From September 2014, primary school children will be taught how to code in schools and the ICT curriculum, as a result, will be completely transformed. Known as the Year of Code, Education Secretary, Michael Gove, is pushing for every kid in this country to learn the art of computer programming from a very young age.
It is hoped that these lessons will plug the 'skills gap' in this country, which currently sees over 75,000 digital vacancies in the jobs market, with very few workers skilled enough to fill these (well paid) positions.
However, as many who have struggled to find a job will know, seeking employment based on just one hard skill is very unlikely to land you the job.
A recent government report released this week also stipulated that all school leavers should be given some form of school graduation certificate, which outlines all of their extracurricular and academic achievements, in order to demonstrate to employers some of the 'soft skills' they have developed in school.
Therefore, in order to prepare our future generations for the world of work, simply teaching children how to code will not inspire them to utilise this knowledge for their own careers. ICT teachers and teachers of all other subjects then, will do well to remember to teach their pupils ways of seeing 'the bigger picture' in everything that they do and use their creativity and critical thinking skills in order to adequately use information to carve out their own futures in the world of business and employment.
What is Coding?
For many of you who aren't IT experts, coding is simply writing programming instructions that a computer can understand and transform into images and text on a screen. It is a digital language and there are different versions, JavaScript and C++, for example.
For those who might be interested in finding out more about coding and what the young’uns will be learning, check out Code Academy and follow the online tutorials to get started with code straight away.
Essentially, coding is like doing a logic puzzle, where you learn to give instructions to a computer like, "if this is this, then that needs to be…" and so on. Many have likened writing code to doing a Soduku puzzle because it gives your brain a similar kind of workout, therefore we can see why coding, along with the 'three R's' will clearly benefit the student's cognitive abilities.
But with these new skills it is also important to learn how to utilise them. Here are some examples of the 'soft skills' that ICT teachers need to consider imparting to their pupils, alongside the complex and exact language of computer programming.
Marketing Skills
In the hyper-connected world, many of us update our social networking profiles and do our best to display the most positive online persona to our online followers, as possible. You could say that after school hours, many pupils are self-taught in the art of marketing. However, in ICT lessons, these ideas could be made more explicit, so that the students can see how these skills can be implemented from a business perspective.
That's why project work – when it comes to teaching code or any other subject for that matter – is about getting the children to think about the wider context and where this creative end product might end up. Recognising the 'need' for the solution your pupils are providing, and information about the kinds of things people like and care about, will help your pupils consider the implications for the kinds of things and programs they could learn to create and develop using their own initiative.
There is also a need to ensure that the children learn that programming isn't the only related career option out there for them by the end of the syllabus. If you are finding that your pupils are enjoying coding then they may also be interested in product design or digital marketing.
Things like learning how to plan properly and do effective presentations will also stand them in good stead and get them thinking about the wider implications of their programming creations.
Critical Thinking Skills
Because coding kind of works like a logic puzzle, having a good critical thinking skills-base can only be a good thing. Teaching children how to break tasks down into manageable parts will come naturally as part of the coding lessons. But, you can also teach the children about questioning and testing theories, to see how these investigations enhance the end product.
Setting the children up to fail can also be a good idea. James Dyson this week said that schools do not give kids enough opportunity to 'fail' at things, therefore setting up classroom exercises that will never work is a good way to get kids learning how to question things, change tact when something isn’t working and most importantly, not being afraid to fail at something.
Complicated programs rarely ever work first time, therefore teaching them analytic skills will build their levels of resiliency for other subjects and change their attitude to not quit things so easily. Using Socratic questioning within your lesson plans and classroom exercises is a good way to get the pupils into the right 'frame of mind.'
Teamwork and Leadership
The ability to collaborate and work well with other people, whether they're an individual sat across the table from you or a whole team of people talking to you via Skype is also important. Teamwork is a vital 21st Century skill that will only become more important as technology makes it even easier for us to communicate and share ideas.
Leadership skills, (i.e. managing and motivating people) are also an important skill that every student can benefit from exercising from time to time. In the modern jobs market, where there is now no such thing as a job for life, being able to overcome adversity and get people to work together well will also help build an individual pupil's level of resilience.
In the ICT classroom then, getting your pupils to set themselves goals will help them learn to break coding tasks up and will help them realise the power of goal setting on the road to achievement and thus build their levels of intrinsic motivation.
For more on great lesson planning ideas for Key Stage Four Students, check out this outstanding lesson planning resource.
If you have any comments on 21st century soft skills and teaching code in schools, please share your thoughts below.
