User:Pbierre

I teach an interdisciplinary Math-CS course of my own design called Algorithmic Geometry, for high school 11-12th graders. We currently use Java as our software creation tool, as it is very sound numerically, and comes with excellent 2D and 3D graphics (Java3D). The level of problems explored is much more advanced than those possible only using paper and pencil analytic geometry. For example, "standard" problems in 3D AlgoGeom are: - Given 3 overlapping spheres (centers and radii), solve for their 2 intersection points. - Given 2 skew lines (each via a pair of points), solve for the point of their closest approach.

After completing an initial 2-year pilot in a CA public school, our educational research team of 4 is beginning to assemble excellent results with students who have never programmed before, demonstrating creative, algorithmic problem-solving on novel, non-trivial problems in an "open-source code" assessment paradigm. That is, students reuse and extend in novel ways the software they have written during the course to problem-solve on their final exam(s).

The reinvention of Math Education by infusing Computational Thinking offers a powerful competitive advantage to students.

I belong to the Silicon Valley chapter of Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), and serve as chapter president 2013-14.

I served on the Program Committee for the international CSTA 2016 Conference in San Diego.

I am a member of National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).