Problem Statement: Basswood Elementary is a title one campus that has a major focus of growth. Ba...

1. References: BBC. (2020). Introduction to computational thinking. Bitesize. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zp92mp3/revision/1 Moore, J. (2020). Module 5 lecture transcript. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zx-ZBNzDRww1Ai0eNcqixiPChCym-ZQefD5xv-Vrr1M/edit

2. Decomposition: First, Basswood Elementary has to make a list of all of the campus needs. Next, the campus administration creates a campus improvement plan with 4 major categories. The purpose of the campus improvement plan is to set goals that will help the students, community, and staff succeed.

2.1. Rationale: According to BBC, "decomposition helps by breaking down complex problems into more manageable parts" (BBC, 2020). This example addresses decomposition because it takes a general problem that is virtually impossible to tackle in the current format and breaks it down into smaller parts. The smaller parts are easier for groups to tackle, really creating and analyzing the problems and solutions that are unique to the category that will ultimately help the campus meet their goals. This supports progress allowing for campus growth. So instead of the whole campus addressing all of the needs at once at a surface level, the groups can address the needs at a deeper level.

3. Algorithm Design: Next, the staff at Basswood Elementary meets to sign up for a committee. Each committee is then given specific directions to follow to meet the goals within the category. They must first create a summary statement that summarizes the overarching goal of the category. Next, they must create and analyze problem statements related to the campus needs within the specific category. Last, they must identify the root causes and solutions for each problem statement. Each committee/category will have no more than three problem statements with root causes and solutions.

3.1. Rationale: According to BBC, "in an algorithm, each instruction is identified and the order in which they should be carried out is planned" (BBC, 2020) The process of improving a campus is ongoing and takes time. Each committee has to be very intentional when addressing the problem statements. This is an example of an algorithm because it forces the groups to really break the problem statements apart.

4. Abstract: At the end of the year, each committee at Basswood Elementary reflects on their problem statements, root causes, and solutions as they relate to the summary statement. They reduce the list of problem states based on reflection. Some problem statements do not apply to the summary statement and/or are not problems any more. Basswood Elementary can use this model in classrooms to support the campus goal of growth.

4.1. Rationale: According to BBC, "The process instructs us to remove all specific detail, and any patterns that will not help us solve our problem. This helps us form our idea of the problem. This idea is known as a ‘model’" (BBC, 2020). The groups have to be aware of what they can control and and what they can't control, therefore as the year progresses, some problem statements may become irrelevant and will need to be eliminated. Reflection of the summary statement within the specific category must be ongoing to ensure the group is moving forward towards growth and meeting the goals. This model can be carried over into the classroom when analyzing student data and setting goals in the classroom.

5. Pattern Recognition: Next, the campus administration analyzes each campus need by linking campus needs based on commonalities. They common patterns are: student/community needs versus staff needs. They place each need into one of the 4 categories: demographics, perceptions, processes and programs, and student achievement.

5.1. Rationale: According to Moore, "Pattern Recognition: Observing patterns, trends, and regularities in data" (Moore, 2020). The campus admin looked for campus needs that were linked together by commonalities such as keywords, and/or patterns such as the student/community versus staff needs. It is important for the needs to be placed in the correct category so that they committees/groups can properly analyze and address the problem statements.