Summers at CTD | A Case Study in Talent Development

By Ed Finkel

Gaby Ecanow got her first introduction to computer programming in a weekend code club for middle-schoolers. But her small, private high school did not offer computer classes—at least at that time—and she was hungry for more. The parent volunteer who ran the code club suggested she enroll at CTD.

 So Ecanow took AP® Computer Science through CTD her freshman year of high school, then enrolled in the   iOS Bootcamp available during the summer session, taught by Tom Bredemeier, a computer science teacher   at Barrington High School.

 “I was particularly excited about it because I really wanted to learn how to apply all the programming I had   been learning and create applications that I could actually share with my friends, and my family, and my   community,” Ecanow says.

The experience proved to be what she hoped for, and set her off on the path she’s traveled since: advocating successfully for computer science classes at her high school, working with Bredemeier as a teaching assistant the summer before college, enrolling at MIT for college and then graduate school, meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook on two separate occasions, and—once she’s finished graduate school—going to work for the tech behemoth.

The iOS Bootcamp provided a mix of technical knowledge, ranging from different software design approaches to what’s involved in developing a minimum viable product (MVP); and professional development opportunities such as field trips to tech startups in Chicago, and learning the collaboration skills needed to work as part of a development team, Ecanow says. “Projects at CTD really gave me a leg up in my internships later on, where you’re not coding in a vacuum,” she says.

The hands-on nature of the course enabled Ecanow and her fellow students to absorb all the concepts rapidly “being thrown at you,” she says. “That was really huge for taking in what we were learning and being able to apply it.” She and her team developed an app called Click!, designed to teach basic computer science and programming skills in gamified form, by guiding a turtle through a maze. “I remember having a lot of fun building the project and applying all the things that we had learned throughout the bootcamp,” she adds. Authentic, applied enrichment experiences like these are critical to talent development and creative productivity in adulthood. According to researchers, including CTD director Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, “As children enter middle school and high school, opportunities for acceleration and enrichment in the content area are needed, as well as exposure to authentic work within the domain….students can begin the process of enculturation, acquiring tacit knowledge about career paths from interactions with adult professionals” (Subotnik et al., 2018, p. 13).

Bredemeier says he enjoyed the challenge of teaching what was then a brand-new course, and he finds it especially inspiring to teach students like Ecanow who are so invested in enrolling at CTD. “She was interested before she even came, but [the bootcamp] really hooked her intellectually, and she wanted to go as far as she could with it,” he says. “Her project that she did with her colleagues … was just above and beyond.”

The performance-based nature of the bootcamp makes it very authentic, Bredemeier says. “Almost every kid’s got an iPhone in their pocket,” he says. “There’s that authenticity and that creativity that comes out of the class, where on the very first day, the students are making an app, and we make another one the next day, and then another one the next day,” he says. “Summer sessions at CTD are only three weeks long, and so we hit the ground running.”

Ecanow was confident enough in her computer knowledge that when she approached administrators at her high school about adding the computer course, she suggested that they just put a substitute teacher in the room and let her teach the class. The school added a course (taught by a math teacher) during her junior year and now has about four options. “I just love that pluck and determination you had,” Bredemeier reflects to her.

As a teaching assistant, Ecanow felt like a lifelong student, continuously learning from Bredemeier, other TAs and the students themselves; she’s currently TA’ing a software engineering class at MIT. “Being able to see the ‘a-ha’ moments, and see the students being really excited about the things that they built, was really inspiring for me, as well,” she says. “I also want to add that Tom is a really inspiring teacher, and a huge role model of mine.”

Bredemeier returns the compliments. “I couldn’t wait for you to graduate high school because I wanted you as a TA in my class,” he says, adding that Ecanow received a student scholarship to attend a worldwide developer conference in both 2017 and 2018, where she met Cook. “Tim Cook was interested in meeting young, junior developers, and she put herself out there,” he says.

Ecanow’s master’s thesis will focus on computer science education, specifically developing a system to help students learn how to debug, and it will be incorporated into the curriculum of the software engineering course that she’s currently TA’ing. “Starting at CTD, fostering my love of education, it all ties into what I’m doing right now,” she says. “All the skills that I’ve learned at CTD, I’m excited to bring those to my role at Apple.”

Bredemeier says he’s learned skills at CTD as well, which he’s brought back to Barrington High School. “CTD and particularly the whole bootcamp experience kind of rocked my world as a computer science teacher,” he says. “If you look at my classroom right now, it’s not rows and columns of tables and chairs; it’s long tables where students are sitting next to each other, designed to build collaboration, talking to each other. The CTD experience … helped me understand more closely about how it happens in the real world.”

Bredemeier compares the experience to sharpening a pencil. “Teaching at CTD over the summer has allowed me to refine, and reflect, and reform the teaching practices that I have,” he says. “It has kind of helped me stay on top of my game, because we’ve actually modified the curriculum as we’ve gone through the years with CTD, to try to make the projects a little more relevant, or tweak it this way, or take it to the next level. That’s been a fun experience.”

CTD’s academic summer day and residential camps for students in PreK through Grade 12 are now enrolling. Check out this year’s wide array of program and course choices, including technology and engineering offerings like the ones Gaby took, on our Summer Programs website.

We’re also hiring instructional and other program staff for our spring and summer programs! Join us if you are ready to experience the rewards of working within a vibrant learning community that inspires young people to think big, take risks, and believe in themselves. All job information is available on our Job Opportunities page.

Olszewski-Kubillus, P., Subotnik, R.F., & Worrell, F.C. (2018). Talent Development as a Framework for Gifted Education: Implications for Best Practices and Applications in Schools (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003238454