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Teaching Computing in Primary Schools
... The workshop should emphasize these algorithmic structures as well as generally applicable computational thinking concepts, e.g. algorithmic thinking, abstraction, decomposition [2]. ...
... One benefit of using cross-curricular teaching is that the teachers are working with partially familiar ideas, which could give them more security in the classroom. Besides, the new CS topics can have a positive effect on the existing curriculum instead of just reducing the time available [2]. ...
In many countries, the demands are getting louder to bring computer science education into primary schools. Curricula and teaching approaches are evolving and educators have to work their way into new topics. Many primary school teachers feel overstrained by these developments and the need for appropriate teacher training is rising. In this paper, we describe the structure and contents of an in-service professional development workshop for primary school teachers without any previous knowledge in computer science (CS) as well as first results of the pilot run with 40 teachers. Throughout the three-day workshop, the teachers get the chance to follow the students' path of learning by taking a primary school programming course themselves, engage intensively with the underlying algorithmic concepts through in-depth exercises and work on their own ideas for implementations in the classroom.
... The discussion about the necessity of computer science (CS) and especially programming in primary education has grown steadily in recent years [4] [34]. At the same time, visual programming environments for educational purposes like Scratch, Snap or Blockly have become very popular for teaching introductory programming. ...
... In recent years, the discussion about the necessity of Computer Science (CS) and especially programming in primary education has grown steadily (Webb et al. 2017, Bell andDuncan 2018). The early development of key understanding, skills, and thinking approaches emerging from CS seems to have several positive effects on children. ...
While several countries have already introduced Computer Science or programming into their primary school curricula (e.g., the UK, Australia, or Finland), Germany has not yet developed mandatory guidelines on how to deal with these matters. Although there is an agreement that students of all ages should gain insight into the recognition and formulation of algorithms, the focus in primary school is often still on the mere use of computers. Programming courses, on the other hand, are increasingly found in extracurricular activities. It is still open to what extent and in what form algorithms and programming can and should be introduced in primary schools in the longer term. To help answer this question, we trained 40 primary school teachers in algorithms and programming and examined how they implement the topics in their individual schools. Among these are teachers who teach programming in class (formal learning) as well as teachers who offer their students extracurricular programming activities on a voluntary basis (non-formal learning). We interviewed all teachers about how they implemented the topics, what advantages they saw in the individual formats, and what challenges they encountered. In this paper, we outline our didactical approach as well as the results of our interview study.
... In the past few years, the discussion about the necessity of computer science (CS) and especially programming in primary education is growing steadily (Prottsman 2014;Bell and Duncan 2018). Introducing computer science concepts from an early age seems to have several positive consequences on the children (Duncan, Bell, and Tanimoto 2014). ...
Computer Science (CS) is increasingly entering the early levels of childhood education, like primary school or even kindergarten. Although Germany has not yet developed mandatory guidelines for how to deal with these new topics, Bavaria seems to consider extending the field of computer science education to the primary sector in the long term. It is therefore becoming more and more necessary to gain insight into which teaching methods and content would be suitable for students at primary level. To investigate the characteristics of effective programming courses for primary schools, we developed a three-day introductory course following the design-based research approach. This article will set focus on both the theoretical foundation resulting from this specific research approach and the didactic implementation of the theoretical framework.
... Computing education, and computing education curricula generally claim to contribute an important aspect of education for living in a technology driven world, for digitisation, and future developments. Bell and Duncan mention for example the following goals [3]: ...
Repair cafés are quite common. They are usually focusing on repairing technical gadgets, e.g. bicycles, electronic devices and so on. In this article we describe a transfer of the idea to computing education. In doing so, we developed two innovations to the original concept: a) reflection as integrated part, and b) software repairing as focus (instead of repairing hardware). We present the concept in context of repairing smartphones, and report lessons learned from first experiences. An interesting lesson learned is that a computing repair café can a) foster established learning goals in computing, that we often address, but probably don't often realise; and b) it can help to sharpen the understanding and definition of these goals (like e.g. becoming producers instead of only consumers).
Background and Context
There is a need for teachers who are prepared to teach integrated CS/CT throughout the K-12 curriculum. Drawing on three vignettes of teacher instructional practice, we build on a growing body of literature around how teachers integrate CS/CT into their classrooms after attending CS/CT focused professional development.
Objective
We are interested in what different instructional approaches look like when elementary teachers engage in teaching CS/CT and what kinds of discourse accompany each of these instructional approaches.
Method
We utilized a two-step process to code video data of classroom instruction for four teachers. We conducted macro level coding to gain an understanding of the types of knowledge, instructional strategies, and discourse displayed by each teacher. We then conducted micro-level discourse analysis utilizing Brennan and Resnick’s framework for assessing the development of computational thinking.
Findings
We present vignettes of teachers using three distinct instructional approaches, direct instruction, discovery learning, and scaffolding and modeling. We look across vignettes to discuss the affordances and limitations of each instructional approach.
Implications
Our findings have implications for how we design curriculum and instruction and conduct CS/CT professional development for K-12 teachers who will integrate CS/CT with other subjects.
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