Teaching Kids Programming using the Intentional Method

The Intentional Method ofTeaching Kids Programming

By Lynn Langit & Llewellyn Falco

What is TKP?O FREE & Fun Courseware (for ages

10+)O 12 units covering introductory

programming conceptsO Modular (up to 90 minutes per module)O Tested on over 1,000 kids

O Repository of best teaching practicesO Written recommendationsO Answer keysO Video-based unit teacher training

Where is TKP?

Which Topics?

Who is teaching TKP?

O Middle/high school teachers – in schoolO 15 US statesO 10 foreign countries

O Volunteer Developers – after schoolO One-time Events O Series (on-going)

Events

A Teacher Talks about TKP

Agile & Intentional Agile Principles Agile Applied

O Pair programmingO Rapid FeedbackO Sprints

O Pair teaching / learning

O Run after EACH lineO Break after sectionIntentional Coding

O English (comments)

O Into SmallBasicO (Verify) RunO Then delete English

Experience Areas

1) Setup – 0-15 minutes for 30 students

2) Recipe – 15-20 minutes3) Recap – 5-10 minutes4) Variation – 10-15 minutes5) Quiz – 10-15 minutes6) Enrichment– 20-30 minutes7) Next Steps – START TEACHING TKP

courseware!

Experience 1: Recipe

Click icon to add picture

Demo

Experience 1:RecipeO Agile principle - No Big Upfront DesignO Executing their 1st program within minutes of

the class starting.

Experience 1: RecipeO Agile Principle - Pair Programming (strict)O Pair Teaching – teach by asking questions

Experience 1: RecipeO Agile principles – TDD & Definition of DoneO Small feedback loopO 1 line English = 1 line code, teach in ‘see it’ order, i.e.

lines 1,5,3, NOT 1, 2, 3

Experience 1: RecipeO Agile principles – TDD & Definition of DoneO Actual Proctors – 1 for each 10 pairs of kidsO Virtual Proctor – 1 for instructors & 1 for proctors

Experience 2: Recap

Click icon to add picture

Demo

Experience 2: RecapO Agile Principle – RetrospectiveO Instructor – Led Retrospectives

Experience 2: Recap

O Exploring MistakesO Instructors deliberately introduce errors

Experience 2: RecapO Agile Principle - Emerging Concepts O Learning to translate – introducing programming terms

Experience 2: RecapO Agile Principles - Tools /

CraftsmanshipO Learning to use your IDE &

Documentation

Experience 3: Variation

Click icon to add picture

Demo

Experience 3: Variation

O Agile Principle – RefactoringO Expose (refactor)Simple Change Complex Change

Experience 3: VariationsO “But, can I take it home?”O Joy, ownership

Experience 3: Variation

Experience 3: VariationO Coding is Joy

Experience 4: Quiz

Click icon to add picture

Demo

Experience 4: QuizO Teaching from the back of the roomO Facilitate by asking questions

Experience 4: QuizO Quiz in the editor, using the languageO Run each line (question) as many times as neededO Reward shape, reinforces variations

Experience 4: QuizO Recognizing MasteryO 100% of pairs get 100% right

Experience 4: QuizO Quizzes are rewards

Experience 5: Enrichment

Click icon to add picture

Demo

Experience 5: Enrichment

O Agile Principle - Craftsmanship O Koans - Cementing new concepts

Experience 5: EnrichmentO Extends quizzes - facilitated, not taughtO Experiment, run and try (again) good hacking!

Experience 5: XtrasO Mini recipesO Warm-ups or fill-ins if pairs finish early

For teachers – SPIRAL with line numbers (to do) = SQD946

Next Steps For TeachersO Try out the content – do the recipes

Setup on a USBO Agile Principle - Low overhead O Setup info here

Next Steps For TeachersO Try out the teacher content – read and watch hereO Teach in pairs

Next Steps for TKPO More

CoursewareO Fill in the library

O QuizzesO Homework

O GamesO Katas

O More Teacher ResourcesO VariationsO VideosO Experience

Reports

Next Steps Follow TKP Events

O Follow TKP World-wide Events - here

www.TeachingKidsProgramming.org

Llewellyn Falcowww.ApprovalTests.com

Twitter: @isidore_us

Lynn Langitblogs.msdn.com/SoCalDevGal

Twitter: @llangit