Session 8: Curriculum Investigation
75 minutes
lesson exploration
Purpose
The purpose of this session is for participants to investigate Unit 4 and reflect on how they will implement the lessons with their students. Although it is not possible to cover all unit content within the time allotted, core concepts are highlighted within this investigation. The overall goal of this session is for participants to reflect on the “Role of the Student” with a specific emphasis on how they, as the teacher, will create and sustain an inclusion learning environment to empower students to play an active role in their learning.
Objectives
- Participants have been exposed to the essential content knowledge necessary to plan and implement selected lessons in Unit 4
- Participants continue to develop the skills necessary to continue to build their CS content knowledge outside of the walls of the workshop through resources within Code Studio and the Code.org lesson plans
- Participants reflect and identify ways to support students in developing computing and active learning skills
- Participants identify ways to establish and maintain an inclusive learning environment
Supplies & Prep
Room Setup:
- Groups are seated in pods
- Consider having participants sit in affinity groups (ex: by grade level, grading practices, by schools)
Supplies and Prep:
Teacher Materials:
- Computers
- Journal
Agenda
Introduction (1 minute)
Investigation Part 1 (20 minutes)
Investigation Part 2 (17 minutes)
Investigation Part 3 (27 minutes)
Wrap Up (9 minutes)
Facilitation Guide
Introduction (1 minute)
(1 minute) Context Setting
Remarks
In this session, you will have time to investigate three lessons within Unit 4. After each lesson investigation, discussion prompts are provided to guide planning and implementation. You are encouraged to work with an elbow partner during this time. Also, you many want to write down ideas in your journal throughout the discussions, to refer to after the workshop.
Investigation Part 1 (20 minutes)
(15 minutes) Investigate Lesson 5: User Interfaces
Remarks
Unit 4, Lesson 5 follows the lesson that was modeled this morning. Up to this point, learners have been focusing on designing with the needs of the user in mind. In this unplugged lesson, learners will engage with a paper prototype in order to test and get feedback on an idea before writing any code.
Facilitator Tip
It is important that participants have a clear understanding of what prototypes and interfaces are, as they will be used throughout Unit 4. As participants work through this investigation, circulate the room and check for understanding by either listening in on conversations or directly asking participants to explain what prototypes and interfaces are and why they are used in software development.
Investigation Goal: Understand how prototypes can be used to quickly test ideas and assumptions
Investigation Task:
- Read the full lesson plan paying close attention to the vocabulary introduced in this lesson (prototype and user interface)
- Skim the content in the activity guides to visualize the activity the students will complete in this lesson
(5 minutes) Discussion
After fifteen minutes, participants discuss the prompts with a partner. After the five minute discussion, participants are encouraged to move on to the next lesson investigation.
Discussion Goal
During the model lesson reflection, participants were introduced to the definitions of iteration and decomposition. The purpose here is for participants to identify these practices in the context of a lesson so that they will be able to reinforce these practices as their students work through the unit.
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Iteration:
- Where in the lesson did you see iteration?
- How can you highlight opportunities for students to engage in the process of continuous improvement in order to modify and enhance creative projects?
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Decomposition:
- Where in the lesson did you see decomposition?
- How can you highlight opportunities for students to break large problems into smaller components in order to begin taking small steps towards the larger goal?
Investigation Part 2 (17 minutes)
(12 minutes) Investigate Lesson 9: Designing Apps for Good
Remarks
After completing lesson 5, students continue to explore the role of feedback and testing in the software design process. They complete their own paper prototype as a part of the chapter 1 project. Lesson 9 is the first lesson in chapter 2. This lesson kicks off the project that students will be working on throughout the rest of the unit. The group norms established during this lesson will set the tone for the remaining lessons within the unit.
Investigation Goal: Consider how you will use the App Design Kickoff - Activity Guide activity guide to support healthy group dynamics in your classroom
Investigation Task:
- Read the section of the lesson plan titled “App Design Kick Off”
- Read the App Design Kickoff - Activity Guide activity guide
(5 minutes) Discussion
After fifteen minutes, participants discuss the prompts with a partner.
Discussion Goal
Participants have already explored these prompts in previous sessions. This time, they will look at them again through the lens of implementing their ideas into lessons within the curriculum. The goal is for participants to not only recognize the importance of being proactive with norm setting at the start of a team project, but also to have concrete ideas of how they will do this in their classrooms during Chapter 2 of Unit 4.
- Collaboration - In what ways can you support students in developing solutions that incorporate multiple perspectives?
- Contribution - How will you ensure all members of the group feel included and actively contribute to the success of the team?
- Mediate Disagreements - How will you support students in developing the skills of mediating disagreements to help teammates agree on a common solution?
Investigation Part 3 (27 minutes)
Facilitator Tip
The goal of this overview is for participants to hear a high level overview of App Lab and know where to access resources to deepen their understanding of the tool. The facilitator should avoid frontloading too much information in this introduction. The goal is introduction, not mastery.
(7 minutes) Introduce App Lab
Remarks
After developing, testing, and gathering feedback on a paper prototype, students will move to App Lab to build the next iteration of their apps. Students will experience designing in App Lab for the first time in Lesson 14. It is important to note that learning how to program using App Lab is not the objective of Unit 4. The goals of the unit are for students to leave with a basic understanding of other roles within software development (such as product management, marketing, design, and testing) and to use what they learned as a tool for social impact. As a result, students will be primarily working in Design Mode within App Lab.
Video: Watch the App Lab Design Mode video to introduce App Lab (6:17)
(15 minutes) Investigate Lesson 14: Design in App Lab
Facilitator Tip
It is not possible to cover all aspects of the course within this PD. Therefore, it is essential that participants develop the skills necessary to expand their knowledge beyond the workshop. Participants will likely have questions regarding the App Lab tool. Try to connect them with resources to answer their questions instead of answering them directly. This will alert participants to resources available to them to support them and their students later.
Investigation Goal: Become familiar with the Design Mode features within App Lab with a specific focus on available resources for future reference
Investigation Task:
- Complete levels 2 - 5
- Read the information within the “Help & Tips” tab starting in level 2 (and builds on in level 5) for students to reference throughout the unit
- (if time permits) Complete levels 6 - 8
The “Help & Tips” tab is a resource available to both participants and students. The goal is for participants to know where to find resources within the Code Studio platform that will support their learning of content after the workshop. This is an opportunity to highlight the differences between the way a teacher and a student might interact with the same resource.
- A teacher can use the “Help & Tips” for a quick refresher of content or as a quick resource to reference to students.
- Students can use these resources as reference material when they are stuck. The “Help & Tips” are not intended for required student reading or notes to be memorized. Students' primary mode of learning is through exploration.
(5 minutes) Discussion
After sixteen minutes, participants discuss the prompts with a partner.
Share with participants that “Help & Tips” is a resource they can reference as a lead learner to model for students how to use reference resources during the lesson.
Discussion Goal
We return to two themes from workshop 1 - reference resources and the role of the teacher. Here, we look at how reference resources support the active learning role of the student. Ex: Instead of directly answering a question a teacher can say, “What resources do you have available to you that might help you answer that question?"
- Referencing Resources:
- What resources are available for students to reference during this lesson?
- How can these resources be used to support a culture of active learning within your classroom.
- Role of the Teacher:
- How can you model the skill of referencing resources for your students?
- How does this support a culture of active learning and inclusion within your classroom?
Wrap Up (9 minutes)
(3 minutes) Unit Reflection
Remarks
At this point, we have done one model lesson and investigated three additional lessons in unit 4. Now, let’s shift to thinking about the unit as a whole as we continue to dig into the idea of supporting students in becoming active learners in our classrooms.
Prompt:
- How can you support students in developing active learning skills within this unit?
- How will you establish an inclusive learning environment during this unit?
(6 minutes) Share Out
In a quick popcorn style share out, allow participants to share ideas.