Observations from a Day of Code

In an era of high stakes testing, asking a teacher to give up even one class period to any new idea, much less one they view as experimental and something they don't understand can be daunting.  My moment came when the reading classes were looking for an "other educational activity" to distract students after a recent practice test.  These classes, if I could provide a lesson plan that related in some way to reading, would come for one hour of code.  

Lesson plan dispatched.  The students arrived; the lesson was introduced as a college and career exploration exercise. They would play a coding game to see if they had any aptitude or interest in the field of coding.  The students were allowed to choose any one of the coding games from code.org and play.

Opportunities arose.

The students were allowed to try something new that was fun and engaging without fear of failure.  These low test performing students who are subjected to constant remediation were free to imagine a possible future as a coder as found in a game, in the library, without thinking about passing a test first.

Teachers were able to relax and observe their students without grading them--to observe with the opportunity to see them trying something new, engaging without fear of failure, but using failure to learn something new.  The teachers were encouraging without instructing, assisting students by encouraging them to work through their failures.  Genuine observations about abilities and skill sets were extracted from the experience.  The teachers made notes and asked questions. Every time Elsa or Anna skated in the correct pattern after several failed attempts, there were cheers and high-fives.  Pictures were taken when a student completed an entire game.  These students who experience so much difficulty and their teachers were able to celebrate success.  

​Reflections

Teacher takeaways:

• Teacher A:  The game aspect helped to motivate them.  I will look for games to use in instruction.
• Teacher B:  The view of experience through a possible future career made it more interesting to students.  I will look for more real world experience tie ins for my lessons.
• Teacher C:  The element of choice allowed some students to play more difficult games with more complex reading.  I should use that in the classroom.

Library Media Specialist takeaways:

• Providing a lesson plan tied to a school initiative legitimized the activity for teachers and administration.  
• Plan for time after to reflect with teachers on the experience.
• Create a bookmark or pathfinder of resources on coding and coding careers for the students.

Sketch notes on Computational Thinking