Week 7 – Benefits or Lack of in terms of Computer Programming

Discuss the benefits (or lack thereof) of computer programming initiatives such as Scratch in the Classroom to develop the personal and professional attributes of students in initial teacher education?

Areas for discussion may include –

• Planning & preparation
• Classroom management
• Teaching and learning strategies
• Assessment & evaluation
• Personal qualities & professionalism

Planning & Preparation

‘The successful integration of ICT within the Primary School Classroom will depend on effective planning for ICT use by teachers and children.’ (ICT Curriculum) Undoubtedly the effectiveness of Scratch is premised on a well prepared lesson and classroom which is based on the child’s pre-requisite knowledge and fuels their desire to learn. This was a fundamental aspect to be considered when engaging in planning exercises. Admittedly, the first week was a process of trial and error with regard to planning as the children shared a computer with their partner. This required extra focus in our preparation as we had to decide how to ensure equal participation of all children. This was achieved through assigning the letters A and B to the pupils, setting an online timer, monitoring pair work and their interactions etc.

Also we were fortunate to have children who attended Coder Dojo in our class, this required extra attrention as the needs of these children had to be challenged and ultimately attented to. This added an additional pressure as these particular pupils’ had a vast knowledge of Sratch programming. However, we gradually realised that we should use their knowledge to our advantage, allowing them to model and demonstrate their computer programming skills in a whole class setting.

In terms of preparation with regard to computer programming, a teacher must personify organisation. Each week, I made a PowerPoint which contained clear instructions, the outline of the challenges to guide their investigation and also images to provoke discussion and promote originality and creative thinking. Also the room had to be arranged effectively to enable all children to view the whiteboard. Prior to the classes we ensured that all computers were turned on with the Scratch software open to maximise our use of time with the children. Inevitably, Scratch can develop and indeed enhance a teacher’s competence with regard to planning and preparation as computers add an additional element with regard organisation.

Classroom Management

The aspect of Classroom Management had to be attended to with care and consideration. The children worked in pairs and in order to ensure a collaborative relationship developed we had to be strategic in our planning in order to position children in mixed ability groupings. This provided a recipe for success, however we had eo engage in effective observation on week 1 in order to  ‘allow children to act as peer tutors for others in the class.’ (ICT Curriculum) To ensure the participation of all children each child was assigned letter A or B and were given a specific task with the time clearly illustrated on the board. The pupils were eager to learn and experiment with the software  therefore maintaining their attention during demonstrations and discussion tasks proved probelematic at times. A simple instruction was given to ensure effective mangement of the task – when the children heard  a beat performed by the teacher e.g. clap, click, stamp, they had to repeat the beat and place their hands on their head. This was a successful strategy to recapture their attention, however its implementation required practice.

In relation to this area the curriculum acted as a valuable resource as a range of problematic areas were addressed and solutions to rectify these probelems. e.g. ‘Provide children with headphones to reduce the noise levels, when the volume is on.’ (ICT Curriculum) Consequently, addressing areas which I may not have considered in planning, preparing and managing the classroom. The children were not distracted by others and their sound clips and remained firmly engaged in the task.

Teaching & Learning Strategies

(The images above show the pupils engaged in Scratch tasks, on our placement at Donoughmore NS)

Computer programming lessons are similar to your standard lesson in the class as it requires a structure of flow and continuity while simultaneously building on the childs existing knowledge and skills. The following is a prime example of a structure of a Scratch lesson:

Introduction:

Revision of Skills through the use of an interactive PowerPoint, assessing their prior knowledge with regard to certain buttons/tools.

(The Powerpoint containing questions: Scratch Wk 4)

Setting a revision task to allow the children to recall areas explored from the previous lesson.

Development:

Modelling a new skill and the parts of the script required, showing an example and discussing possible solutions in terms of a whole class setting.

Setting a challenge, providing the children with the opportunity to explore, experiment and uncover new elements associated with computer programming.

Conclusion:

Allowing time for ‘Show & Tell’ and responding according to the SAM strategy:

Say something Positive/Ask a question/Make a suggestion.

Revising key areas explored, through the use of the pupils work, while further reaffirming and praising their work and contribution.

Assessment

Computer Programming can facilitate the student teacher as both formative and summative assessment can be used to assess and address specific areas of learning. ‘ICT tools can support the teacher in developing amore complete picture of the child’s learning needs and progression.’ (ICT Curriculum) For example, on our final day of Scratch placement, we asked the children to create a ‘comhrá beirte’ as we were celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge’. Accprding to the teacher this was effective as she was able to address the students who still had not grasped the eiseamláirí teanga associated with her theme of the week.

Formative Assessment: As outlined above, by simply creating a scenario through the use of an animation/game  and asking the children to describe how they would create a script to correspond to it, can aid the teacher with regard to formative assessment as they will be able to determine where their is a deficit in terms of knowledge.

Summative Assessment: A teacher can engage in summative assessement at the end of a lesson by setting challenges and monitoring the children’s engagement with software and allowing the teacher to determine whether or not objectives were achieved.

As highlighted over all of the reflective exercises, Scratch is a one-dimentional piece of software solely concerned with the development of ICT skills. As outlined in the curriculum, ‘children will acquire  ICT skills in a meaningful and relevant context rather than in isolation from curriculum content.’ This illustrates that ICT can be used as an assessment tools as children can use Scratch to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a particular area e.g. after exploring the country of China, the children could create an animation documenting the cultural practices of China.

Personal Development & Professionalsim

The use of new and innovative initiatives such as Scratch can foster the trainee teacher’s growth and develop a sense of competence and confidence in relation to their teaching ability.  Scratch can allow the teacher to incorporate a collaborative approach and extend their knowledge and ability with regard to managing group work situations.  In order to enable the child to use computer programming, clear and concise instructions are essential further developing the teacher’s ability as an effective communicator.

Week 5 – Reflection

The educational potential of computer programming using applications such as Scratch is regularly celebrated as affording learners opportunities for a ‘‘mental workout’’ of cognitive and collaborative skills. Briefly discuss the truthfulness (or lack thereof) of this statement by drawing on specific examples from your own Scratch placement experiences to date.

The truth of this statement cannot be denied as computer programming is an effective tool which can exercise and indeed awaken children to think creatively and analytically.  This has been evident on our scratch placement as children are exploring concepts such as angles, distances, lines of latitudes and longitude while concurrently developing the language associated with computer programming. It is has been noted by both the principal and class teacher, that this software has challenged the children to work with their partners to create a script which matches the task at hand. This was evident during the ‘Trampoline Task’ as the children had to explore the x and y axes in order to get their sprite to jump up and down on the trampoline.  The children needed sufficient time to digest this task and a period of experimentation to arrive at the answer. This simple task was indeed a ‘mental workout’ which promoted collaborative work and developed higher order thinking skills.

The images below outline the task set and an example of one of the children’s creation.

However, in response to this question, I would like to address the fact that very few schools and teachers are aware of the ways in which ICT can enhance the learning process. I think the fault lies mainly with the curriculum as it explores the potential of ICT in a broad and idealistic context which does not relate to the typical teacher. For example – ‘The creative use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education has the capacity to increase the quality of people’s lives by enhancing teaching and learning.’ This quote proclaims that ICT is indeed an invaluable tool but fails to state how it can be incorporated with particular subject areas. I feel the general consensus from the teaching force in Ireland is that practical curricular examples are required, rather than convoluting statements which provide little or no help to the teacher. The curriculum guidelines should be an aid for the teacher not simply a piece of reading material which rests on a classroom shelf and should attend to the computer literacy needs of all teachers. However, the diagram below as illustrated  in the ICT curriculum shows how the implementation of ICT in schools can be executed effectively and I personally believe that this simple diagram can resonate with us all, suggesting that there are three key procedures associated with this process.

An interesting element to note from my placement was that the majority of the staff were eager to discover what this phenomenon ‘Scratch’ actually is and appeared to have an appetite to learn, illustrating that teachers are open to the incorporation of ICT into the classroom domain. The staff at this particular school believed that they were trained insufficiently and did not want to tackle something that they were clearly lacking knowledge in. Also I believe another issue to address here is that the use of ICT in a class depends on the teacher and their own experience and familiarity with computer software. Unfortunately, the reality of this is that many of the children attending schools today do not have access to Scratch or develop their knowledge around ICT.

In the minister’s report on ‘Investing effectively in Internet and Communications Technology in Schools’  it clearly outlines that ICT will not benefit the children in their learning if it is not applied and integrated successfully. ‘Integrating ICT in school life hinges largely on its successful curricular application. Schools must take a learner-centred, rather than a technology-centred, approach to ICT in order to create positive learning outcomes.’  Therefore this issue needs to be addressed through the provision of teacher training, a comprehensive curriculum with practical examples and essentially funding.

To conclude, I feel that ICT and computer programming are not ‘celebrated’ but procedures are being put in place to increase the computer literacy of teachers. Teachers are gradually recognising that there is much more to ICT than a PowerPoint presentation and a positive fact to focus on however is that there is a demand for this form of professional development within the teaching domain, suggesting that in the future our pupils will be immersed in an ICT enriched classroom. The only obstacle obstructing this development is the funding. In our economic climate, ICT belongs on the periphery in terms of education, therefore, teachers will have to become resourceful and intuitive in order to fulfil the child’s desire to explore the world of ICT.

A video clip which I feel celebrates the art of computer programming is ‘What most schools don’t teach’. In this video the importance of computer programming and indeed technology as an entity is highlighted by some of the worlds most famous people Bill Gates, Will. I. Am,  Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. It emphasises the fact the having the ability to computer programme is similar to having the powers of a wizard, suggesting that the world of computers is almost a majestic place in which billions of people can access something by a simple click of a button. ‘The programmers of tommorrow are the wizards of the future.’