MET Community EdTech Talk Series

Special Guest: Mike Deutsch

Topic: Making Sense of Coding

 

Event Description
 

In this discussion-based meeting, KCJ Director of Learning Services Mike Deutsch will share ideas about how educators can teach coding using a pedagogical approach called “sense-making”. This method differs from classic step-by-step “follow me” or “take this and modify it” approaches.
 

The “sense-making” approach incorporates inquiry, collaborative computational thinking, and scaffolding. It was first adapted from math and CS education research to classrooms and teacher workshops as a way to level the playing field for learners who arrive from vastly different contexts and different prior knowledge. It has since become a favorite for the way it brings out participants’ own voices and ideas and gets them thinking, rather than just receiving instruction from the "experts." 
 

In this participatory session, we will walk through a sample routine using a familiar block-coding project and discuss the pedagogical ideas behind this way of teaching. 

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About Mike Deutsch

Mike Deutsch leads the Learning Services team at Kids Code Jeunesse, a Canadian computing education nonprofit. He focuses on KCJ’s platforms, curricula, and pedagogy, helping the KCJ crew produce great, approachable teaching in classrooms and events across Canada. He also researches computing pedagogy as a Master’s student at McGill University. Mike is a product of the 1980s wave of LOGO and BASIC and the Apple II, and loves helping teachers, parents, and students join today’s wave.