Coding Education and the Democratic Classroom
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The document discusses the importance of authentic coding education and critiques current 'curriculum-in-a-box' approaches, which are considered ineffective and alienating, particularly for girls. It advocates for problem-based learning that is contextualized, student-directed, and collaborative, ensuring all students engage meaningfully with coding and computer science concepts. The author believes preparing students for democratic participation and problem-solving is more crucial than merely teaching coding.
Coding Education and the Democratic Classroom
- 1. Coding Education and the Democratic Classroom Madeleine Dougherty Manager of STEM Programs Girls Inc. of Chattanooga
- 2. Computer Science in Schools
- 3. A Note About Psychology Boys Girls
- 4. Comp Sci = Comp Lit?
- 6. “They” want us to teach coding! Hurry! Code.org (Blockly) ● No syntax - visual programming editor ● Motivational videos ● Code Studio curriculum ● Fundamental programming concepts and algorithms
- 7. Great, I taught coding! Except... ● Instructional method not as appealing to girls as to boys ● Eliminates teachers from teaching ● “Where did the maze come from?” ● Attempts to frame value of coding around money, start-up culture
- 8. “They” want us to teach coding! Hurry! Codecademy ● Courses in many languages ● Short modules on different topics within each course ● Learning per se ● Single correct answers to course sections ● Offers “sandbox” for advanced members
- 9. Great, I taught coding! Except... ● No context: “Why are we doing this?” ● Does not explicitly teach algorithmic thinking ● Instructional method alienates girls ● Compartmentalized, linear learning ● Eliminates teacher from teaching
- 10. “They” want us to teach coding! Hurry!
- 11. Curriculum-In-A-Box These are inauthentic coding experiences and ineffective teaching strategies.
- 12. Curriculum-In-A-Box One Size Fits All curricula are bad for public schools.
- 13. A Better Way!
- 14. Authentic Instruction - What is it? It looks like the actual work of programming!
- 15. What Computer Programming Looks Like
- 16. What Computer Programming Looks Like
- 17. What Computer Programming Looks Like
- 18. Authentic Instruction - What is it? Problem-Based Learning ● Contextualized within real, relevant topics ● Open-ended - students determine what they need to know in order to accomplish given goal ● Culminates in an interdisciplinary project and publication ● Student-directed and completed in cooperative teams ● Appealing to multiple learning styles
- 19. Authentic Instruction - What is it? Problem Based Learning ● Greater than AND the sum of its parts* o Students construct understanding of computer science concepts through hands-on exploration o Teacher provides explicit instruction ● Harder! o Teacher must anticipate and troubleshoot unique bugs o Classroom space feels chaotic
- 20. Authentic Instruction - How Does It Help? ● Students solve problems as a cooperative team ● Students independently manage project priorities and deadlines ● All students given opportunity to act as leaders and peer educators ● Teacher is a co-learner and active participant, not an arbitrary authority ● Whole class actively participates and finds authentic value in learning
- 21. Democracy Matters We teachers have done our jobs if we have prepared our students to take initiative, resolve problems effectively and independently, and respect others regardless of perceived status. Coding is not the only way to do this. But it is one way.
- 22. If You Want to Know More... ISTE - International Society for Technology in Education BIE - Buck Institute for Education and Project-Based Learning Diane Ravitch - Research Professor of Education at NYU and Education Historian NCWIT - National Center for Women & Information Technology Generation STEM - Study on girls and STEM by Girl Scouts of America
- 23. Bibliography Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. “With Boys and Girls in Mind,” Educational Leadership, Nov. 2004. Margolis, Jane, Allan Fischer, and Faye Miller. “Caring About Connections: Gender and Computing.” Carnegie Mellon University, n.d. Web. 20 April 2015. Modi, Komal, Ph.D., Judy Schoenburg, Ed.M., and Kimberly Salmond, M.P.P. Generation STEM: What Girls Say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Rep. N.p.: Girl Scouts of America Research Institute, 2012. Print. Ravitch, Diane. Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. Print. Ravitch, Diane. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Print. Sax, Leanoard (2005). Why Gender Matters. New York: Broadway Books
Editor's Notes
- #4: Tend to compartmentalize new information Can more easily interpret symbolic and pictorial representations Enjoy physical and spatial tasks, especially building Learn computer science for its own sake Girls Large corpus callosum, more “cross-talk” between hemispheres Driven toward complex, stimulating, multi-sensory mental activities Stress desire to improve social condition, help others Context matters
- #5: Keyboarding Practice Microsoft Office Suite Internet Safety/ Cyber Bullying Evaluating Internet Sources File Management
- #10: Code.org -- Hadi Partovi Codecademy - Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski CodeHS - Jeremy Keeshin and Zach Galant
- #12: Can be used as a part of a more effective instructional unit, but when applied as “stand alone” projects they fall short
- #13: Takes autonomy away from teachers Reinforces top-down authority, silence, and effectively creates discipline problems Makes bedfellows between private companies and public schools (we have quite enough of that, thanks)a
- #16: Professionals work in teams comprised of back-end developers, designers, and programmers to develop products/services for clients who have multiple needs who in turn are responding to consumers/users
- #17: Computer programming is integrated into virtually every discipline
- #18: CODING IS A DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. The programming team is centered around the standards in place and the central goal of the program they’re developing, not the whims of their boss → There is resistance to this idea right now but let’s face it, it’s where we’re heading.
- #19: Example Project: Create an app for community organization: visual coding editor, but requires interviews with clients/research Write a “choose your own adventure” story and turn it into a game to teach algorithmic thinking