What has England learned (Part 2)? Last week I started a summary of a talk Miles Berry gave in Madrid last October. This week I will cover what he said England has learnt from teaching coding to kids over the last three years in terms of what teachers need and what kids have been learning. Miles Berry made an interesting observation about the development of computational thinking skills and the relationship to coding skills. A research experiment was conducted whereby a group of students was split in half and one half did extra coding classes after school. At the end of the year both groups computational thinking skills were evaluated. There was NOT a significant increase in computational thinking skills by those students who did extra coding. What this showed is that whilst coding is probably the best way to build computational thinking skills if those skills are not being explicitly taught then they wont magically appear. This also reinforced the fact that it is possible to develop computational thinking skills without using computers.  This points to the absolute importance of properly training teachers in not only how to program with something like Scratch but also what are the facets of the skill of computational thinking and how might they be taught. Miles suggested that "Outstanding teaching of computing" = Pedagogy + ICT Skills + Computer Science Knowledge. The English experience was that although teachers ICT skills were OK their CS Knowledge was very low which is likely a situation mirrored all over the world. Thus a lot of support was required and England has started to deliver that through the Computing at School organisation, the use of master teachers and the provision of dedicated professional development. Australia has provided some similar resources such as the free Digital Technologies courses through Adelaide Uni. There are many other resources that schools can avail themselves of which are very cost effective or free (and that interestingly England has in many cases created!). For example: The Computing at School resources are free for all The BBC created the MicroBit was gave them to all years 7 students for free in 2016 (they remain cheap to purchase) The Raspberry Pi is an incredibly powerful, cheap and widely used micro computer.  Whilst England has made great progress a report in November 2017 found that they still had a long way to go to ensure all teachers have the skills and confidence to deliver the computing curriculum. We are three years behind them so it is even more imperative that Australian schools get planning and training now. So in summary, there were three standout messages from England's experience. Schools have to plan to deliver these new subjects, they must provide comprehensive teacher training not just in coding but also in computation thinking and lastly teachers must be given the resources they need to deliver the subject adequately. How is your school going?

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Stuff in the News Promoting STEM isn't a fad - it's a necessity - The promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education is more than a fad: it is a much-needed movement to encourage a well-rounded education that is essential to Australian students.An article from the Brisbane Times 22 March 2018. Eight ways to introduce kids to STEM at an early age - New report finds that even preschoolers are capable of understanding basic science and math concepts. An article from The Hechinger Report 5 March 2018. Realising the promise of STEM education - The lack of students studying the so-called STEM subjects  is a perennial issue in Western countries – and Australia in particular. An article from EducationHQ Australia 25 September 2017.

Stuff to buy These 8 Toys Can Make Your Kids Smarter - Well maybe but they are cool regardless! *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education How Do Teachers Integrate STEM into K-12 Classrooms? - New teaching standards call for weaving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) into classrooms better. What makes this integration effective? An article from Michigan Tech 27 February 2018 Science experts 'walk the talk' to improve primary STEM learning - The involvement of “community science experts” in primary school classrooms can transform students’ views about and understanding of science, a leading STEM researcher says. An article from EducationHQ Australia 6 November 2017.

Stuff to do Australia Wide 2018 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge - The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is completely free to enter. This year’s competition will run from Tuesday 20 Feb – Friday 3 August 2018 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Fizzics Education - Mobile workshops & shows by dedicated science educators NSW, VIC & QLD & ACT Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals Brisbane Robotics Days - Robogals has various workshops programmed throughout the year. QLD Premier's Coding Competition - Students need to create a digital solution that meets the theme of ‘stand up to cyberbullies’ using Anti-Bully Girl - one of the Cyber Heroes. Closes 19 June 2018 - - - Street Science - Street Science provides captivating and curriculum aligned school Incursions and community entertainment, to excite and engage Australia's youth! STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

What has England learned (Part 1)? Queensland has mandated coding and robotics in primary school since 2017. NSW has mandated coding from kindergarten starting in 2019. However globally this is not new, England introduced compulsory coding into its curriculum in 2014. At the end of last year Miles Berry, a university lecturer and strong advocate for computing at schools, gave a talk at EUCodeWeek in Madrid where he covered what England had learnt in the previous three years. As the saying goes those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it so lets have a look at what he said.   He first made the point that coding is not in the curriculum as the end goal. The end goal is to develop the skills of computational thinking and creativity. In England this starts before the age of five where children are encouraged to form their own ideas, make predictions, test ideas and change strategy when needed. From this foundation more specific computational concepts are taught and by the age of seven children should know what an algorithm is and by age eleven they should be able to write and read code. This, by and large, mirrors the Australian Curriculum requirements.  In terms of how to teach coding they have learnt that it is important to make it a two step process. Firstly, work out how to solve the problem and devise an algorithm and then secondly, write the code.They have found an incremental approach using resources such as Beebots initially before moving onto Scratch and then Python has worked best. Some general observations that Miles made were: Teaching coding doesn't always mean using a computer It is easier to read code than to write it It is easier to edit code than to start from a blank screen Pair programming (where two students work together on one computer) is a powerful method Teachers have to find interesting contexts Debugging improves the Growth Mindset Coding IS for everyone! There is a lot that Australian teachers can learn from their English counterparts. Next week I will conclude with what links they have found between coding and computational thinking and what teachers need to deliver the subject properly.

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Stuff in the News STEM skills still in High Demand - A new report on employment skills indicates that STEM skills are still in high demand. So what can educators do to make these skills more accessible for all? An article from EducationHQ Australia 2 March 2018 Five things parents can do every day to help develop STEM skills from a young age - Educators and researchers agree early literacy experiences are important for children’s cognitive and language development. But in addition to early literacy skills, we should also be promoting early STEM skills. An article from The Conversation 12 March 2018 7 Practical Ways Parents Can Inspire Girls To Get Into STEM - Girls are turning away from careers in STEM due to perceptions that the jobs lack creativity and the subjects are too difficult to learn. An article from the Huffington Post 15 March 2018

Stuff to buy Sony Koov -  Construct colorful 3D robots and learn the coding skills to bring them to life *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Girls at single-sex schools more likely to choose STEM subjects - Girls in single-sex schools are nearly twice as likely to study VCE chemistry and specialist maths than those in co-ed schools, new research has found. An article from the Canberra Times 1 March 2018 STEM is an exciting new area to study - From building robots to learning how to code, independent schools across Sydney are finding creative ways to prepare young people for the jobs of the future.

Stuff to do Australia Wide 2018 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge - The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is completely free to enter. This year’s competition will run from Tuesday 20 Feb – Friday 3 August 2018 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Fizzics Education - Mobile workshops & shows by dedicated science educators NSW, VIC & QLD & ACT Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals Brisbane Robotics Days - Robogals has various workshops programmed throughout the year. - - - Street Science - Street Science provides captivating and curriculum aligned school Incursions and community entertainment, to excite and engage Australia's youth! STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.