Phenomenon-based learning – integrating multiple school subjects in learning activities – is often named as one of the core working methods for coding education. The idea fits coding perfectly as coding is not learnt for the sake of learning but for tackling real life issues through programming and technology. The phenomenon-based approach (PhenoBL) builds strong […]
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Student-centred learning is in the heart of teaching coding – and this calls for a change in the role of the teacher
Why should our students learn how to code? The answer is not “so that they would do better in tests”. Coding skills are a vital 21st century competence that should be seen as the future literacy for all rather than as a skill set for some. As technology surrounds us, those who can understand and […]
Unleashing students’ coding potential requires high quality teacher training
Coding skills have become an important future skill set in our modern world. Many countries have introduced coding and algorithmic thinking in their curricula. It’s often highlighted that these skills belong to everyone. Truly, coding skills can be even named as a new literacy! The importance of coding competencies is reflected the huge amount of […]
It is time for Online Teacher Professional Development 3.0
The year of 2020 has seen a massive increase of online teaching around the world. At the same time, the role of online pedagogy is as essential as ever. As teachers have come to notice, top-notch teaching practices are needed to truly engage students who are taking part of education through their computers. At the […]
Get off the piggy train – learning for real life
To keep school relevant and motivating for students, learning goals should be connected to real life. In programming teaching we see too many “piggy trains” where one just happily follows instructions. Coding should be taught for real life, meaning that teaching should be connected to the students’ interests, projects, and phenomena.
Coding is creative self-expression
We often run into the misconception that coding is first and foremost logical deduction and mathematical drudgery. Those same people probably think that composing music is just maths. Musical hobbies do develop mathematical skills, but music is so much more.
Coding as a work method for all phenomena based learning
Phenomena connect subject areas, teachers and classes into new forms of collaboration. To ensure that groups of students can express themselves, the range of working methods should be sufficient. Coding is a form of creative expression that allows for the creation of interactive media. Coding should be one additional learning tool next to reading, writing, […]
Why coding in school?
To delve into this question, I will use ask 5 consecutive “why” questions to find the root cause. This is a popular technique in software companies as well.
