Mimio Educator

      Computer Coding and the NGSS Standards

      Posted by Kelly Bielefeld on Thu, Apr 20, 2017

      CodingNGSS-01.jpg 

      As our district has started exploring the role that computer coding should play in our students’ educational lives, more than once the following question has come up: What standards will this cover? 

      This is a critical question. If we are going to take instructional time to work with students to code more, we are going to have to quit doing something else in order to have the time to do it. So, what should we give up? Will coding allow us to cover other standards to ensure that students will be well prepared?

      Fortunately, there are good answers to these questions across all different grade levels. Here, we will focus on science. If a teacher were to give up some “science time” and teach coding to students, which of the NGSS standards would be covered?

       

      Kindergarten Through 2nd Grade
      Even at this early age, the mental concepts that are developed while coding are good for student thinking. There are many advantages to using coding in the classroom, so what would be covered in the science standards that would deepen the student’s learning?

      Engineering and design: The knowledge needed for mastery of these standards could easily be developed through a basic, early-literacy coding curriculum. “The teacher can develop and use models” is one of the three root standard areas. It includes students using and analyzing data about the outcome of different situations, students creating visual models to solve problems, and using new tools to solve problems. Students at this level can “code” without the use of language, but the concepts of “language” can be integrated as they learn it. 

      A great starting point for this is code.org and their unplugged videos. These give practical examples of how knowledge can be built from the early years to help get students thinking like programmers. 

       

      3rd Through 5th Grades
      As students move into the older elementary grades, they will be ready for higher-level coding and thinking. The more background they have at this point, the better—but even for beginners, the standards at this age range are very applicable. 

      Planning and carrying out investigations: At this point developmentally, students should be able to plan more for their coding projects. Some of the tinkering that students do in the primary grades is great for exploration, but beginning in third grade, we want students to be able to plan—and then carry out the plan through an investigation. There are many avenues to accomplish this, but I have found that small, somewhat inexpensive robots are great for this stage of education. The Dash and Dot robots can build into EV3 Lego Robots if resources allow. The best way to meet this standard is to have the students develop the plan, or pattern of movement, before they actually start coding. This upfront thinking is critical for students. Many of them come to us with a “video game” attitude toward technology—they just keep trying things until something works. This can be somewhat effective, but is extremely inefficient. Plus, this isn’t the type of thinking we want to reinforce in our classrooms. We don’t want students to keep guessing at how to spell a word until they get it right, we want them to apply rules to words and sounds so they can spell it right on the first try.

       

      Middle School: 6th Grade Through 8th Grade
      If all students are exposed to coding at an early age, some will latch onto it and some will not. As students get older, they may not all be master coders, but they should all be able to apply the principles of the thinking to various contexts. Here is how that may look in a science lab:

      Structure, function, and information processing: At this point, this is less about the coding and more about the thinking for many students. Consider the standard, “Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.” The student can create a code, either real or unplugged, that demonstrates a stimuli coming in and then a series of receptors reacting. These kinds of linear, if-then science situations are perfect for a “code” to be applied. Possibly, some of the students who are more adept at coding could actually create real-world applications of this using a Labdisc as the stimuli source.

      In high school, the standards—though more diverse—are no less suited for applying the concepts of computer science to their field and concepts. There are many ideas, so don’t fall for the “there’s no time to work in coding” mantra. Once students have some coding knowledge, there is no end to how the other standards can be supported. 

       

      Looking for resources to help you add coding to your curriculum? Here are some great options to check out:

      1. code.org: Considered a “go-to” for all things coding for grades K-12, Code.org reaches students of all backgrounds and skill levels to offer access to computer science with a variety of free videos, tutorials, programs, and literature.
      2. Hour of Code: Initially created as a quick introduction to computer science to show that anybody can learn the basics, the Hour of Code has become a worldwide movement that is supported by over 400 partners and 200,000 educators across the globe.
      3. Code to the Future: Aimed at preparing students for high-demand jobs, Code to the Future has created some of the first full-immersion computer science schools in the nation, where students code every day starting in kindergarten.
      4. Scratch: This free platform, provided by MIT, lets users program their own interactive stories, games, and animations. Designed for students aged 8 to 16, the platform helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
      5. Move the Turtle: Ideal for children as young as 5, this app teaches basic programming concepts in a graphic environment, helping children acquire skills, implement their own ideas, and even learn advanced commands.

       

      What’s your favorite coding website or resource? Let us know in the comments below! And to learn more about all of our STEM solutions, visit our website here.>>

       

      Topics: Science Lessons, NGSS, Coding

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