Stanford's Educational Principles

1. Solid Foundation of Knowledge
   Computing literacy requires much more than a working knowledge of a particular set of tools. The computing industry is incredibly dynamic. Today's tools quickly become tomorrow's antiques. The same, unfortunately, is true for information technology workers whose training is too specialized. To maintain currency in the field, people must go beyond mere literacy and develop what a recent influential report from the National Research Council defines as "fluency" with information technology. Attaining this level of fluency requires that students understand something about how computers work and what core concepts remain constant through successive generations of computing technology.
   

2. Individual Empowerment
   For many students, the greatest impediment to developing facility with computing is psychological rather than technical. Many students approach computing with a strange mixture of fear and awe: "technophobia" coupled with "technoreverence". On one hand, computers - being unfamiliar and increasingly central to daily life - tap into fears of the unknown. On the other, computers are often seen as much more powerful than they in fact are, to the point that many students consider them to be out of their own league. In our experience, the best way to counter these psychological barriers is to concentrate on giving each student a sense of individual empowerment, building their confidence and efficacy along with their technical skills. To this end, we have designed the curriculum so that it gives students an incentive to develop both their cognitive and technical skills.
   
   

3. Equality of Access
   In seeking to serve the needs of all students, it is important to be sensitive to the fact that different segments of the population respond differently to specific pedagogical approaches. In Bermuda, for example, it is essential to ensure that the curriculum reflects the cultural diversity of the island and appeals to students from every race and class. Similarly, several studies have demonstrated that technology education tends to favor boys at the expense of girls. We have designed the curriculum to take into account the variety of the student population to ensure that all students have the same chance to succeed.

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