The Making of Code Warriors
It’s no secret. Hackergal was started to get more girls into coding across Canada. We want girls to understand the boundless opportunities of computer science and to feel empowered to share their voices in a world in which technology is omnipresent. But sharing your story needs to start somewhere.
When introducing girls to computer science, it is important to start off on the right foot and build a strong foundation. We believe that foundation is best built through educators. Hackergal’s program is grounded in the belief that educators have the unique potential to expose girls to coding in a way that will have a big impact on their first impressions of, confidence in, and resilience with, coding.
From the many hours we’ve spent talking to educators across Canada, we know that educators today are passionate about empowering girls to learn code and looking for ways to make it happen in their schools. On their own time, many educators are actively searching for resources and online tools to implement coding education. They recognize the need in their communities and are driven to make an impact.
“Educators need the space and resources to start teaching code. Sometimes, we need to give ourselves permission to take the leap into what can be unknown territory” explained Kirsten Quealey from Sooke School District on Vancouver Island.
Hackergal takes a “teach the teacher” approach to arm educators with the resources, support, and confidence to be successful when delivering coding lessons in their classrooms. But there is a crucial distinction to make when we talk about “teaching teachers” and more specifically, about teaching teachers how to code.
At Hackergal, we are not looking to create subject matter experts, but rather experts at learning something new.
During my years as a classroom teacher, the evolving dynamic between teaching and learning became increasingly obvious to me. When working on ICT lessons with my Grade 3 students, whether it was building websites or creating their Google slides, the students were almost always able to learn new skills more intuitively and more efficiently than me. So, I’ll admit a little begrudgingly, I had to let go of being the ultimate knowledge holder and subject matter expert, and instead, I learned from and alongside my students. In my role as program manager, I also see firsthand how the teacher’s role is quickly evolving with new technology, as teachers often describe themselves as guides and facilitators, often “flipping the classroom” and allowing students the freedom and space to discover more on their own.
Kirsten told me, “I let them [her students] know right from the start that I am far from an expert on coding…I would be learning alongside and guiding them through.”
This is what we need to show our girls. We need role models who embody the grit and perseverance that is required to become true code warriors!
We work with educators from a wide range of educational backgrounds — from specialists in STEM to principals, special education teachers, teacher librarians, classroom teachers, applied arts and resource teachers — we have seen it all! And from complete newbies to pro-programmers, our educators have a wide range of experience. No matter what prior knowledge they have, providing educators with the opportunity to teach code, better equips students with the skills and understanding to use technology as a tool in their lives.
By teaching the teacher, we get to watch the making of champions firsthand. Our educators are champions of learning — now, that’s a powerful journey to make transparent to the girls. #GOALS am I right?!
