Day 1
01 Workshop Opener 02 Intro to Unit 4 03 Break 04 ML - U4L1 05 ML - U4L2 06 Lunch 07 Lesson Exploration - U4L3 08 Lesson Exploration - U4L4 09 Break 10 EIPM and The Big Picture 11 Collaborative Work 12 Wrap-Up

Session 7: Lesson Exploration - Variables Practice - U4L3

30 minutes

lesson exploration

Purpose

The Practice lesson type requires less “full room” instruction on the part of the teacher and is noticeably different from the Investigate lesson in the type of work students are doing in class. In this lesson the role of the teacher and student shifts from having the teacher direct the learning in Explore and Investigate to having the students gain more confidence independent from the teacher in the Practice and Make.

While this is not a model lesson, it is time for participants to understand how the Practice lesson type is unique from what they experienced in the Model lesson. This also helps participants build their understanding of the CS content in Unit 4 on variables.

Objectives

  • Participants gain practice reading a Practice lesson plan, matching with slides, and understanding Code Studio resources within one lesson.
  • Participants can describe the role of the teacher and the student in a Practice lesson.

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup

  • None

Facilitator Supplies

Teacher Materials

Agenda

Documenting Questions and Transition (2 minutes)

Get to know the Variables Practice Lesson (20 minutes)

Discussion (7 minutes)

Wrap-up (1 minute)

Facilitation Guide

Documenting Questions and Transition (2 minutes)

Remarks

💷 As we talked about at the beginning, to really understand the new approach to teaching programming, it is important to see the full “arc” of the EIPM sequence. We are going to look at the “Practice” lesson that follows this “Investigate” lesson you just saw. But before that, write down any questions you have about the lessons you just saw. We won’t answer them yet, but we do want you to document your thinking now. When you are done, add your questions to the question parking lot.

Facilitator Tip

While participants are working, look through the question parking lot questions with your co-facilitator so you can both address relevant questions in the discussion.

Pause one minute for writing

Remarks

Keep in mind, both the lessons you saw were taught as tightly as possible to the lesson plan. We didn’t add in any discussions, we didn’t change any of the slides. The lesson plans were written to have the teacher frequently bring the class together and then direct them to a new class at multiple points in the lesson.

You will see the role of the teacher shifts when we get to the Practice lesson for the variables EIPM sequence.

Get to know the Variables Practice Lesson (20 minutes)

💷 Set the scene for participants by reviewing the description for Practice lessons found on the “EIPM: A short introduction” document and share the goals for this session.

Facilitator Tip

Walk around the room and help participants navigate having all three portions listed open (the lesson plan, the slides, and the Code Studio. It is not important for participants to finish reading and doing the whole activity. We just need them to get a sense of what is in the lesson.

Exploration Goals:

  • To gain practice reading a lesson plan, matching with slides, and understanding Code Studio resources within one lesson. Teachers will need to know how to do this when having students engage in lesson planning and as they are preparing to do the model lessons themselves.
  • To see how the role of the teacher and the student in a Practice lesson changes as compared to prior lessons.
  • To see how student understanding of content builds throughout an EIPM sequence. Students are not done learning after E-I-P-or-M - teachers should not try to master the content at the “Investigate” lesson, this is just a stepping stone toward mastery.

💷 The Task - Do this:

  • Read the lesson plan.
  • Match the lesson plan with the slides.
  • Do the activities in Code Studio
    • Note: You will not finish going through the whole activity, but you should have a good “feel” for how a Practice lesson is different than the Explore or Investigate lessons you just saw.

Thinking prompts:

  • How do you see this lesson connecting to the experiences students had in the Explore and Investigate lessons?
  • How does it build on those experiences?

Discussion (7 minutes)

💷 Think - Pair - Share (1 min - 1 min - 2 mins)

  • What are the responsibilities of the teacher during different points in this lesson?
  • What are the responsibilities of the students during different points in this lesson?

Discussion Goal

Participants can explain how the role of the teacher and the student in a Practice lesson changes as compared to prior lessons.

💷 Whole Group Discussion (3 mins)

  • How are these responsibilities different from the Explore and Investigate lesson?
  • How are they the same?

Wrap-up (1 minute)

💷 Refer back to the EIPM: Short Introduction document. The goal of Practice lessons is for students to gain confidence in writing and debugging programs that use the new concept. We should not expect students to have mastered the content at this point.