Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. Share Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. with FacebookShare Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. with Twitter
Give pretests to students at the beginning of each unit to increase their learning in the course. Share Give pretests to students at the beginning of each unit to increase their learning in the course. with FacebookShare Give pretests to students at the beginning of each unit to increase their learning in the course. with Twitter
Use Parson’s Puzzles to help students engage with a concept without writing code or experiencing frustrating syntax errors. Share Use Parson’s Puzzles to help students engage with a concept without writing code or experiencing frustrating syntax errors. with FacebookShare Use Parson’s Puzzles to help students engage with a concept without writing code or experiencing frustrating syntax errors. with Twitter
Reassure students struggling with common misconceptions that they’re not alone to bolster their confidence. Share Reassure students struggling with common misconceptions that they’re not alone to bolster their confidence. with FacebookShare Reassure students struggling with common misconceptions that they’re not alone to bolster their confidence. with Twitter
Misconception: students think that when you assign a = b, there is no longer anything assigned to b because b empties its contents into a. Share Misconception: students think that when you assign a = b, there is no longer anything assigned to b because b empties its contents into a. with FacebookShare Misconception: students think that when you assign a = b, there is no longer anything assigned to b because b empties its contents into a. with Twitter
Tell your students that they should assume their code has bugs to help decrease their frustration when writing code. Share Tell your students that they should assume their code has bugs to help decrease their frustration when writing code. with FacebookShare Tell your students that they should assume their code has bugs to help decrease their frustration when writing code. with Twitter
When explaining code to the class, project your code and use a tablet to draw on top of it. Ask students for debugging suggestions to make them more comfortable finding bugs and to show them that all programmers, even you, make mistakes. Share When explaining code to the class, project your code and use a tablet to draw on top of it. Ask students for debugging suggestions to make them more comfortable finding bugs and to show them that all programmers, even you, make mistakes. with FacebookShare When explaining code to the class, project your code and use a tablet to draw on top of it. Ask students for debugging suggestions to make them more comfortable finding bugs and to show them that all programmers, even you, make mistakes. with Twitter
Teach Alice in introductory programming courses as a precursor to object-oriented programming languages, like Java, to make OOP fun and interesting for beginners to learn. Share Teach Alice in introductory programming courses as a precursor to object-oriented programming languages, like Java, to make OOP fun and interesting for beginners to learn. with FacebookShare Teach Alice in introductory programming courses as a precursor to object-oriented programming languages, like Java, to make OOP fun and interesting for beginners to learn. with Twitter
Ask students “What is the simplest input to this problem?” when teaching recursion to help students learn to identify appropriate base cases for each argument of their function. Share Ask students “What is the simplest input to this problem?” when teaching recursion to help students learn to identify appropriate base cases for each argument of their function. with FacebookShare Ask students “What is the simplest input to this problem?” when teaching recursion to help students learn to identify appropriate base cases for each argument of their function. with Twitter
Use the NJCCCS Technology standards to help scaffold K-6 graders in learning computer literacy skills. Share Use the NJCCCS Technology standards to help scaffold K-6 graders in learning computer literacy skills. with FacebookShare Use the NJCCCS Technology standards to help scaffold K-6 graders in learning computer literacy skills. with Twitter
Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. Share Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. with FacebookShare Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. with Twitter
Model your grading rubrics off of the Common Core standards to clearly communicate expectations between you and your students in meeting the Common Core standards. Share Model your grading rubrics off of the Common Core standards to clearly communicate expectations between you and your students in meeting the Common Core standards. with FacebookShare Model your grading rubrics off of the Common Core standards to clearly communicate expectations between you and your students in meeting the Common Core standards. with Twitter
Use Python’s map function to introduce students to loops early on, because the map function is an provides an easy transition to loops. Share Use Python’s map function to introduce students to loops early on, because the map function is an provides an easy transition to loops. with FacebookShare Use Python’s map function to introduce students to loops early on, because the map function is an provides an easy transition to loops. with Twitter
Use visual depictions of programmatic concepts, such as recursion, to improve students’ understanding of the concept and reinforce students’ intuition about the concept. Share Use visual depictions of programmatic concepts, such as recursion, to improve students’ understanding of the concept and reinforce students’ intuition about the concept. with FacebookShare Use visual depictions of programmatic concepts, such as recursion, to improve students’ understanding of the concept and reinforce students’ intuition about the concept. with Twitter
Have students sort specific topics in computer science into broader categories in an activity that uses index cards to give them a big-picture understanding of concepts they are learning. Share Have students sort specific topics in computer science into broader categories in an activity that uses index cards to give them a big-picture understanding of concepts they are learning. with FacebookShare Have students sort specific topics in computer science into broader categories in an activity that uses index cards to give them a big-picture understanding of concepts they are learning. with Twitter
Create a group of student mentors who have already completed your school’s introductory computer science courses to give current students peer role models. Share Create a group of student mentors who have already completed your school’s introductory computer science courses to give current students peer role models. with FacebookShare Create a group of student mentors who have already completed your school’s introductory computer science courses to give current students peer role models. with Twitter
Have students who are transitioning from Python to Java explore the “From Python to Java” website to show them the differences between the two languages. Share Have students who are transitioning from Python to Java explore the “From Python to Java” website to show them the differences between the two languages. with FacebookShare Have students who are transitioning from Python to Java explore the “From Python to Java” website to show them the differences between the two languages. with Twitter
Provide consistent feedback opportunities from the very first day of the course to assist struggling students early on and prevent them from falling behind. Share Provide consistent feedback opportunities from the very first day of the course to assist struggling students early on and prevent them from falling behind. with FacebookShare Provide consistent feedback opportunities from the very first day of the course to assist struggling students early on and prevent them from falling behind. with Twitter
Use Python as an introductory language rather than Java or C to allow students to focus on problem-solving more than syntax. Share Use Python as an introductory language rather than Java or C to allow students to focus on problem-solving more than syntax. with FacebookShare Use Python as an introductory language rather than Java or C to allow students to focus on problem-solving more than syntax. with Twitter
Ask students "do you know in advance how many times you'll need to go through the loop?" when deciding between using a for or a while loop, because this is a good rule of thumb for them to use. Share Ask students "do you know in advance how many times you'll need to go through the loop?" when deciding between using a for or a while loop, because this is a good rule of thumb for them to use. with FacebookShare Ask students "do you know in advance how many times you'll need to go through the loop?" when deciding between using a for or a while loop, because this is a good rule of thumb for them to use. with Twitter