Kids want to code, they love to code, many of them have already started to explore this on their own.
I currently teach a self-contained fifth grade classroom.
They work hard, strive for achievement, and are become highly engaged in STEM projects. They are constantly pleading to do more with design thinking, science and engineering. After our last school-wide STEM Challenge it was hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
Everyday I endeavor to show them short videos highlighting various areas in which these skills can be applied. My desire is to share with them the vast opportunities that await them in fields from clothing design to stop-motion animation. They eagerly engage in hands-on activities that require them to think, problem-solve, and design. I can truly see that this passion for design thinking is represented throughout my class. I feel that this generation perhaps will finally turn back the tide that has heretofore left certain parts of our population underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
My Project
Code.org sums up the situation nicely:
“Computer science drives innovation in the U.S.
economy and society. Despite growing demand for jobs in the field, it remains marginalized throughout the U.S. K-12 education system.”
Our school is working hard to become a STEM elementary school. We already have many students who are greatly interested in technology and engineering and will soon hold a school-wide computer design STEM challenge where all the students in our school from K-5 use Code.org's online curriculum to learn coding skills. I want my fifth grade learners to pilot an experience whereby they extend and apply their knowledge of block coding to introductory robotics. They will go through the design process, creating their code, testing it, redesigning, improving their iterations until their programs are able to achieve the desired task.
This project will help my learners develop the skills needed for STEM careers; “to develop in students the computational practices of algorithm development, problem solving and programming within the context of problems that are relevant to the lives of today’s students.”
It’s amazing that these eighteen tiny, relatively inexpensive robots will provide engaging, challenging opportunities for learners to collaborate in teams to solve problems and create programs. Learners will use imagination, logical reasoning, persistence and communication skills embedded in the process of creating, testing, improving, and sharing their program design.
“Teaching young learners how to code on a large scale will help change the paradigm of children, and ultimately adults, from being technology consumers to technology producers. And that's precisely what our students -- and our country -- need right now. “ - Edutopia
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