-science camp for high school students in Jamaica. The camp teaches college-level coding and algorithms, and targets academically excellent students in grades 9--11 (ages 14--17). Qualitative assessment shows that the camp was, in general terms, a success. We reflect on the background and academic structure of the camp and share key takeaways on designing and operating a successful camp. We analyze data collected before, during and after the camp and map the effects of demographic differences on student performance in camp. We conclude with a discussion on possible improvements on our approach.

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    SIGCSE 2024: Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1
    March 2024
    1583 pages
    ISBN:9798400704239
    DOI:10.1145/3626252
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    Published: 07 March 2024

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    Author Tags

    1. coding camp
    2. jamaica
    3. k-12

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