Bloomington’s K-5 computer science immersion program builds future problem-solvers

A class of third-graders were given six Lego pieces. They had to make a duck out of their pieces. The duck could be sitting, swimming or flying. But no duck could look the same.

This is how the third-graders at Indian Mounds Elementary School in Bloomington started their first day of computer science lessons.

They went on to dismantle the ducks and were asked to create anything that is not a duck: a test of imagination, flexibility and creativity.

The students made polar bears, birds, dragons and even angel dogs (a dog, but with wings).

“Legos are a great way to think about computer science, and you can get really creative with them,” said computer science teacher Lee Nelson. “It’s a great way to get the creative juices flowing.”

Indian Mounds, part of Bloomington Public Schools, is a computer science immersion school, meaning K-5 students take dedicated computer science classes every week and are also encouraged to incorporate computer science lessons and skills into other subjects, too. A second Bloomington school, Poplar Bridge Elementary, also has a computer science immersion program.

Students at these schools learn computer science both on computers and also unplugged, that is, using their hands to get a sense of how the gadgets they use on a daily basis work.

The program not designed just for future computer scientists, the school administrators say.

“It’s more of a way of thinking than it is a set of specific skill sets,” Nelson said. “Like, ‘Do you understand how a machine gets directions from a human and then follows those directions?’, through a series of lessons that progressively get more interesting and more challenging through the grades.”

At the school, computer science immersion is designed to complement the standard Bloomington curriculum. Teachers still cover the same lessons taught across the district, but they also weave in computer science.

The goal, administrators said, is to make lessons more engaging for students while still meeting state standards.

Here’s an example of what that looks like at Indian Mounds: Third-graders combine their social studies lessons on Native American history and contemporary life with computer science instruction. Students prepared what they had learned and translated it into an interactive map of Minnesota.

Alexandra Holter, computer science program coordinator at Bloomington Public Schools, says this helps students build confidence in all subjects.

“When we learn in silos, it’s hard to see the real world relevance. … In education, sometimes we get stuck in these antiquated ways and do these kinds of things that have just been done, and CS allows students to demonstrate what they know in unique and creative ways,” she said.

Jack Ell, a third-grader at Indian Mounds, is “mad about computer science,” said his mother Angie Hendrickson. Ell said he wants to be a video game developer when he grows up, and he is already on his way.

“For Christmas, he’s asking for circuit boards and coding games. He’s already developing his own servers on Roblox [an online game creation platform] and doing all sorts of things like that,” Hendrickson said. She added that Indian Mounds was the “logical option” for Jack “to be ahead of the game when it came to computers and technology.”

With 32% English language learners, the school took an approach to teaching computer science that doesn’t rely on English for instruction, Holter said. Educators like Nelson use visual cues and movements to explain and illustrate lessons.

“It was a very intentional equity move, that we want to bring this to all students so that they can take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that the field provides,” Holter said.

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