Introduction

Welcome to the high school section of the NSF BRIDGES project at UNCC! This website is intended to help high school teachers implement BRIDGES assignments in their classrooms. This article provides a concise overview and explanation of the website.

If you have not already set up BRIDGES with your IDE, now is a good time to do so. If you are using CS50, a tutorial is available here. If you are using any other IDE, a tutorial is available here.

Note: The high school section of BRIDGES only uses the Java programming language.

Projects

Project-based learning is the foundation of BRIDGES. Each assignment is designed to teach computer science concepts. An assignment page has the following structure:

• Description: This provides a basic overview of the project.
• Details / concept explanation: Some assignments require further information or explanation about a specific topic. This section is optional, and most assignments do not include it.
• Topics: This is a list of all the topics covered in the assignment.
• Intended learning outcomes: Each assignment has been designed with specific ILOs in mind. It is important to note that the ILOs are written with the assumption that all instructional materials (see below) are used. So, if you adapt the assignment, the ILOs may change.
• Instructional materials: This is the most important part of the assignment page. The instructional materials consist of three sections: student, teacher, and resources.
• Student: Each assignment includes a student worksheet which consists of instructions, information, and questions for students as they program. The worksheets enable students to work at their own pace, and the questions help you assess student understanding of concepts. You can adapt these worksheets to meet the needs of your classroom. Additionally, some assignments include test cases or example outputs to help students check their work.
• Teacher: Some of the more challenging assignments come with a teacher walkthrough explaining the code and worksheet. Some assignments also include a rubric which you can change if you wish.
• Resources: The resource section can vary significantly depending on the project, but it will always include solution files and scaffold files. The scaffold is what you provide to students, and the solution is the finished product. Scaffolds usually include directions or assistance that correspond to the student worksheet. Additionally, the resources section sometimes includes data files, additional tutorials, and links embedded in the student worksheet.
• Documentation: The documentation section provides links to all the relevant BRIDGES classes used in the assignment. It is usually necessary to read documentation in order to complete the student worksheet.