From Caesar to RSA: A CAMMP‐Based Encryption Workshop for High‐School Classes

ABSTRACT Encryption has been, and remains, a topic of enduring relevance, reflecting humanity's persistent desire for secure communication. This 3‐hour workshop, developed within the CAMMP framework, aims to introduce participants to the principles of secure communication while fostering mathematical understanding at an appropriate pace for the target audience. The workshop approaches this subject through an accessible introduction to cryptography via the Caesar cipher, providing students with a low‐threshold entry point. Building on this initial exposure, the workshop subsequently progresses to a more sophisticated and secure encryption method: the RSA algorithm. The RSA procedure is introduced step by step, within a problem‐based learning context, thereby allowing students to develop the underlying mathematical concepts gradually and through guided exploration. By the conclusion of the workshop, participants are able to independently encrypt and decrypt messages and exchange them with one another, thereby applying their newly acquired knowledge in practice. Throughout, the design and implementation of the workshop are grounded in a set of design principles (highlight the role of mathematics, show external and internal mathematical links, consider authenticity and relevance of the problem, use appropriate technical tools, provide opportunities for discussion and reflection in cooperative learning formats, enable internal differentiation, use a modeling cycle as a metacognitive element).