Computer Science in Science PD: Dispositions and Classroom Culture - Discussion

I would like to promote a culture in which students will feel comfortable making mistakes, but remain persistent in finding solutions. Computer programming is a very rigorous activity, with students having to following a logical thought through to its natural conclusion. This can lead to frustration. I would give students tools to help them get through these difficult moments.

A teachers dream is to have a classroom full of self-starters and self motivated students who take responsibility for their own learning. I think that this is possible using CS. When students are engaged and giving the ability to create their own learning they can succeed in these areas. I would like my role to be support. I want to help guide students and help them when needed without taking away the learning experience. The toughest thing for me is when students get frustrated and start shutting down. Perseverance is a life skill that needs to be learned. This will be my biggest struggle and where I will have to learn to balance that support.

I want my students to feel safe and to understand that real growth in learning happens by trial and error. Some of the barriers I face include studentsā€™ preference for instant gratification, students who are worried about earning a bad grade if they do not get something right the first time, students who resist persistance on a challenging task because they perceive it as tedious or somehow not worth the effort. Iā€™m pleased to hear all the talk about GRIT in education lately.

I like the idea of the teacherā€™s role being a guide and facilitator, not the giver of all knowledge. I think some of my students will need encouragement not to give up - to become resilient.

I would like to promote a culture of student-led learning. I will train my students to go through the steps to help themselves before raising their hand for help. This includes the six strategies mentioned in the video. I also want to cultivate a community of learners, where students can feel free to help each other and learn from each other, myself included. Many of my students are better coders than me, and I think this helps them to take ownership of their learning! As a new coder, I anticipate coming across a problem that the students donā€™t know how to solve, and I also do not know how to solve. Hopefully going through this training will help me to become a better coder!

I also find myself using the word ā€œperseveranceā€ often in the classroom. It is hard to teach students to persevere, but I feel like when we as teachers instill this in our students from day 1 and donā€™t give them the easy way out by giving them the answer, our students will build up stamina to face challenging multi-step problems.

I like for my students to feel comfortable and successful in my classroom. But I want them to understand that being successful and comfortable doesnā€™t mean that everything will be easy and theyā€™ll know everything. Sometimes learning is hard and sometimes you have to fail and try again and again.

Hereā€™s the problem. Unfortunately, many students donā€™t know how to fail correctly. They just give up. ā€œI donā€™t get itā€ or ā€œItā€™s too hardā€ or even, ā€œIā€™m not smart enough.ā€ are words I hear way too often. Some students believe that if they donā€™t understand it now, they never will. Some want you to teach them by giving them the answer. Itā€™s frustrating.

Using computer as a model for inquiry requires the teacher to step out of the know-it-all role. I find it difficult sometimes to not give them the right answer as students often prefer to know if they have the right answer or not. But inquiry-based learning requires students to arrive at that conclusion themselves. It is one thing to find the right answer, but it requires much more cognitive work to realize it when they have the right answer.

Like Aretha Franklin, I want my classroom culture to be one of R E S P E C T. This goes hand-in-hand with empathy. When students can put themselves in someone elseā€™s shoes and see the impact that their words and actions have on the individual as well as the community, then their positive actions multiply and their negative ones diminish. This permeates all areas of the classroom and school ā€“ from respect of their work and taking the time to give thoughtful answers, writing legibily, putting their names on the papers ā€“ to respect of each other and working together, encouraging each other, raising their hands ā€“ to respect of the teacher and all that entails.

Some barriers will be reaching the students who have difficulty giving respect as they may not have seen it in practice enough in their lifetimes. Children who have been neglected ā€“ not nurtured, or abused ā€“ not cherished.

I must have anticipated this question in my last postšŸ˜ Some barriers would be: 1. Students are not used to this paradigm shift and constantly want you, the teacher, to be the expert and look to you to solving the problem. This culture change will take some time. 2. Teachers need to plan lessons much differently than in the past. Some upfront time needs to be given as we learn how to prepare engaging instruction and assessment. 3. Students need to learn how to interact in team-based projects and how to solve conflicts in a productive and constructive way. This skill will require upfront modeling and practice.

I liked the list of dispositions laid out in the video, particularly the first two: embrace mistakes and be curious. Those are two elements I think are central to doing science but a barrier would be that they have been ā€œschooledā€ out of a lot of students. I also want to promote a classroom where we all care about each otherā€™s learning and consciously work to foster a sense that weā€™re in this together. In high school, peer pressure and the existence of cliques can be a barrier to this in addition to a pervasive atmosphere of competition.

I agree with you. I think students feel that if they donā€™t get something right away they arenā€™t going to get it at all. Or they have priorities other than doing their best at a particular task. I havenā€™t figured out a solution to that frame of mind.

I worry that some students are much more advanced than others. They will be bored while other students are struggling.

The role of a teacher to guide and act as a facilitator. Students are able to have conversations with their peers in a positive environment. My science curriculum is structured this way. Students conduct various inquiry activities that build up to a real life problem. Technology is integrated throughout the curriculum; coding is not. This is a barrier I believe I will run into.

Access to computers will be my biggest challenge. Less than 20% of our students have computers at home. We did purchased 2 Chromebook carts, but they are used for standardized testing. Phones was my main sources of tech, but our cellphone policy this coming school year has changed to no phones present in the classroom. I will need to purchase low budget android devises or refurbish old laptops with Linux, both will be an out of pocket and personal time expense. The classroom culture is to do what we can with what we have. I would like to promote code as a possible solution to do what we may not be able to afford with a shoe string budget.

My greatest barrier will be to remove myself as the sage on the stage. Removing the thought that I am the expert and have to have all the answers will be a struggle as well as students becoming frustrated and giving up too soon.

The classroom culture I would like to promote in my classroom is one around perseverance. If we fail, we must not give up and we must continue and try again. Every failure is an opportunity for us to learn something new. One strong challenge I can see from this is my students giving up on something that is too difficult for them at first. My students do not take failure well and often times more than not they shut down and stop trying to understand the concept.

In my ideal classroom, I would encourage students to be comfortable, respectful, and open to error. I like to combine humor and positive team building to create a positive classroom environment.

Students in my classes are expected to be active learners. That is, they are expected to participate in activities and classroom discussions. They are expected to agree and, in the event of a disagreement, be able to describe their difference in opinions respectfully.

That, too, is something I strive for as a teacher. I notice a much larger dependence on the teacher amongst my sixth grade classes than my eighth grade classes ā€“ as it should be.