The National Curriculum states that Key Stage 2 (KS2) children should know how to: design, write and debug programmes; use sequence, selection and repetition; use logical reasoning; understand computer networks; use search technologies; use a variety of software; use technology safely (DfE, 2013; Turvey et al, 2016). As part of School Based Training 1 (SBT1) I planned and delivered a computing lesson to four Year 3 children. All the children are classified as Pupil Premium (PP) children who are of mixed attainment levels. One child within the group also has Special Educational Needs (SEND). Therefore, my focus was around an inclusive activity that everyone would enjoy and be able to take part in. I decided not to use computers and instead focused around programming using symbols. Caldwell and Smith (2017) believe that an unplugged activity is collaborative and can enable computing concepts to become meaningful.

The aim of the lesson was for the children to work in partners, one child acting as a ’robot’, to create a sequence that the ‘robot’ would then follow.

My learning objectives were:

To begin to understand the process behind designing and writing programmes.

To begin to use sequences and repetition to programme their peers through symbols.

I started the activity by mind mapping the children’s ideas around programming. The questions I asked the children were ‘Does anyone know what the word programming means?’ and ‘What do you have in your home that can be programmed?’

I then introduced the activity to the children and we discussed together what the symbols could mean. Berry (2014) implies that children learn about programming through creating their own sequences. I gave the children time to work with their partner to create a sequence without any direction. This caused the children to experience problems with their sequence, for example their ‘robot’ walked into a wall or table. This gave me the opportunity to introduce the idea of debugging to the children, explaining that the children would need to change their sequence to ensure their ‘robot’ would not hit any objects (Berry, 2013; Turvey et al, 2016). During the activity the children further developed their ideas on the symbols and decided that → could mean go forward a certain number of times. They also decided that ↓ could mean that the robot had to crouch down.

Next, I introduced a checklist, that we came up with together, to facilitate the children’s learning further. The checklist ensured the children had certain elements, such as repetition, in their sequence and gave them a criteria to follow. Turvey et al (2016) states that ‘Repetition and selection are vital in computing’ (p120). During this activity the whole group looked at each other’s sequences and filmed them using iPads. This gave children a sense of ownership over their sequence and they felt proud of what they created (the two videos were placed on the school system but are not able to be part of the blog due to confidentiality).

As a plenary to the lesson we discussed as a group which symbols we could use to programme a ‘robot’ to pick up an object. The children developed their ideas further of using the symbols to mean different things, for example using the light bulb to open and close the robot’s hand. From this I could see that all the children had an understanding of designing and writing programmes to perform a particular sequence. If I was to teach this activity again, I would encourage the children to write a rationale for the symbols they used to assess their understanding of algorithms and programming further.

Overall, I felt that the children understood programming and how different objects could be programmed to meet a certain criteria, for example getting a robot to a particular place. They were all able to use repetition within their sequence and recognised that the sequence may need to be changed to ensure their robot meets a specific destination, introducing the concept of debugging when problems arose. The children were keen to develop the activity further and wanted to share the activity with their peers on the playground.

References:

Berry, M. (2013) Computing in the national curriculum: A guide for primary teachers, [online], Naace, Available: <https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/CASPrimaryComputing.pdf> [Accessed: 23/10/18].

Caldwell, H. and Smith, N. (2017) Teaching Computing Unplugged: exploring primary computing through practical activities away from the computer, London: SAGE.

DfE (2013) Computing programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2, [online], London, Available: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239033/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Computing.pdf> [Accessed: 23/10/18].

Turvey, K., Potter, J., Burton, J., Allen, J. and Sharp, J. (2016) Primary Computing and Digital Technologies: Knowledge, understanding and practice, London: Learning Matters.

Yaroslavski, D. (2008) Lightbot, [online], Available: <http://lightbot.com/flash.html> [Accessed: 23/10/18].