Bringing a smile to people’s faces when they see their code working

I am accredited to provide PLD to support teachers in their classrooms or via workshops and video conferencing. Some of my favourite mahi is around building their digital fluencies and supporting them to integrate the Digital Technologies curriculum. For instance, unplugged computational thinking is already happening in every classroom but teachers might not be aware of the curriculum jargon or how to extend what they’re doing to other contexts. Other times, we use devices that the school owns, such as Bee-Bot or more advanced programmable robots or non-robot-based coding, like Scratch and micro:bit.

Micro:bit always brings a smile to people’s faces when they see their coding have an effect in the physical world. When I return to a school and have students come to me and show me what they’ve done since my last visit, that’s pretty cool.

Fast pick-up

There are less and less teachers who don’t see the point of digital tools now and there are so many fantastic tools available. Once they see students using digital tools to express their learning or to engage in learning activities, I find teachers are often surprised at the speed with which students adapt. I often hear ‘we’re holding them back’, in terms of students trying new tools and running with them. Teachers usually come to realise that they don’t need to be digital experts. Instead, they apply what they do with non-digital learning, such as allowing student leaders to teach others, setting up expert groups in the classroom, having students explain their process, and asking the student for advice on how to use a tool or feature.

Students pick up block-based coding platforms fast at any age, as long as we support them to use an age-appropriate tool, and this is often a complete surprise to teachers. I love showing educators the basics and seeing them make their own connections through the whole curriculum and ideate on the potential of these tools in their pedagogy.

Authentic contexts

As a science and physics teacher for 16 years, I seldom used any coding tools in my teaching. Outside of teaching, however, I started visual scripting when playing LittleBigPlanet 2 on PlayStation. I

By Stephen Ross, Te Whai Toi Tangata

have several levels published, including one called Singular Duality, which won an international competition. I really enjoy block-based and flowchart coding, and I am currently completing a visual scripting course for making 2D games in my spare time. Otherwise, I have supported students and teachers to use Sphero, micro:bit, Scratch and Scratch Jr, Edison, and mBot.

In my work, I try to show how these tools can be used in authentic contexts, so I talk with teachers about what students are learning and make some suggestions about what coding we could do, what device and so on, to fit in what they are already learning. We co-construct a plan and then I spend some time preparing an activity that I usually model in class for the teachers in 30-45 minutes. Afterwards I talk about what they noticed, what questions they have, any troubleshooting, and how they might use the tool or approach themselves. I check Twitter and various other online platforms often for new ideas but much of my inspiration comes from the school

contexts I work in.

I often see teachers point to a student and tell me how they are usually withdrawn or quiet and that coding has given them a voice and an avenue to display hidden strengths – I love the creativity coding unlocks for students. I get to keep learning alongside teachers and students, and I get a lot of joy from seeing other people learn new things. I also get to visit a lot of schools and meet a lot of teachers and students which, is a huge privilege. I also love the problemsolving nature of coding and exploring the different ways we can reach the same outcome or challenge.

Stephen Ross is a Facilitator at Te Whai Toi Tangata, a professional learning and development (PLD) provider based at the University of Waikato. More at waikato. ac.nz/professionallearning

Stephen recently published two Scratch projects on Science Learning Hub based on New Zealand’s space industry, Making digital space debris clean-up games