Hi, Dan from Teesside here. Not a firework fan right now TBH - the lovely residents of my estate like to set them off in the early hours and scare the s*** (literally last night) out of my dog! #caschat
Q1. What programming activity/projects do you set that you consider easy? What activity/projects do you set that you consider challenging?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CASChat
A1 in KS1 bee-bots are easy to access, but challenge can be introduced, same with @ScratchJr In KS2 I do lots with @scratch - challenge comes from the amounts of scaffolding/support and how open or not the task is. #caschat
KS2: I like to start with Scratch - the telling a joke sequence to introduce characters, speech and basic motion - usually a good chance to see how creative the children can be, and how they can extend a brief! Also good to test prior learning #caschat
Q1. What programming activity/projects do you set that you consider easy? What activity/projects do you set that you consider challenging?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CASChat
A1 In EYFS I start with unplugged, 'programming' themselves. I now find Ozobots and Code-a-pillars "easy" projects and then move on to @primotoys Cubetto and @TTS_Group Beebots as more challenging/demanding projects. #caschat
A1: For KS2 a lot of the projects/lessons i set are normally quite easy for them so i do add challenges, but when it comes to unplugged this is where it becomes a bit more complicated as they have to digital to analoge so to say. #caschat
A1: i think variables are a challenge and how data is stored, we use the idea of a box to store information. at each level, you expand it, so start with just storing data, to introducing data types at key stage 4 then arrays and more complex structures at KS5 #caschat
Really? Can't remember who I stole it from, but I like it as it is a good gauge of children's ability to think logically, and to debug simple code to improve! #caschat
Heard about our Teacher Development Fund? #PHFTDF supports arts-based teaching & learning across the primary curriculum. Up to £150K to partnerships of art/cultural orgs & schools. Book a pre-application call. Apply by 5 Dec https://t.co/biALbKciGo#mathscpdchat#caschat#debatED
A1: i think variables are a challenge and how data is stored, we use the idea of a box to store information. at each level, you expand it, so start with just storing data, to introducing data types at key stage 4 then arrays and more complex structures at KS5 #caschat
Q2. How much emphasis do you apply to analysis and design before pupils/students start writing code? How do they respond to this?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
Q2. How much emphasis do you apply to analysis and design before pupils/students start writing code? How do they respond to this?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
A2) I usually teach on a cycle of plan, code, test, debug and evaluate. The plan part is key to going through the coding part. Once children know the cycle they respond well. #caschat
I think I would have thrown the Crumble out the window if left to tinker with it! @Baggiepr stuff was really useful starting point. But I do let kids tinker with new apps in EYFS as often leads to great learning and collaboration. #caschat
In reply to
@hengehall, @missedabracket, @KJSICT, @Baggiepr
A2: Only a little, usually Children apply what they have learnt with an end project but no real design. The only time we did this was with the Iron Man project and that worked well #caschat
A2 #, #caschat. I've just started using a lot more design with ss before they go to programming stage- basic sketches and pseudicode for scratch. Designs for physical computing to include pseudocode
Q2. How much emphasis do you apply to analysis and design before pupils/students start writing code? How do they respond to this?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
A2 this looks different in different key stages. In KS1 things like fake bots are great to get children to think before they use the device. In KS2 it's good to get children to design algorithms on paper first. #caschat
#CasChat Anyone have any idea why my python application is not running standalone when I have converted it to exe using PyInstaller? The app uses TKINTER. It’s converting just not starting up when I run it. Any help would be great!
A2. It depends on the task. For KS5, they need to be able to create code quickly.
I use more planning with KS4, but often let them loose the first time to show the time planning saves.
#caschat
we've just re-designed the entire Y9 curriculum to really focus on algorithmic understanding before coding, but it's hard because the kids all want to code. at least 3 lessons at KS4 on a concept, even the simple ones #caschat
A2: I did a little experiment with this last term where unplugged they had to design a 3D buiding with straws and cups then after create an algo to see if they could code it, a very enjoyable lesson was had by all #caschat
#caschat
Does anyone know the deal with Scratch and GDPR?
I haven't been able to get a straight answer from them but my inter-schools hackathon hinges on the children logging in to upload their creations.
A2 I do like open ended briefs which encourage children to consider purpose and audience first, but I do find we have our deepest learning through the coding and debugging phases, which is where resilience and teamwork become key skills #caschat
A2 I have found it really hard to get @CodeClub kids to plan on paper /design stuff first - they just want to dive straight in and say it's all in their heads - which it usually is! I tend to bring them back to pencil and paper when they get 'stuck' #caschat
A2 I have found it really hard to get @CodeClub kids to plan on paper /design stuff first - they just want to dive straight in and say it's all in their heads - which it usually is! I tend to bring them back to pencil and paper when they get 'stuck' #caschat
A1: I used to go in with theory before I started actually teaching programming but students really struggled to apply the theory. At KS3 the last few years we implemented the PRIMM approach to programming by @suesentance and Jane and that's improved our KS3 #caschat
A1: a number of our students at KS5 have struggled with OOP as a paradigm for programming, particulalry when implementing it within their own projects. This year we have tried it out in a much more practical way and the students have done really well! A huge improvement! #caschat
Q3. Considering the removal of the practical assessment (NEA) at GCSE, what, if any, would be the most suitable method of assessing pupils programming skills in the future?
What method is used at other levels? #CasChat
A2: At KS3 planning using comments to help structure the code. At KS4, dependant on the size of the project, some pseudocode and thought into data structures. It's hard at GCSE as the questions are so close ended #caschat
I'm going to be controversial & say that I like the iGCSE approach.
Complete the tasks & answer questions about it in the exam - it validates the work they do.
Even if they do get help, they still have to learn how & why it works.
#caschat
A3 Ahh the age old dilemma of the computing subject leader (primary!) I've tried writing a curriculum with emerging/expected/exceeding statements for each strand, online portfolios, child friendly statements, old school highlighty sheets - would love the answer to this! #caschat
A2: At KS5, particulalry as part of their NEA a huge empahasis on the design and analysis to give students practical experience! They need real world skills in adapting their criteria to real world users and having feedback from another person #caschat
Q1. What programming activity/projects do you set that you consider easy? What activity/projects do you set that you consider challenging?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CASChat
Explaining that they needed to be able to read some code before they could write it also helped our Year 4's understand why they were finding some bits tricky and they returned to the reading bit more willingly/purposefully. #caschat
In reply to
@missedabracket, @misskteague, @suesentance
A3. It’s near impossible to assess pupils’ programming skills in an accurate, equitable manner on the scale required and in the time available. We shouldn’t feel the need to assess *everything* a student does, let’s focus on assessing what we can. #caschat
A3) At KS2 you can use annotations / comments plus verbal discussion to gauge understanding and assess. I think it must be really difficult to assess with only an exam. #caschat
Idea stolen! Thank you...can't wait for next year's recruits 😂 my students have to do a drop the mic style rap about databases (I tried it once and can't stop doing the activity now because it was so much fun!) #caschat
A3) At KS2 you can use annotations / comments plus verbal discussion to gauge understanding and assess. I think it must be really difficult to assess with only an exam. #caschat
A3. It’s near impossible to assess pupils’ programming skills in an accurate, equitable manner on the scale required and in the time available. We shouldn’t feel the need to assess *everything* a student does, let’s focus on assessing what we can. #caschat
Honestly this year I put a lot of hours (over the summer while developing my own NEA to use a model) into my own development. I tried to make as many examples as possible with different contextes as well as essientally built a game with the class over a period of lessons #caschat
#caschat A3 on screen exam, just like the A-Level AQA exam. it works perfectly for A-level, would work well for GCSE. with some prelim materials and some code they havent seen
Q4. What is your favourite activity that pupils/students enjoy and stay engaged with, to develop their programming skills?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
Q4. What is your favourite activity that pupils/students enjoy and stay engaged with, to develop their programming skills?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
A4. @microbit_edu is still a firm favourite of mine! Students eyes light up as soon as they see their message scroll on their #microbit. Easy win and lots of potential inc. #physicalcomputing#caschat
A3 #caschat I am disappointed the NEA is going. I think there should be an open-ended development project with a Documentation element, we can assess whether they understand the code they wrote if they can document it accurately.
Q3. Considering the removal of the practical assessment (NEA) at GCSE, what, if any, would be the most suitable method of assessing pupils programming skills in the future?
What method is used at other levels? #CasChat
Q4. What is your favourite activity that pupils/students enjoy and stay engaged with, to develop their programming skills?
State KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4/KS5/University. #CasChat
Physical Computing. Arduino boards and seeing a relevance to programming in real life scenarios. Created various things with pupils which include traffic light systems, car parks, christmas lights, robotic hands, light sabres. Adds a different dimension to the lesson #caschat
Q4 When I had Raspberry Pi's in my last Y6 class I loved hacking Minecraft! At the culmination of the year giving children breadboards, Makey Makeys and anything else they could think of to create a physical project was amazing! #caschat
A3 I feel like we need a clear definition of what are ‘programming skills’ that every teacher in Primary can agree on. I still think that there is s lotbof confusion #caschat
Q4 Surprisingly, it's the unplugged lessons that they love and are usually fully engaged in. I love just standing back and listening to the language used. #caschat
One of the reasons I chose IGCSE. Tired of being expected / directed to write coursework for kids. They do need to understand a task and possible solutions for Paper 2 - and that’s only part of the marks. The results are fairer IMHO #caschat
Q4 Explaining the meaning of algorithms, getting to the 'bug' part and using the example that I've got to school with my Captain Underpants pyjamas. #caschat
#caschat A4. Pair Programming - first lesson or two with a new class, they’re not always so keen, but later on they only ever want to develop in pairs. Takes time to set it up at first, but after then it’s like having another 15 teachers in the room.
A1: Easy would be reading in something from a file and manipulating it, or even connecting to a SOAP/Rest API. Challenging would be doing something with regex, recursion, MVVM, MVC, inheritance, interfaces #caschat
A4: Ahh now this one is not all the time but if they have a good time and got stuff done in the lesson i get them to swap projects to see how they can be improved and for homework for some of them i have asked some to re-master some scratch games #caschat
A4: A new activity I made this year for OOP. I set a homework to watch Pirates of the Carribean and set an OOP task off the back of it....some of the students got really into it and I got some excellent work! #caschat
think we need to move away from the idea that computing is "just programming" #caschat talk to your nearest secondary master teacher, maybe they can help you produce a pathway for KS2 to KS3. It's one of my long term plans for my feeder primaries
A4 ROBOTS!!
Simple Pi Zero robots coded in Python. The code, using gpiozero library, is easy to get into but has endless scope. Using this, I've had Yr4s writing functions, with parameters!
#caschat
A3: They need to code. In industry you will need to be able to develop a solution and deploy it. Maybe some kind of test driven development task with a predefined test written in NUnit? #caschat
Do a mock informal job interview where the student is invited to discuss their knowledge and demonstrate code they have created. Has the best parts of coursework and exam, and also prepares students for job interviews. #caschat
A2 KS1,24&5 .. I encourage students to engage their CT skills by planning out the steps/ project. From simple Pseudocode KS1 ie Fwd x 4 etc.. flow charts KS2-3 to top down & structure design KS4-5 #caschat
A4: as part of the PRIMM lessons we created a quiz for students and they loved making the questions and answers personal...also anything python turtle based! #caschat
I agree in theory but the reality is that teachers over assist pupils and the system makes it hard to detect. There’s pressure on results: parents & kids know it. HTs put pressure on HODS and teachers which only goes one way #caschat
I've always looked at coding like building with Lego/KNEX etc. The structure doesn't come from what you're building but the material you're using to build it. #caschat
I've always looked at coding like building with Lego/KNEX etc. The structure doesn't come from what you're building but the material you're using to build it. #caschat
Don't we all! If you find anything useful, do share, but I have 'shelved' the whole assessment issue at school this year to focus on just getting teachers delivering some CS... and maybe the assessment thing will follow?! #caschat
In reply to
@MrsGW2, @computingdawn, @missedabracket
What happens when 50 students submit the same code to read in the same text file, manipulate it and give an output? Realistically - how many different algorithms are out there to do the same thing. Maybe it should be assessed like maths. #caschat
Perhaps using a https://t.co/0oRNLA5qvA, to begin with as it shows teachers how the children are doing and the levels they found trickiest, which also highlights what concept of computing they need to work on. #caschat
In reply to
@MrsGW2, @computingdawn, @missedabracket
A5) Paired programming is a regular usually dictated by resources however it works well. Choose pairs carefully, know the children well and you can get some great results #caschat
Working in industry, we have 5 engineers sharing projects tracked in JIRA across 5 different time zones. I've just teamed up with a developer in Sao Paulo and we developed an application to test things. He developed most of the backend, I developed most of the front end. #caschat
Q5: Sadly not very often now I'm tutoring & focused on CPD. But I've adapted it so it becomes a tutor/tutee activity.
They love telling me when I've gone wrong!
#caschat
I know, I’ve had some Yr 7s come back really despondent about what they do when they leave but by the same token secondary colleagues must get sick of the inconsistency in abilities from primaries #caschat
I feel the only way is a secure website and login setup by exam board as anything in a centre is potentially problematic due to pre-release material. I definitely like the idea of that! #caschat
#caschat A5. How long have you got? 😆 I use for almost all the learning, but not for assessment. Match like with like. A balance of stepped challenges, first few are for all, later ones more open ended.
My son has just started Secondary and it would appear there is a great divide between what he did in Primary and what his peers have (or haven't) done. Not sure how you cope with that in KS3! #caschat
Maybe a something useful would be a Kanban board, where you have 10 students to each code a project together. They then get assessed on the piece they build along with how it integrates to the other pieces. #caschat
A5 I’m doing more of this when working with trainee primary teachers, esp with physical computing projects. However, a fine balance is needed, as I also want them to have the confidence that they produced code including a certain programming concept once on their own. #caschat
They had to create a pirate class with given attributes such as hat and parrot and methods i.e. parlay. Inheritance was shown through creating a Pirate King class...it was full of nods to the films and the students excelled with their puns! I can share if you'd like? #caschat
A5: Now I do this all the time but mainly due to hardware availability but we don't always put a say code clubber with a student with little or no knowledge as sometimes you will find that they will solve the problems in their own peer group #caschat
Ks2 & 3 I have found using physical computing with project based learning applied to real world context really engages students particularly girls, it is the key to enabling CS gender balance 🤓
Have you seen Rapid Router on https://t.co/ZtHkDtgRuA? You can set up accounts for the kids so you can monitor their progress through the activities which go all the way through to Python #caschat
In reply to
@MrsGW2, @computingdawn, @missedabracket
I'm thinking more about the problem and application side of Maths, not the recall side. The points aren't necessarily in getting the answer, but showing your workings out. #caschat
I go with personalities so as you don't get one dominating the other, or sometimes mixed ability pairs to help the more confident articulate to the less confident. #caschat
A5: we have 30 devices in our suite so we have not used pair programming as much as I would have liked, this is something I want to develop this year! #caschat
A5 I like children working together in KS1/2, as much as anything else to teach them about collaboration and problem solving, plus it is a good chance to support and extend different ability children (also hardware availability can force it!) #caschat
I love rapid router! My issue is that it’s only part of assessing programming skills. I struggle with the PRIMM aspects, harder to teach and certainly harder to assess #caschat
In reply to
@OkComputing, @MrsGW2, @missedabracket
Hi Neil,
how about working in pairs when introducing and then setting 'homework' to go away and do something similar on their own? Worked well for me on Jane's course! #caschat
Ahh, this is where we need to have some continuity between yr6 and 7 as I teach a lot of yr7-8 subject matter in yr5-6 so when they go up my guys are quite ahead of a lot of there classmates #caschat
My son has just started Secondary and it would appear there is a great divide between what he did in Primary and what his peers have (or haven't) done. Not sure how you cope with that in KS3! #caschat
By putting students with others who are able to code at the same level, I find works well too. Students who may take longer persist together rather than hold back and let the other child solve the problems for them. is that similar to what you do? #caschat
