This document discusses programming and computational thinking concepts for primary school students. It provides examples of how programming can be used across different subject areas like math, science, languages and art. It also profiles an example of two gifted students who were motivated to design their own computer games after being introduced to programming software. Their enthusiasm then inspired their teacher to create a whole class unit on designing games using the same application. The document advocates for constructionism and learning through building projects, and provides guidance on teaching programming concepts for different primary school levels.

1. Miles Berry
University of Roehampton
28 June 2013
Primary Computing
Workshop
2. Scratch

4. qbmaze

5. qbmaze

7. “Experience of objects
plays, naturally, a very
important role in the
establishment of
dynamic structures”
From Piaget (1961) A genetic approach to the psychology of thought
Schema

9. Constructionism
“Constructionism - the N word
as opposed to the V word -
shares contructivism’s view of
learning as“building knowledge
structures”through progressive
internalization of actions... It
then adds the idea that this
happens especially felicitously in
a context where the learner is
consciously engaged in
constructing a public entity,
whether it’s a sand castle on the
beach or a theory of the
universe.
Papert 1991

10. Mindstorms
In many schools today, the phrase
"computer-aided instruction" means
making the computer teach the child.
One might say the computer is being
used to program the child.
In my vision, the child programs the
computer and, in doing so, both acquires
a sense of mastery over a piece of the
most modern and powerful technology
and establishes an intimate contact with
some of the deepest ideas from science,
from mathematics, and from the art of
intellectual model building.
Papert, 1980

11. Papert on Logo (1983)

12. KS1
understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as
programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by
following a sequence of instructions
write and test simple programs
use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
organise, store, manipulate and retrieve data in a range of digital
formats
communicate safely and respectfully online, keeping personal
information private, and recognise common uses of information
technology beyond school.

13. understand what algorithms are, how they
are implemented as programs on digital
devices, and that programs execute by
following a sequence of instructions

14. write and test simple programs
use logical reasoning to predict the
behaviour of simple programs

15. KS2
design and write programs that accomplish specific goals,
including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve
problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with
variables and various forms of input and output; generate
appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs
use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works
and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
understand computer networks including the internet; how they
can provide multiple services, such as the world-wide web; and
the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration

16. use sequence, selection, and repetition in
programs; work with variables and various
forms of input and output; generate
appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to
test programs

17. Papert, 1971

18. Glasshead Studios for BBC Cracking the Code
use logical reasoning to explain how a
simple algorithm works and to detect and
correct errors in algorithms and programs

19. The craftsman
“It is by fixing things that
we often get to understand
how they work.”

20. “An urban primary school had good provision for developing pupils’
programming skills. Two Year 6 pupils attending provision for gifted and talented
pupils at their local secondary school were introduced to a freeware application
which enabled them to design and program a two- dimensional computer
game. Their enthusiasm prompted their class teacher to download the software
and to introduce a new unit of work for the whole class based around it.
Pupils were asked to design the graphics, layout and functionality of their own
computer game and to write the program to implement their ideas for its
design. Over a series of lessons, pupils used a ‘paint’ application to design their
game backgrounds and sprites. Having completed the graphical elements, pupils
wrote scripts to control movement and interaction in their games. This required
them to learn to use sophisticated programming constructs such as ‘repeat…
until’ and ‘if… then’ in capturing keyboard input, managing variables and testing
whether particular conditions had been met.
The choice of task and software motivated pupils who were therefore able to
make good progress. Most were able to write a series of executable instructions
to implement the features of their game design. One autistic pupil excelled at
this task and made better progress than his peers. He made outstanding use of
loops, conditional jumps and incremental counters in his program. His skills
exceeded those of his teacher, to whom he had to explain the principles of what
he had done.“

21. And yet...

22. — Geometry
— Islamic art
— Arithmetic games
— Spelling games
— Simulating simple physics
— Animating traditional tales,
historical situations etc
— Creating games with
characters from class readers,
history, etc
— Simulating probability
— Food chains
— MFL – program in Spanish.
— Animations of simple
conversations in MFL
— Jigsaw puzzles
— Music composition
— Create 'guess the animal'
game.
— Interactive image
manipulation
— Control tech
Scratch across the curriculum

25. Snap!

26. App Inventor

27. S4A

28. Kinect2Scratch

29. Enchanting