iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Leka DeGroot can relate to teachers who would like to bring coding to their classrooms but just can’t fathom fitting it in.

“Teachers often tell me, ‘It sounds great but I don’t have time, or I don’t have the skills,’ but you don’t have to be a computer scientist to teach coding,” assures DeGroot, a first grade teacher at Spirit Lake Elementary in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

Just a few years ago DeGroot explored coding for the first time through Hour of Code. Today, she’s a trainer for Code.org. She's driven by a desire to introduce students to computational thinking and integrating coding into the curriculum.

“The basic concepts of listening to each other, communicating and collaborating, these are not just for computer science. We want every student to have those skills,” DeGroot says. Even the youngest students benefit from the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that coding provides.

Not only do kids learn from it, they love it! Recently, for example, collaborated with a teacher in Wisconsin to have students write loop code dances for each other and then held a Google Hangout dance party.

As coding becomes an increasingly coveted skill, schools all over the world are deciding to teach their students how to code. This is a excellent idea, as having coding skills could pay huge dividends later on in life. However, pre-service teachers do not usually learn how to teach coding in their college teacher education programs. Many teachers have difficulty learning and then teaching coding skills to their students. In response, we decided to write an article that gives teachers some practical suggestions on how to teach coding in a classroom.