Hi there fellow teachers with GUTS,
The summer PD program was my first introduction to coding. I didn't expect to, but I did catch the coding addiction! I now teach the after school coder's club with my school's ITRT. In my 7th grade life-science classroom we are currently studying ecosystems/population dynamics, so this is a perfect time to introduce MOD 3. Please reach out to me if you have any helpful suggestions or would benefit from hearing about my plans. I would be happy to share ideas and resources.
Keep calm and Code on!
Sharon B.
Comments
Welcome, Sharon! I'm glad you caught the coding bug through Project GUTS.
I'm interested to hear what you will see carrying over between the afterschool coding club and the school day Project GUTS module... Will some students participate in both? Also, are you finding that you have good diversity (gender, race, etc) in both afterschool coding and school day participation when CS is integrated within Science?
Best,
--Irene
Hi Irene,
The after school club was preexisting and were already coding in a similar platform that uses the drag and drop blocks. We currently have two small groups one is doing an Art project and the other group is doing a Gaming Project. I have been given free reign to try something new with coders club in the fall of next year, so I am excited about the club resources that I see online. Students already familiar with the drag and drop blocks will catch onto SLNova quickly. I'm hoping I can count on them to help others. These kiddos can get sucked into their projects, so I'll have to see how it goes. Our school is extremely diverse with no majority, and we have very high population of English Language Learners. Most of my science ELL students speak Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Arab, Swahili, or Kiswahli). Club is about 30% female.