How to bring innovative computer science programming to your school or district.
Coding clubs might be the answer you’ve always been looking for.
The internal and external pressure on schools to introduce computer science skills to their students is real and not always the easiest to navigate. There is internal pressure felt by educators and administrators because it's been proven that tech education helps students to be more competitive in the real-world. Obtaining these valuable technology skills can lead to very profitable careers, and introducing students to these skills early is critical. And what school doesn’t want its students to succeed? Some schools also feel external pressures from parents who naturally want their children to have the best education and be prepared for the real-world. Depending on where a school’s located there also might be pressure from the government as more and more states make exposure to computer science state-mandated. Although the value of CS education is clear, for many, the path to bringing coding to schools isn’t.
Schools aren’t left with a small task here. They’re being asked to train teachers, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Also, there are so many computer science resources that are out there (ex. Code.org, Scratch, Khan Academy, etc.) that it’s not always easy to know where to start or which educational resources best-fit each grade level.
South Bend Code Schoool assisted Lapeer County Intermediate School District with these issues by introducing students to computer science through a coding club. The club launched on February 1, 2021, with twenty students enrolled from six different middle schools in Lapeer County! 🎉
What are the benefits of a coding club?
Starting a coding club might be a more reasonable lift for a school interested in introducing its students to coding because they’re approachable and leave room for growth.
Coding clubs are approachable for staff and students.
Coding clubs offer teachers the opportunity to take a less pressure-filled and more fun approach to learning the valuable skill of coding with their students. For example, there are no grades in coding club. Instead, you can evaluate whether or not a student understands the coding concepts being taught by their ability to apply the skills that they’re learning to project building. If you teach the club key coding concepts like events and loops and then ask them to build a project using those concepts, that project shows that the student understands and knows how to apply the skills taught. Students can also play review games, like Kahoot, which are fun and come with low stress without a grade attached.
In coding club, collaboration is also encouraged. Participants work together to solve bugs in their code instead of relying solely on their coding club instructor. For educators who are still growing in their comfort levels of technology (which is true for many of us), the collaborative and innovative atmosphere of coding clubs helps to alleviate some pressure for the educator and create an environment where honest learning is encouraged. We’ve noticed that students seem to appreciate this approach as well.
When we asked the students what they liked the most about the coding sessions, this is what they said:
- “I enjoyed the challenge of coding a new project”
- “I liked that we got to code our own games!”
- “How we learned about variables.”
- “The choice of what we got to make.”
- “Being able to take our first steps in learning [about] binary code.”
- “I got to learn about universal code.”
When we asked the opposite question, “what do you want to change about coding club?” the students told us “nothing”. The only requests that we received from the survey was to make the coding sessions longer (the sessions are currently 90 minutes and coding club meets once a week) and to keep learning more.
The only request that we got from students was to learn more! 🤔
When we heard students’ requests to learn more, our team was surprised. Why is it so surprising to hear that kids want to learn more? Students asked to “start coding more in-depth…like Java or something,” “to learn more about binary,” and for more time in the program to learn about variables. Keep in mind that this is an after-school program and students are asking to learn more after a full day of already learning at school. But should we be surprised?
Lapeer County’s Coding Club runs for four months and introduces students to Scratch, MIT’s block-based programming language, where they practice creative thinking, problem-solving, and systematic reasoning while programming their own interactive stories, games, and animations.
Students also practice professional programmer skills like how to write clean code, debugging, and how to navigate a project to completion.
For many students, coding club is the first opportunity that they’ve had that day or that week to have a say in their learning. In coding club, students get to make constructive and creative decisions. That’s why one of the students said that his favorite part of the program was getting to choose what he got to make. We know that “having a say” isn’t always practical throughout the school day. That’s what makes having a coding club all of the more valuable! It’s empowering for students to have input in their education. In coding club, we’ve seen that they still learn important skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and common math skills such as variables or physics principles like gravity. However, the students in Lapeer County Intermediate District are learning those skills by building projects that hold their attention spans and that they feel motivated to complete.
Not every student has to be a coder but every student should have the option.
The best part about coding club is that it leaves room for growth for both the students and the school district. The students have the opportunity and the tools to keep exploring computer science. Lapeer County School district also has the option for more program development and can implement computer science lessons into their classes during the school day as well. If they want help with that, SBCS is here! (We’ll also be sharing a new blog soon about our in-school program partnerships. Join our mailing list to stay informed.)
Coding clubs help to remove the barrier to learning about computer science and once that barrier is down, you, your students, and your team have the tools and support needed to grow.
We’re excited to continue teaching the students in Lapeer County. Who knows, maybe by the end of the semester they’ll already be building a rocketship and heading to the moon. It’s always amazing where students will take you when they’re given the tools, space, and encouragement to create! 🚀
“Computer science education is beneficial to all students because it teaches them problem-solving skills and enables students to understand the ways in which they can become a part of our digital world.”
— Alex Sejdinaj, co-founder of South Bend Code School
What does it take to get started?
At South Bend Code School, we partner with elementary, middle, and high schools. We created a program that assists educators on an ongoing basis throughout the year by providing customized support for technology classroom management, curriculum development, and teacher training.
- State standards-aligned computer science curriculum.
- Detailed walkthrough and explanation of the state’s standards.
- Education on free resources to make lesson planning as unrestrictive as possible.
- Classroom training for educators.
- Ongoing support.
Bringing coding to your school or organization starts by just sending our team an email at info@southbendcodeschool.com. #HappyCoding everyone! 💻
About South Bend Code School
South Bend Code School is an award-winning program founded in 2015 with a mission to combat the technology skills gap at the earliest level by reforming technology education and making learning skills in coding and computer science equitable. Since our inception, we have provided computer science education to over 1,300 students through after-school programs as well as program and school partnerships.
For more information, visit southbendcodeschool.com.
