As an elementary educator, more specifically a first-grade teacher, I find it very important to find ways to intrigue and engage my students in any content. Student engagement is even more important when introducing a concept as intricate as coding. This engagement and interest can be tricky because to many teachers and students, coding is an abstract concept that can be hard to bring to life, thus making it hard for students to grasp on to the idea and run with all the opportunities and possibilities that can come from coding.
To find out ways and strategies to get students interested in computer science, click here!
Student interest, as well as a growth mindset (grit), is crucial to young coders because of the inescapable failure that comes along with coding. This failure can be very discouraging to students, but when teachers preface a coding opportunity by explaining this fate, students can expect it and better deal with the frustration. Like Brookhouser and Megnin (2016) state "all computer programmers- from preteen amateurs to full-time professionals-experience bugs, errors, and frustrations all the time. In fact, encountering and fixing problems is almost entirely what they do" (p. 66).
Check out this well-prepared lesson in an elementary classroom that includes an introduction to coding, a teach model of coding, a group collaboration to guide the BeeBot through the map, and an opportunity for students to investigate and explore on their own. If this doesn't scream engagement and interest, then I don't know what does!
One of my favorite aspects of this lesson occurred from timestamp 3:30 to 4:40. During this time period in the lesson, the students run into a failure, or bug, within the code the students had programmed the BeeBot to perform. When the students experienced this failure, the class was able to regroup and reprogram the BeeBot to perform the correct instructions. This segment within the lesson directly supports the statement that Brookhouser and Megnin (2016) made that "programs almost always fail to run the way our kids planned because computers can't read intentions! They follow instructions exactly, and humans almost never enter a perfect set of instructions on the first try" (p. 65).
BeeBots, as seen in the videoed lesson above, are not the only coding tool that can be used for elementary-aged students. Check out the link below to explore other coding tools for elementary school students.
https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/best-coding-tools-for-elementary
References
Best coding tools for elementary. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/best-coding-tools-for-elementary
Brookhouser, K. & Megnin, R. (2016). Code in every class: How all educators can teach programming. Irvine, California: EdTechTeam Press.
Plotnick, N. (2015). 7 ways to get students interested in computer science. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2015/12/07/7-ways-to-get-students-interested-in.html
Vacca, M. [Mr. Vacca]. (2017, December 3). Using beebots in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classrooms- Hour of code with Mr. Vacca [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uULpYYE1Agc
I absolutely agree that it is vital to find ways to spark student interest in the classroom. Including coding in the classroom is a great way to encourage student engagement. I love the example you include in your post about how to include coding in the elementary classroom. However, including coding can be challenging because "at some point, all students will need one-on-one technical or emotional attention and support" (Brookhouser & Megnin, 2016, p.61). These challenges teach students perseverance and problem solving skills.
ReplyDeleteUsing BeeBots in the classroom to teach coding is super cool! Too many students have never been shown how to take control of computers and other digital devices. They’re stuck as consumers when they should be learning how to use tech tools to be creators and problem-solvers (Brookhouser & Megnin, 2016).
ReplyDeleteI actually have BeeBots in my lesson plans the next 2 weeks! Our gifted program teacher got a set for my school to use. I am so excited. It is funny that even fifth graders enjoy these little bees. Brookhouser & Megnin (2016) stated, "Even students who don't continue coding after your class will know the value of working on a challenge all the through and will have achieved grit". I think that incorporating activities like BeeBots shows students first hand what they can accomplish with coding!
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