Teaching with Puzzles

CS in Algebra
21

I love how the design recipe helps students think before jumping into anything.

22

definitely offline vs online. students can establish thinking logically and transfer it to codes.

23

I plan to use the design recipe and the circles of evaluation. I believe that they will contribute to the success of the students in Math. A combination of the two will help students in struggling areas like the order of operations and word problems.

24

Here is a compilation of my favorites from your comments. Thank you all, they are really helpful.
A compilation of Sharing notes from other Code.org teachers

  1. I like the free play option. I think that my students will grow by trying their different ideas without being contained to what is given to them!
  2. I like that the students work in pairs and collaborate. If one student gets frustrated, often the other student can help pull them through.
  3. I’m excited to use the Evaluation Blocks with my students to the Order of Operations and different properties. I think that it will help them truly understand these processes.
  4. I think I’ll let students use coding to solve a few problems in the textbook whenever possible.
  5. This is one that definitely depends on the students and their skill levels. Starting with free play and exploration can be powerful for many students, but you’re right that it becomes more challenging to bring them back into the structured process after freely exploring. The trick to it is motivating the need for the structure of the design recipe - give them a really challenging problem that necessitates the design recipe process. Let them chew on it, struggle, and then bring the the design recipe as their savior, the way to make sense of this problem that’s too big to tackle without structure.
  6. I like the idea of using the design recipe for word problems and the circles of evaluation. I am curious to see if it will assist students who struggle with solving numerical expressions.
  7. I love how the design recipe helps students think before jumping into anything.
25

One of the things I will continue to use is the ask 3 then me, and also allow other students to help when needed. Teaching classes with more than 37 or more students, I sure need students to help each other.

26

I have tried that as well and it has seemed to work. I have only had to explictly teach a strategy for a handful of puzzles.

27

I’m excited to use the evaluation blocks and free play.

28

I plan to allow my higher students explore with free play as they will likely move through the modules at a quicker pace than their colleagues.

29

I like the free play option…as well as giving a paper version to work on independently then to discuss with a partner or small group.

30

When teaching with puzzles, I will pair students who are struggling with the puzzles with a student who is working thru the puzzles with less difficulties.
I will also employ the “driver/navigator” as long as the students are using the process correctly.