Last week I participated in a Professional Development crash course about SCRATCH, an organization dedicated to introducing coding to our students through engagement and play. Before going into the demonstration, my knowledge regarding coding was pretty bare bones, I knew it had to do with computers, that it was a part of the BC Curriculum, and that the students who were introduced to it at a young age could really create some amazing content. However, this was the first time throughout my teacher candidacy that I felt completely unequipped going into a learning environment, I truly had never felt more like a learner.
This feeling of inexperience got me thinking a lot about the BC Professional Teacher Standards, in particular Standards 7 and 8. Standard 7 is “Educators engage in professional learning” and prior to this experience I sort of always thought that this standard was… well… obvious. Of COURSE teachers should be keeping up to date and learning new information whenever possible, but after spending 2 hours playing around with coding and still feeling like there is a lot of learning ahead of me, the standard has taken on a new meaning. Learning for teachers may not always be obvious, or easy. Sometimes the learning might introduce elements that are completely foreign or difficult for the teachers to understand, however, Standard 7 exists so that teachers do not forget the fact that we live in an ever-changing world! Which brings us to Standard 8: “Educators contribute to the profession”. It is one thing to learn, but it is another to teach, to contribute. While I found the session to be quite challenging, and that I acknowledge that I am nowhere near being an expert, I understand that, as a teacher, it will be my responsibility to master the art of coding so that I can provide my knowledge to my students.
Another Teacher Standard that comes to mind is Standard 2: “Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility, and reputation of the profession”. I would like to bring this one up in relation to our coding workshop because I was impressed by the amount of support, vulnerability, and encouragement between all members of the coding workshop that day. While some were celebrating their accomplishments, others were alongside celebrating with them. Whenever someone was stuck, the group all offered tips and suggestions for helping them get past their roadblocks. While I believe that the workshop was challenging for many of us, there were no feelings of frustration or irritation (from what I could tell, being online and all…) and instead there was a fostered sense of collaboration and togetherness.
Overall, I know that I need more practice with coding before I go into my teaching profession. I would like to carve out opportunities for myself within my future practicums to perhaps play around with it with a group of students because I think that they might learn and catch on differently than I have. However! I have faith that I will eventually learn all of the necessary skills and I am determined to become proficient in coding because I think that this subject could be a really fun and useful tool in the classroom. I can see myself using this cross-circularly quite a lot, and I am excited to see exactly where it can take me and my students.
References
Imagine, Program, Share. Scratch. https://scratch.mit.edu/.
Professional Standards for BC Educators. Professional Standards – British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teacher-regulation/standards-for-educators/edu_standards.pdf.