It’s About More Than Code
South Bend Code School has taken us to new places in the last year. We’ve created unique partnerships with schools to provide computer science programs to students in classrooms during the day rather than just providing opportunities to those who attend our after school programs.
An interesting thing happened in one of our schools this year with some students at the elementary school level. Students got extremely frustrated when faced with a difficult coding challenge. This wasn’t just the regular kind of frustration where it makes sense to walk away for a minute, take a deep breath, and come back to what you are working on. This was the kind of frustration that built to the point where some students were crying because they couldn’t get their code to work.
For those who know or have experienced coding, solving frustrating problems is a big part of being in the field. You are constantly confronted with problems and issues that require a great deal of trouble shooting, and “grit” is a common trait that most coders have to practice.
With this in mind, we found it surprising how quickly students were becoming frustrated with the work we were doing.
We went back to the curriculum and considered the possibility that it might be too difficult. After review, we determined that what we were teaching was age appropriate and had several other classes that were working through the same thing without the same level of frustration. We came to the conclusion that this was a scenario unique to the classes we were working with. Every student is different after all, and we treat everyone with respect to their learning styles and personalities.
Just as in life, the first thing you try to code doesn’t always work. We needed to find a way to let students know that just because you fail the first time around it doesn’t mean it is the end of the world. You have to pick yourself up and give it another shot.
We had to instill a sense of grit, determination, and raw self confidence in these students.
We decided to implement a simple strategy that would create a positive bond between each student and the idea of coding. We wanted students to feel good about the work they were about to do and have a “can do” attitude when facing adversity in their work.
Each day when students come to our classroom, they high five us and say a positive affirmation related to coding. For example: “I am a ______ coder.” The blank can be “smart”, “kind”, “hard working”, “unicorn”, it doesn’t matter as long as it makes the student feel good about who they are and how they work.
It seems silly, but this small addition the beginning of every class COMPLETELY changed the attitude of the students. Starting the class off with a small, but positive, thought that was celebrated by students and instructors was the gentle nudge in the right direction that the students needed. Now when facing an issue in their code, students have a reason to believe that they can achieve success.
Rather than getting upset when facing problems, students were embracing bugs as part of the process. The level of perseverance increased dramatically. On top of that, we noticed that students were helping and encouraging one and other when things got more difficult. Overall, it was quite a difference from the former atmosphere of the classroom.
In tech fields like computer science, it is important to recognize the emotional skills that can be gained are just as valuable as the technical skills.
The opportunity that coding provides is vast. It teaches students how to use skills that will only become more valuable as technology advances. However, it would be naive of us to think that hard skills are the only benefit to be gained from this type of education.
Learn more about South Bend Code School at southbendcodeschool.com
