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.

STEM and the Growth Mindset Growth Mindset is a term doing the rounds of education circles. The terms "Fixed Mindset" and "Growth Mindset" were coined by Professor Carol Dweck, a psychologist, when she explored why some students rebounded after failure while others seemed devastated by small setbacks. She formed the view that people have underlying beliefs about their ability to learn and their intelligence. Those with a Growth Mindset believe they can get smarter and they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore, they put in extra time and effort and this lead to higher achievement. It is thus that having a Growth Mindset is a valuable trait and one that is to be fostered. It is not desirable to praise a student for being smart for solving a problem but to praise their perseverance and highlight how their effort has produced an excellent outcome. When a student fails encouragement to try again is what is needed. What has STEM got to do with this? STEM can help foster the Growth Mindset. This is particularly true when learning to code. Miles Berry, an influential University lecturer from England, wrote about this in his blog post Debugging and the Growth Mindset. He points out that in music, sports and computer games the difficulty is part of the appeal. Coding is difficult and it rarely works perfectly the first time. Debugging is the process of finding errors in the code using Logical Reasoning and then fixing those errors. It takes time and usually many iterations to get the program running just right. As children persevere through this process and see their success at the end this will shift their mindset towards the growth end of the spectrum. More broadly in STEM, have you ever heard someone say "Its OK maybe your not a math person". This is the antithesis of the Growth Mindset. The following cartoon, I think, illustrates the problem. STEM is viewed as hard and if you don't fit the profile of someone from "The Big Bang Theory" you aren't going to get it. However, this is not true and with support and encouragement many students will be able succeed in the STEM subjects. What is needed is engaging well structured lessons which are challenging (hard but not impossible!) and rooted in the real world.

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Stuff in the news Fostering a Growth Mindset is Key to Teaching STEM - Sure STEM can be hard, but telling kids "not everyone can do it" may make both boys and girls less inclined to try. An article from US News 10 July 2015 Giving STEM meaning - STEM education is about more than playing with robots. An article from EducationHQ Australia 18 September 2017 How Janese Swanson Brought Tech Toys to Girls - An article from the Tynker Blog STEM critical, but not the sole solution - This professor agrees increased STEM skills are critical to the future of the country, but believes we need to ensure every student leaves education with a really solid skills mix. An article from theAustralian Financial Review 11 September 2017

Stuff to buy Littlebits Droid Inventor Kit - Kids can create their own custom Droid and bring it to life it with littleBits electronic blocks. *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 School chosen for Federal STEM program - East Waikiki Primary School, which was selected by the Federal Government to take part in the Early Learning STEM Australia pilot, will see its preschoolers become involved with a series of play-based apps starting next year. An article from the West Australian 12 September 2017 SUBS in Schools program gets expert support - In support of Australia’s naval shipbuilding agenda, ASC Shipbuilding has backed the STEM education SUBS in Schools program, mentoring one South Australian high school team. An article from the Defence Connect website 12 September 2017.

Stuff to do Australia Wide Contemporary practices in STEM education - This will be a live streamed event of interest to teachers and parents. It is part of Monash University's "Engaging STEM Education. Keeping Teachers at the Cutting Edge" series. 9 November 2017 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - 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 - - - SLQ Digital Futures - Each year the State Library of Queensland presents a theme of interest to the Queensland community. Throughout 2017, they invite you to join in exploring Digital Futures. 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.