Introduction to Coding

This was a practical workshop to support staff in feeling confident with the new UK computing curriculum. Once the outline of the workshop was defined, I broke the ice by asking staff to move around the room and place colour coded sticky notes on different key computing terms. The colour of the sticky note corresponded with how well the staff could define that word (see slides below). This was a nice way to reassure staff that we are in a similar boat and that although we may not use them in a computing context, we do already know some key computing terms. Following the warm up, teaching strategies and resources were modeled using each of the key vocabulary. With the guidance of a resource list for each year group, staff were encouraged to play and experiment with the resources in a co-operative atmosphere. At the end of the workshop, staff shared their thoughts and many felt confident to start the coding journey with their students.