The purpose of this blog is discuss how the skills you learn in the classroom can be applied to an after school coding program.
Insight from a Coding Classroom
Learning to code doesn’t need to be difficult! Students learn a variety of skills throughout their time at school that can help make learning to program a breeze. These skills can vary depending on the subject being taught. However, some major skills that you might find in most classrooms are:
Problem-solving
Decision making
Communication
Collaboration
Leadership
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
These skills can also be applied to an after school program setting. Problem-solving and decision making are both useful for deciding how to use the knowledge you learn and apply it to future projects. Communication, collaboration, and leadership are all helpful when both asking for help from teachers and other students and for helping others learn the material. Critical thinking and creative thinking are both skills crucial for figuring out solutions for problems that aren’t inherently obvious.
Upon my time working as a coding instructor, I have seen these skills come into play on several occasions. On time, I met a student who was already quite familiar with the material we were learning in Roblox Studio. This student took initiative and used his communication, collaboration, and leadership skills to help teach his classmates how to create spawn locations in their projects. Another time, I had a student who wanted to make it snow in his Roblox Studio program. Instead of telling him how I would do it, I let him talk me through his thought process, step-by-step, on how he would go about making it snow. This student used problem-solving and decision making skills to eventually teach himself how to program snowfall in his project.
So why are these skills important for students to learn? Learning to code may come easily to some, and not so easily to others. Regardless of your current skill level, practicing these classroom skills will make learning to code, or any new subject, significantly easier.
Sources
“Critical Skills Classroom.” Antioch New England, www.antioch.edu/new-england/resources/centers-institutes/antioch-center-school-renewal/critical-skills-program/.
“Seven Skills Students Need for Their Future.” Asia Society, asiasociety.org/education/seven-skills-students-need-their-future.
