Learn how to teach Computer science

1. TMCSC23: Computer Science Teaching Methods
by Gerard NIZEYIMANA
Aug 18th, 2019
College of Education

2. Active Learning
 The core concepts knowledge areas in computer science are:
 Computing Systems,
 Networks and the Internet,
 Data (Databases Management Systems) and Analytics,
 Algorithms and Programming,
 Impacts of Computing in real-life (Computer Graphics and Multimedia)

3. Active Learning
 Seven core practices describe the behaviors and ways of thinking that
students use when working within the core concepts.
 Fostering an inclusive computing culture,
 Collaborating around computing,
 Recognizing and defining computational problems,
 Developing and using abstractions,
 Creating computational artifacts,
 Testing and refining computational artifacts,
 Communicating about computing

4. Active Learning
 Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) once said:
 I hear and I forget,
 I see and I remember,
 I do and I understand,
 Research-Based Classroom Strategies for Teaching Computer Science (CS)
1. Provide visuals,
2. Encourage students,
3. Decode the code,
4. Leverage peer-to-peer support,
5. Create real-world relevance,
6. Collaborate and Share,
7. Cultivate a growth mindset,

5. Active Learning
 Provide visuals:
 Support student understanding with visual examples, instructions, and
explanations. Start with lots of scaffolding, and gradually remove it as
students progress.
→ From my point of view, I believe that the student can access information
through sensory, auditory and theoretical visuals. And the student can quickly
absorb the problem and find the appropriate solution to it.

6. Active Learning
 Encourage students:
 Studies show that encouragement from a teacher or parent is correlated with
students having more interest in learning CS. This can be as simple as saying,
“You would be good at computer science” (Ndabona nutivumbura uzabimenya).
→ Classroom Application: Use all types of media to show that everyone is capable of
computer science. Allowing learners to see people like them doing computer science in
videos, articles, or on posters is another form of encouragement. Be sure to provide praise
to all learners by stating, “I like how you thought critically to solve that problem” or “You
really persevered to debug your algorithm!”
Motivational words for students to encourage achievement, effort and giving. The more the
teacher expresses compliments, the more the student loves a teacher and pays more
attention to his lessons and his daily work.

7. Active Learning
 Decode the code:
 Researchers from University of Chicago created a strategy for exploring
Scratch projects that is based on reading comprehension strategies. This
strategy scaffolds the student approach as they explore example programs
and helps students make methodical observations, rather than getting
overwhelmed by complex code. Students who used this strategy performed
better than the control group on questions about computer science.
→ Classroom Application: Begin using the Use, Modify, Create strategy while teaching
computational thinking. Through activities, discussions, and readings designed to make the
computer science concepts relevant. Motivational words for students to encourage
achievement, effort and giving. The more the teacher expresses compliments, the more the
student loves a teacher and pays more attention to his lessons and his daily work.

8. Active Learning
 Leverage peer-to-peer support :
 Assign roles to students working in groups. Individual accountability and
group rewards can increase success of students with learning disabilities.
Prepare students for collaboration by explicitly teaching strategies and
language for asking peers for help and offering support.
→ Classroom Application: Assign student(s) the role of 'Tech Support'. This role is
responsible for offering support with logging in, asking teacher-created questions to
guide exploration, or share their solutions as a model.
Teamwork is the most important goal of the class. It helps to form a relationship
between students, gain students each other's trust, spread the value of tolerance and
harmony, and help each other in scientific lessons.

9. Active Learning
 Create real-world relevance:
 For maximum student engagement, it is important for problems to be meaningful
and connected to values. Making these connections in classrooms increases
students’ motivation and persistence in STEM. Showing that STEM skills can
help solve real problems in their communities attracts students from groups that
are currently underrepresented in STEM fields.
→ Classroom Application: Bring together engineering, science, computer science and
math with Engineering and Computer Science. With global settings, relatable characters,
and grade-level appropriate concepts where students can travel from engineering to
computer science units seamlessly.
If the class is fun and characterized by morals and the participation of all students with the
answers to the questions. Positive energy was present in the class.

10. Active Learning
 Collaborate and Share:
 Having students look at each other's projects is a powerful strategy, whether it is
a gallery walk or a class presentation. Seeing other students’ work reinforces
that there are many different solutions to a problem. It also helps students feel
included and proud of their work. Showing real bugs in projects also helps to
celebrate and normalize debugging.
→ Classroom Application: Allow students to record and narrate their digital artifacts.
Encourage them to include an example of where they needed to debug. Achievement,
trying and knowing mistakes makes the student proud of himself and tries hard to achieve
the desired. We see the student asking his teacher and his friends and searching through
books and websites. The result is a struggling student who deserves to be honored.

11. Active Learning
 Cultivate a growth mindset:
 Create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions about
computer science.
 Learning is about embracing opportunities that challenge our thinking and allow for
further development.
 Encouraging students to have a growth mindset can help overcome feelings of doubt
and apprehension when encountering failures. Emphasize and reward the process of
learning rather than the results to support growth mindsets in your classroom.
 This point is one of the most important points, because achieving this point will be for the rest
of the student's life. If the student's mind is properly cultivated, he will achieve many
achievements, relationships and love for all in his life.

12. Questioning Techniques
1. Make sure that learners understand the question
2. Use more Open Questions
3. Provide Wait Time after asking a question
4. Not tennis but volleyball
5. Right is right
6. Stretch learners to refine or deepen their answers
7. Wait Time after asking a question

13. Questioning Techniques
Use Open Questions
Examples
 What would happen if …?
 If I do this, what will happen?
 Is there any other way you could …?
 Why did you …?
 How did you …?
 How do you know?
 Tell/show me an example of…
 What is wrong with the statement? How can you correct it?
 How can we be sure that…?
Extra: provide supporting tools and materials
 Drawings, scenario, calculations, …

14. Provide waiting time
1. Make sure that learners understand the question
2. Use more Open Questions
3. Provide Wait Time after asking a question
I'm waiting for at
least 10 hands
before I take an
answer.
I'm waiting for
someone who can
connect this
question to what we
have seen yesterday.
What can you say
about the computer
network?

15. 4. Not tennis but volleyball
What is
computer
network?
Eric, what is your
opinion?
Can someone
adjust the
answer to make
it more correct?
Which part of
the answer is
correct and
which part not?
Stimulate learners to …
 listen to each other
 think actively about each other’s
responses
 develop learners’ reasoning skills.
Pascaline,
do you
agree with
this
answer?
Who
agrees with
this
answer?

16. 5. Right is right
Hold out for a complete answer. close to the answer?
“What you say is correct, but is not the whole answer. Can you complete
your answer?”
Can you formulate it in a full sentence?
Right answer, right time.
Sometimes a learner goes ahead too quickly
“My question wasn’t about the solution. It was, what do we do next?”

17. Assessment Tools
Show me board
Plickers