Jun 6 2019
Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas Number 04: Teaching Theory Well
This is the fourth blogpost in a series for the Facebook group Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas.
Please click here to go to article.
Teaching
Mar 7 2019
Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas Number 03: CyberFirst Education Pack by NCSC Cyber Schools Hub and Emma Williams
This is the third blogpost in a series for the Facebook group Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas. Thank you to Emma Williams for this resource:
This unit of work is an introduction to Cyber Security. The NCSC kindly provided the materials for the Cyber Adventurers course and I adapted in order to facilitate learning in schools. These resources were produced as part of the NCSC Cyber Schools Hub – details here https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/uks-first-cyber-schools-hubs-announced
It is designed to showcase the varied roles and jobs that exist in the field. The course is designed for 11-14 year olds and can be delivered at any point in key stage 3. It can be run in a Cyber club or as a teaching unit at key stage 3.
The lesson plans are designed to include practical tasks. There is a unit assessment that has been developed in line with the Computing pathways framework which can be adapted to suit a schools. The lessons can be delivered as stand-alone lessons if required.
Jan 31 2019
Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas Number 02: Packet Tracer by Cisco and Duncan Maidens
This is the second blogpost in a series for the Facebook group Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas.
Thanks to everyone who joined in to discuss PRIMM ideas. I am also indebted to last year’s CAS North East to be able to listen to Duncan introduce Cisco packet tracer:
My Y12s have worked through both courses and I am able to suggest how I will be splitting up the content for Key Stages 3,4 and 5 in the future.
If you are reading this as part of the Facebook post, I am very pleased to inform you that Duncan has joined the group, and I am sure will be able to answer any questions in the next couple of weeks. if he is reading this, then I would like to thank him for all his efforts in providing a great resource and saving me a great deal of time.
Jan 17 2019
Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas Number 01a: PRIMM and Trinket.io
This is the first blogpost in a series for the facebook group Gr8 Computer Science Teaching Ideas.
You will have heard of flipped classrooms and I would suggest that in some ways, PRIMM is a flipped version of the usual approach to learning programming. Rather than starting with a blank page and the ubiquitous “Hello World”, Sue has merged several learning programming methodologies to provide a very accessible and rewarding approach for all students starting on their text based programming journey. At Lady Lumley’s School, we have combined it with the web based trinket.io to provide an easily accessed and structured series of lessons that our students are really enjoying. My main message is that all students make progress over time and our key target audience at KS3 of students considering computer science GSCE (GCSE Wannabees) are getting challenge and stretch too…
Dec 16 2020
Making Computer Science career pathways explicit at KS3 – and boosting numbers at KS4
Overview:
This is a Year 9 curriculum with a unique introductory careers unit “wrapping” around units from the NCCE and PGOnline. I am doing several talks in 2020 with Abbie Smy (Stem Ambassador Engagement Officer) and sharing the resources with colleagues – see here for details.
Introduction:
Has anyone thought yet about Year 9 options evening this year? I do – frequently – as I know that it is the key event of the year when I can influence the views of students and parents about options at KS4. During the last few years I used to think we had it covered with a presentation and a video for all classes in the week before Options Evening in March. Then talks on the evening with research data from the current year 11, and everything would be sorted. And it worked OK, with a decent take up each year for Computer Science in Year 10.
And a few years ago I was asked to curate a set of Computing Careers resources for the National Stem Centre – and nearly a hundred curated links are now available here. Seeing the range and calibre of resources out “there” got me thinking that a computing department should be explicit about the potential career pathways available, and the strategic approach should be to make these explicit throughout Year 9, and probably even earlier.
A recent post from *Dave Gibbs “Why waste years? Let’s inspire careers!” makes the point that “Computing for 11-14 year olds is important in its own right” but also that it is needed “to support recruitment to 14-16 qualifications for all learners…”.
Resources:
The introductory unit highlights that the majority of emerging jobs in the next 5 years are to do with computing. It then goes through seven of the featured career pathways, with interesting video clips and activities, with students then researching and creating posters of the ones they find most interesting. We then give feedback on the posters and put them on the wall.
In addition, we also have access to first rate KS3 resources from the NCCE and the RPF. Here is our outline KS3 scheme of learning.
So, as a department, I have set out this year (2021-22) to embed careers into Year 9, starting with introductory lessons to make explicit the following career pathways:
We then pick out various units through the year to exemplify the knowledge, skills and understanding involved with each.
9_1 Computing Careers.
Bebras competition.
9_2 Software Engineer NCCE Y9 Python Half a term seeing prowess with Python s(et up on trinket.io) or code.org.
Term 2:
9_3 Artificial Intelligence x6 leading up to options eve for inspiration. Mixture of PGOnline Unit then 3 lessons buggies (include sensors)
9_4 Data Scientist (x5? L1 used in intro – adjust depending on )
Term 3:
9_5 Cybersecurity – Networks x2 Hardware / then Cybersecurity (inc L5 Risks, Defence applied to school network)
Y9 Exam?
9_6 Games developer x6 NCC Mobile App Development
** 27/9/20 – I have just added a two lesson Y8 version with a list of extension videos:
***29/6/21 Further development for teaching 21-22.
*“Why waste years? Let’s inspire careers!” Dave Gibbs 21 September 2020
By Chris Sharples • Careers, Posts, Teaching •