TODAY’S APPROACH TO TEACHING COMPUTER SCIENCE AT THE RGS

BY CHRIS WILDE (STAFF 18-PRESENT)

The approach we now take to teaching and learning is different to the traditional pedagogy that ONs may be used to. The aim of this article is to explain the approach and discuss some of the projects and skills we are developing in our young people.

Our pedagogy is based on multiple years’ experience using technology to develop skills in young people and is influenced by three masters of Pedagogy, namely Ron Berger, Sugata Mitra and Seymour Papert. These experts provide different aspects to the way we structure our learning units.

Ron Berger is an advocate of a learning approach coined “Project Based Learning” (PBL). This methodology is a dynamic approach, which allows students to acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of a real-world subject, by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a challenge. Modules take place over six weeks, and task pupils with creating a learning artefact that responds to a challenge.

Examples include:

“Can you create a pinball machine out of LEGO?”

“Do you have the skills to get a place at Bletchley Park?”

“Can you create an interactive adventure game for the internet?”

“How do you code art?”

We pose the problem and provide a scaffolded set of resources that support the pupils in their journey through the module to create the learning artefact that is ultimately marked.

With a project set, and the resources in place, we can move onto our second theoretical approach from Sugata Mitra, the brain behind the “Hole in the Wall”. In 1999 he put an internet-connected computer in a hole in the wall in a Delhi slum and left it there to see what would happen. The computer attracted illiterate children, who, by the end of the day, had taught themselves to surf the internet, despite not knowing what a computer or the internet were. The impact on learning was massive, and Mitra developed projects such as “The Granny Cloud”, connecting older native English speakers with non-English speaking Indian children via the internet. For us, his most influential work was that on Self Organised Learning Environments.

One thing learned through this program is that children are often smarter than they are given credit for! Rather than providing lectures or spoon-feeding information, it is better to ask “engaging, provocative questions” and let students work out the answers. By allowing some freedom in their learning, the students often stretch to comprehend information that might have otherwise been too difficult for them. In our modules, they are encouraged to personalise their learning artefacts and ensure they represent their interests.

Other findings were that the educational experience is enhanced through collaboration and teamwork, and we regularly have pupils teaming and pairing up for their projects.

Our final, and probably most influential pedagogic approach is the constructionist learning theory developed by the fantastic Seymour Papert. Papert developed the coding language Logo, worked with LEGO to develop their robotics platform Mindstorms, and founded the Media Lab at MIT, famous for the development of Scratch with which ON parents of younger children may be familiar.

The constructionist approach is the creation by learners of mental models to understand the world around them.

Constructionism advocates studentcentered discovery learning where students use what they already know to acquire more knowledge. Students learn by connecting different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than lectures or step-by-step guidance. Further, constructionism holds that learning happens most effectively when people make tangible objects in the real world. As such, each module always includes an “object to think with” such as a robot, a construction kit, a deck of cards or a piece of software that allows pupils to make, remake, refine and rebuild in order to construct their learning artefact. RGS pupils are hands-on with their learning, make mistakes, build resilience and refine their ideas.

For example, in Year 8 we want pupils to acquire skills in web development, using selection in a text-based programming language, effectively searching the internet, responsibly using imagery on the web, and understanding syntax rules. In order to develop these skills, we challenge them to create an interactive text-based adventure game in a piece of free software called Twine.

During this project pupils need to consider the environment for their game, create a flowchart that demonstrates the route through it, use online collaborative tools to develop a piece of creative writing, and create visually appealing, interactive web pages using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The final assessed piece –or learning artefact –is the actual game, graded against a rubric. This project allows pupils to be creative. Their game can be in any environment they like, and it is their own piece of work. They have time to develop their skills in the software, and regularly go beyond the skill level required.