Transcript Slides

Managing the
Primary
transition from ICT to
Computing
Mark Dorling
National CPD Coordinator
Computing At School
@MarkDorling
Outcomes from the session
• Understanding the Computing Curriculum, what is it all
about?
• Where has ICT gone? Has it gone?
• How do I understand, and get the pupils using the correct
vocabulary?
• How does Computer Science fit into the Computing National
Curriculum? Isn’t Computer Science just programming?
• What is Computational thinking? and how does it fit into the
National Curriculum?
• Developing a vision for our curriculum, and how to plan for
implementing that vision
• Have ideas for Computing across the curriculum
National Curriculum
Table needs updating for both primary and secondary presentations!
National Curriculum published
Computing: CS, IT & DL
•
The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught
the principles of information and computation, how digital systems
work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming.
•
Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to
use information technology to create programs, systems and a range
of content.
Foundations
Applications
•
Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to
use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through,
information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the
future workplace and as active participants in a digital world. DfE 2013
Implications
GCSE
Computer
Science
Information
Technology
Digital literacy
Technology Enhanced
Learning
Understanding the National
Curriculum
Correct interpretation
Digital literacy
National Computing
Curriculum
Statuary document
Computer
CS
Science
ITInformation
Technology
Subject Association Teacher
guides
Non- statuary document
A School’s curriculum planning
Digital literacy
CAS Curriculum
DfE PoS
Non- statutory documentation
Primary guidance
Terminology and content
Breath and depth of curriculum
Reference content to progression
Strand: Computer Science
PoS: 2.4
Hardware & Processing: Blue
“Knows the difference between physical,
wireless and mobile networks.”
Data & Data Representation: Purple
“Knows that computers transfer data in
binary.”
Communications & Networks: Purple
“Understands data transmission between
digital computers over networks, including the
internet i.e. IP addresses and packet
switching.”
Developing a school vision
Imagine that you are walking down the corridor in your school in
12/24/36 months time, you look into a classroom, what would
you expect to see?
• What would the teacher be doing?
• What would the pupils be doing?
Your thought: Curriculum
• “Curriculum is the contents of a course.”
• “A complete programme of learning or structured
teaching plan for a course.”
• Curriculum “means the planned interaction of pupils with
instructional content, materials, resources, and
processes for evaluating the attainment of educational
objectives.”
http://www.doe.in.gov/asap/definitions.html Last Accessed: 23rd October 2010
• Curriculum is “an integrated course of academic studies.”
http://Worldnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Last Accessed: 23rd October 2010
Your thoughts: Creativity
•
“Creativity is having the ability to create; original,
expressive and imaginative work”.
• “Creativity is the capacity to produce something which is both
unique and useful.”
www.tuition.com.hk/psychology/c.htm Last Accessed: 23rd October 2010
• Generates and/or recognises how best practice and
imaginative ideas can be applied to different situations.
www.ucas.ac.uk/seps/glossary Last Accessed: 23rd October 2010
• “Creativity is a mental process involving the discovery of
new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the
existing ideas or concepts, fueled by the process of
either conscious or unconscious insight.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity Last accessed: 23rd October 2010
Developing a vision
• Using your definitions for:
– Curriculum
– Creativity
• Write a definition of Creative Computing
Curriculum.
• It is useful to share these with colleagues
and SLT.
• Do they differ? If so, should we change our
definitions, should we constantly refine it?
My curriculum vision
“Focus on the pedagogy of teaching the broader computing concepts and
principles in the National Curriculum through, wherever possible, teaching
computing without computers.
Engender a feeling that programming isn't hard if you understand how to
solve problems.
Use Computational Thinking to develop confidence in solving (scalable)
problems that have relevant links to ‘real life’ and other subject
curriculums.
Using programming tools to bridge the gap between models (good
computational thinking) and computers, and selecting the appropriate
language to meet the challenge (and enable you to teach the concepts i.e.
repetition and selection) rather than teaching a range of languages for the
sake of it!”
Map existing units
Strand: Computer Science
PoS: 2.2
Algorithms: Orange
“Designs solutions (algorithms) that use
repetition and two-way selection i.e. if, then and
else. Uses diagrams to express solutions.”
Programming & Algorithms: Orange
“Uses post-tested loop e.g. ‘until’, and a sequence
of selection statements in programs, including an
if, then and else statement.”
National Curriculum purpose
• Computational thinking sits at the heart of the national
curriculum programme of study for Computing. The opening
sentence states:
• “A high quality computing education equips pupils to use
computational thinking and creativity to understand and
change the world”
(DfE 2013b, p. 188).
CT in the Programme of study
• At KS1 (ages 5-7) pupils should be able to “understand what
algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on
digital devices; and that programs execute by following
precise and unambiguous instructions.” (DfE 2013, p. 189)
• At KS2 (age 7-11) pupils should be able to (amongst other things):
“solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts” and
also “use logical reasoning to explain how some simple
algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms
and programs” (DfE 2013, p. 189)
• By the next key stage (ages 11-14) pupils should be able to:
“design, use and evaluate computational abstractions …” and
“use logical reasoning to compare the utility of alternative
algorithms for the same problem” (DfE 2013, p. 190)
Summary of CT
•
•
•
Computational thinking is:
– A way humans solve problems, not trying to get humans to think like
computers
– Conceptualising a problem, not computer programming (although it can
be the end product).
It helps us to:
– Solve problems and design systems that none of us would think
possible.
– Consider what can humans do better than computers?
– Consider what can computers do better than humans?
– Consider what is computable?
It is a framework not a recipe to:
– It’s a thought process to ask good questions
– Characterising and understanding a problem
– Guide computation design
Definition for CT
• Computational thinking is:
• “… the thought processes involved in formulating problems and
their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that
can be effectively carried out by an information-processing
agent”
(Cuny, Snyder, Wing, 2010, cited in Wing 2011, p.20)
• Wing indicates that these solutions can be carried out by any
processing agent, whether human, computer or a combination of
both
(Wing 2006)
Concepts of CT
Abstraction
e.g. identifying both the information that is necessary and the information that is
not necessary
Decomposition
e.g. breaking problems and solutions down
Algorithmic thinking
e.g. defining solutions in terms of precise, well-defined and unambiguous rules
Evaluation
e.g. judging against external/objective criteria
Generalization
e.g. identifying commonality and re-using solutions or parts of solutions
Evidence of learning
New approaches
Curriculums that engage students
Traditional
curriculum
Curriculum when
teaching
computational
thinking
What
Why
How
How
Why
What
The vision MUST NOT focus ‘what’ you are learning…
but ‘why’ you are learning it!
BREAKING NEWS:
Car chase on streets of French town
Get with the ‘algor-rhythm’
Giving those old lessons a face lift!
`
`
Java Script from Scratch
“Wow… Improves proportion
In art and teaches recursion!”
How do these grab you?
* 3.1416
* 6.238673?
* 1.61803399?
Heard of the Golden Ratio?
Can you spot the pattern?
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21
ascl.org.uk/conferences
NC minimum expectation
*** This needs updating for primary!
Transition from graphical to text
Multiple
If, Then, Else
If, Then, Else
Nested
If, Then, Else
Assessment programming code
What do we look at?
• Does it appear to work?
• Does it really work?
– rigor of testing, range of data/input
• Features versus bugs
• Looking at the code
– layout, comments, structure, logic error
• Meeting the specification
Looking at programming code
Turnham Green and Acton Town
Where Air Raid huddles laid them down.
Neasden, Willesden, Dollis Hill,
Tottenham Hale and Hearty, still.
Thankyou London Underground.
And all your staff, who get me round.
I still find it astounding how deep you are.
When you are off, we’re off on rants
We cram the bus
And as we crawl like ants upon the surface…
then we know
The rich resource that’s down below.
….
by John
I sat down on the tube.
It was noisy and dirty.
I wanted to get home.
Tea was at 5.30.
Mum would be waiting
Always asking questions.
The tube was my time.
For making up destinations.
I like the tube cus it is cool.
I don't like poems.
by Max