Jessica Cabeen

Woodson Kindergarten Center principal

This past month at Woodson we have started a Coding Club. A small group of students have class with the principal one day a week for six to eight weeks. During this time we are exploring robots, creating codes for applications on the iPad and exploring engineering concepts that align to our kindergarten state standards.

Introducing computer science at the kindergarten level gives students the foundational skills that will help nurture creativity and problem-solving skills, and prepare students for any future career.

Teachers had opportunities in December to have hands-on experiences with technology tools such as BeeBot, Code.org and Osmo. After exploring those tools they identified one to two students per class that would have an interest in using technology in a smaller, personalized setting. We lay out weekly lesson plans that are posted to the Woodson Coding Club page of the Packers In Training blog. Teachers and family members can access this blog to see what kinds of learning is occurring during the class and how to support this learning back in the classroom. We also use Twitter and the hashtag #PackInTrain to post pictures of the cool things kids are doing in our class and as a way to collaborate and network with other elementary school kids using this technology. So far students have been exposed to BeeBot, Coding Apps, and Sphero. During the spring we will also explore Kodable, Hopscotch and Lightbot via code.org as other resources.

This class helps support learning occurring in the classrooms through high interest materials and subject areas. Students in coding club learn to: create solutions for problems, collaborate with others, read and interpret visual information, reflect on learning while students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

So how has it been going? Excellent! Students are so excited each week for their class to start. During conferences parents were able to come in and “try out” the robots for themselves. They reported that their child is excited about what they are learning at school and extending some of that learning to their home setting. One student has even created her own robot at home using pop cans and other materials around the house.

Our goal in creating these opportunities is to give our children the permission to be in the driver’s seat of their own learning. This approach to learning allows educators to not have all the answers, but instead to have deep questions to extend, expand, and inspire learning. If you are interested in learning more about what we are doing please check out our blog at www.packersintraining.wordpress.com/category/woodson-coding-club/.