Code School For Europe programme – our insights

Sirkku Tahvanainen

Head of Education, Code School Finland

Whether or not their curriculum demands it, teachers all over Europe are willing to learn to teach coding. This is because all teachers share a common goal – they are committed to giving their students the knowledge, skills, and guidance they need to put them on the path of success in their future endeavours.

Our own understanding of that was further strengthened in the course of our work with teachers from Ireland and Belgium within the frames of Code School For Europe programme. This program is funded by Google, who want to provide teachers with the skills and tools to teach coding during the normal school day.

And yes, students are the same all over Europe too. In Ireland, we got to visit the lovely 4th graders of Saint Aidan’s Senior National School in Jobstown. They are fully embracing coding in their classroom, and the pride and enthusiasm they showed in demonstrating their Scratch projects is what we find whenever coding is taught.

📚 Comprehensive programme for busy teachers

What is also common among all teachers is that they are busy at their work. We at Code School Finland have taken this into account when we designed our teacher training feature. By offering a programme that includes everything a teacher needs (training, student materials and lesson plans), we are making teacher training unintimidating and doable for everyone.

“Teacher training has gone smoother than we had anticipated.”

Bry Ern Low

Teacher, Westlake International School

Also, the training can be completed in a number of different ways. Teachers can do the online course at their own pace or attend the live webinars offered both online and onsite. Furthermore, we offer personal support for all participants. 

Ultimately,  all teachers are lifelong learners too, continually seeking to improve their knowledge and skills to better serve their students. They attend professional development programmes, seek out new teaching methods and technologies, and collaborate with colleagues to enhance their teaching practices.

This type of collaboration is at the heart of the Code School For Europe programme. Thanks to Google and Code School Finland, some of the participating teachers will receive extra training to help their colleagues to teach coding during the upcoming semesters. This makes for a self-sustaining and self-expanding programme which will more benefits and teaching resources each year.

Code School Europe acts as a scalable model that can augment coding education in any country, something that is a wise investment for the future.