When you look for Computational Thinking, and Robotics, grade 5 on the BC Curriculum search, not much comes up. Luckily there are some really good sources for linking Computational Thinking to the curriculum, and Robotics provides one of many tools to explore those links.
SD 61 Has a comprehensive overview of the topic on their curriculum pages: https://learn.sd61.bc.ca/curriculum/coding/computational-thinking/
They start with a comprehensive video, defining Computational Thinking in kid-friendly language.
Key visuals help break down the four aspects of Computational Thinking even more.
I was curious where I could find these in the BC Curriculum, so I went back to the search page and looked for patterns, problem solving, plan, and other language from the posters. I found those concepts were everywhere, especially in Math, LA, Science, and ADST.
For elementary, there are many good online resources to help teach coding. These may lead to coding a robot as a cumulative activity, or robots could be used as a hook to begin the unit. Here are some resources I have used:
I like to link coding with cross-curricular units. In LA, writing instructions lends itself to thinking about coding. In Science and Art, design thinking pairs well with robotics and Computational Thinking. Math pattern units are a great time to introduce programming concepts.
My school district resource centre lends out robots. At the moment, we are using BeeBots with primary grades to think about how to make effective instructions. I use coding and micro:bits in grade 5, and couple it with my simple machines unit.
I think it is a trap to see robots as the be all and end all of teaching computational thinking. For my kids, the world if full of real life examples of computational processes that are easy to incorporate into the outcomes of the curriculum. Though programing robots is a tonne of fun and a good hook to get kids interested in science.
Questions:
Are robots overrated compared to the other tools we have for teaching computational thinking?
What skills do my middle school and high school colleagues think that we should focus on in elementary school?
Hi Rupert,
ReplyDeleteI think robots can be overrated, it seems like a kind of dated way to learn about machines. I think coding would be the best for students, as there are so many new jobs with tech and start ups now.
Madeleine