Attitude to Teaching and Learning Coding

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1 Attitude to Teaching and Learning Coding March

2 Background 1 Coding and computer programming is to become a mandatory part of the curriculum in England in September, Family Kids and Youth carried out research with pupils and school leadership on behalf of Tablets for Schools to explore pupils and schools attitude to this and how well prepared schools felt they were for the introduction of coding to the curriculum. The pupil survey was sent to nine secondary schools which have been using one-to-one Tablets for over a year and are taking part in the Tablets for Schools research programme. The survey was completed online between January In total over 3,500 responses were received (total 3,542) from pupils aged (49% girls and 51% boys). School leadership in schools taking part in the Tablets for Schools research programme were sent a separate questionnaire about coding, and 36 responses were received between February Tablets for Schools is supporting the UK Hour of Code Week 3-9 March. Teacher resources can be found here. Pupil Research 45% of pupils in the research are currently taught coding at school, but 22% did not know whether they were taught coding or not, with boys more aware of this than girls. 1 Please note that Techknowledge for Schools changed its name from Tablets for Schools in May

3 Nearly half, 48%, of those not taught coding at school say they would like to be taught, with more boys saying they would like to be taught coding than girls. 3

4 Leadership Research Two thirds (67%) of school leadership say they are currently teaching coding in their school. Three-quarters (75%) of the leadership interviewed say that coding / computer programming will be relevant to their pupils. When questioned about why the teaching of coding would be relevant, teachers expressed belief that it will prepare pupils for the jobs of the future, giving them the core skills to become the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. We are living in a world where we are educating children for jobs that might not yet exist, so they need the skills of being able to critically analyse processes. Exciting opportunity for children to see how the apps/programmes they use are created. This is the future, most children now have access to computers and learn independently or from friends so no need to teach ppt or word anymore. 4

5 Computers are becoming ubiquitous, the average student owns two-three computing devices (iphone, ipad, Laptop, console etc.) They are acutely aware of the App Store and of programmers like Marc Zuckerburg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. It was thought by leadership that learning how to code will also help develop important mathematical and scientific skills: The development of sequencing, logic and programming is useful in developing scientific and mathematical skills. It's the way of the future. Students are given the power to learn how to control and give instructions with innovative software and robotics. However, while nearly a half (47%) feel confident about the introduction of coding into the school, a third (33%) do not feel confident. While schools that have been teaching computing skills and coding for several years feel wellprepared and confident in their ability to implement the new curriculum changes, others feel less certain. Being able to identify and train staff appears to be the biggest challenge for all schools. Confident in my own abilities; less confident in the abilities of my fellow primary practitioners and in being able to train them! I do not know just yet, I am excited to see how well the students can do. It will be interesting to see how well they can be taught certain things. I am confident that the students can be taught this curriculum, I am not convinced that every teacher will be able to teach it however. We are aware lots of training will be necessary to help staff develop the skills. Most of our staff know little about programming - they would like support and training in this area. 5

6 We have a very small number of teachers who have ever coded or designed any logic based instructional activities and there is the "fear of the unknown" factor. As a small school we do not have specialist ICT trained teachers. Schools are taking a variety of steps to prepare for the new curriculum, including purchasing new coding software, hiring new ICT teachers and collaborating with other local schools that are seen to be more experienced. The most important part of the preparation is teacher training. While the schools that already focus on computer programming appear to have experienced and committed staff members, capable of developing teaching, other schools are struggling to make sure they have qualified staff able to teach coding within what is felt to be a short timeframe. Nobody is trained, but more importantly interested, in coding. There is a small 'club' supported by a member of the technical team for those who enjoy programming, beyond that it is seen as a minority interest. We have had to invest in new teaching resources and are lucky we have suitably qualified staff. I am confident that the teachers in school will be able to adequately deliver coding, as with any unfamiliar subject you teach yourself first. However I am not confident in the implications for resourcing. We are relatively limited in terms of available technology and funds and therefore feel slightly ill equipped. All IT staff have been taking evening classes for two terms to bring their knowledge up to date. I am an IT teacher and I know (from learning Java myself) just how difficult this can be. It has been a nightmare to find time to up skill ourselves. Only one member of staff is qualified and responsibility has landed upon his lap. We currently teach Computing Science and have two experienced colleagues who are continuously reflecting and improving their designs for learning in this subject area. Although many teachers are positive about the inclusion of coding in the new curriculum, T4S research schools highlight the differences in how well prepared schools are to implement coding into the curriculum, and the impact this will have on children s experience of the subject. Children s varying literacy skills and experience with computers is also expected to make a uniform approach to teaching coding difficult. It is suggested that coding should not be taught at the expense of other ICT skills. It will be an important aspect of our children's lives when they grow up and they need to be as up to date with current technology as possible to ensure they do not fall behind. However more support and assistance with resourcing, provided nationally, would have been appreciated greatly! How can we teach children who have basic literacy problems and who have limited experience in using a computer to learn programming? 6

7 Computer Science is an important field but it's not important to the exclusion of other areas. I am also very concerned that all computer use in schools will be directed towards this end, rather than broadly benefitting all subjects. It is pleasing to see that it has not been introduced completely at the detriment of more basic ICT literacy. There appears to be a misconception amongst the media and in the message many schools have taken that there is no ICT as it was before the changes. The curriculum clearly includes many of the ICT skills which were previously there. It is important that schools do not lose sight of this and focus solely on coding and programming. Overall as a school we welcome the introduction of more computer science and coding and the opportunities this will provide for our students to explore this subject. We are grateful to the pupils and teachers who took part in this research, and would like to thank them for their time. To find out more about teacher resources for the teaching of coding link to Code Resources. 7