Programming for prospective educators (using Scratch)
| unit 1 → | unit 2 → | unit 3 → | unit 4 → |
Introduction
This course has been developed for students of Swiss specialised upper secondary schools in the occupational field of education (=pedagogy), subsequently abbreviated as «SSC-P».
The course comprises four units of 2 lessons each. For each unit, instructions are available for the students and a handout for the teacher. In addition, the templates and sample solutions for the programming tasks are published in studio ITBO Programming on the Scratch portal.
unit 1
In unit 1, the students will get to know the programming environment of Scratch and the basics of programming by means of a sample project. They will implement a matchstick puzzle (model construction). Without too many theoretical considerations, the students will learn basic concepts of "professional" programming (object and event orientation, process communication). Additionally, the students will get acquainted with a Scratch-extension (text-to-speech).
- The students get to know the Scratch programming environment and how to use it in order to create and manage their own programming projects.
- They learn the basic elements of the Scratch programming language and use them to "write" their first simple programs.
- The students reflect on their experiences with programming.
- They also learn (without too many theoretical considerations) basic concepts of "professional" programming (object and event orientation, process communication).
unit 2
Unit 2 focuses on the concept of turtle graphics and the use of Scratch in primary school. Using the example of "properties of regular polygons", the students can experience exploratory learning with turtle graphics for themselves. In addition, the students learn about and apply the essential "basic building blocks" of programs (sequence, repetition, conditional execution, variables).
- The students get more familiar with Scratch.
- They learn about and apply the "basic building blocks" of programs (sequence, repetition, conditional execution, variables).
- The students understand the concept of turtle graphics for the exploratory learning in primary school.
- They deal with the programming of turtle graphics by means of a concrete example.
unit 3
Unit 3 introduces the students to the design and programming of multimedia stories / animations in Scratch.
- The students analyse a simple interactive, multimedia "story". They complete the "story" with an additional scene.
- The students learn how to design and create "scenes" and "scene changes".
- They learn how to design and implement animations.
unit 4
In unit 4, the students deal with the simulation of a robotic lawnmower. They rely on the block concept, which makes their work much easier and provides a clearer outline of the program. Using this example, the students reflect on the problem of the determinacy and correctness of programmed solutions to problems.
- The students understand a simulation as a way of searching a solution for a problem.
- They analyse and test the provided example of the simulation of a robotic lawnmower.
- The students supplement the simulation example with an algorithm that they develop on their own.
- They understand the block concept as a means to outline programs clearly.
External devices or systems (e.g. LEGO Mindstorm) were not taken into account. Such devices and systems are a matter of a robotics course.
"Data structures" are not sufficiently covered in this programming course. This is a shortcoming inherent in many instructions on how to learn programming. However, the given time budget of 8 lessons does not allow the topic of "data structures" to be dealt with adequately. It would make sense to discuss "data structures" in the context of social media. The students would then be able to recognise the importance and functioning of modern, networked data structures (linked data) and understand why companies are so interested in social media.
Teaching process
The students will bring different levels of prior knowledge to the course and show different levels of interest in programming. Some students will declare that they already know how to program. Others will be sceptical about whether they will ever learn it and whether they need it at all.
If the high expectations of programming in school (... logical and critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, ...) are to be fulfilled, the students must deal with the contents of the programming course in their own way.
There are instructions for each unit (student editions), with which the students can work independently in groups (ideally in pairs, if necessary in groups of three). This gives the teacher time to deal more intensively with the students who already have experience or are sceptical about programming. For this purpose, teachers have an accompanying document for each unit (teacher edition). Supporting the sceptical students in such a way that they experience their reservations as an encouragement, and motivating the experienced students to (self-)critically examine the contents of selected units would be desirable goals.
A formative evaluation of the learning outcomes does not make sense in this context. Conversely, a collaborative text editor (e.g. https://edupad.ch) would enable the students to continuously note down and discuss their questions / comments and reflections on the tasks . If necessary, the teacher might require all students to contribute at least three relevant questions and/or comments.
Time requirement
The time required for the four units is 2 lessons for each. Units 1 and 2 form a single lesson; depending on the class, they may take a little more time to complete. In that case, unit 4 might have to be omitted.
Material and sample solutions
The documents for the programming course (teacher editions, student editions) are freely accessible on the ZUM-Server (Zentrale für Unterrichtsmedien): Programming for prospective educators (using Scratch).
The templates and sample solutions to the tasks are published as projects on the Scratch platform in the studio ITBO Programming.
Disposition
Why should future teachers learn how to program?
Programming is an activity that results in a computer program. The fascinating thing about it is the variety of different tasks that can be solved with such programs.
There are numerous sources that provide answers to the question why children should learn to program. E.g. "Programming [is] as important as writing and reading.", "Every child should [...] have programmed once in his school career. Through programming, children acquire important skills for the future, such as creative and critical thinking, teamwork and much more.", "Programming is fun, promotes logical thinking, strengthens creativity and the ‹we-feeling›."
Beat Döbeli Honegger (Department of Media and Computer Science at the Lucerne University of Teacher Education) gives a more differentiated answer in his article "Warum Informatik in der Schule?" by declaring computer science as part of general education with nine arguments ( Warum Informatik in der Schule?):
- Argument 1: constructionism ("The computer as a pupil")
- Argument 2: science ("Computer science belongs to general education since computer science has brought a third pillar to science through simulation.")
- Argument 3: object of thought ("The computer as an object of thought")
- Argument 4: problem solving ("Knowlegde about computer science also helps to solve problems outside of computer science.")
- Argument 5: explanation of the world ("In order to understand and explain today's information society, knowledge of computer science is necessary.")
- Argument 6: conceptual knowledge ("Knowledge of computer science helps to better understand the use of ICT.")
- Argument 7: work technique ("Computer science can be used to practice precise planning, working, and communicating as part of a team.")
- Argument 8: motivation/interest ("With computer science, students interested in technology can be engaged.")
- Argument 9: career choice
Programming is an aspect of computer science. The programming course at SSC-P is limited to the following objectives:
- The students of ‹Specialised Upper Secondary School - Occupational field of education› will later, as primary school teachers, develop their own teaching ideas on how computer programs can support their pupils in learning. Therefore, they should be able to program corresponding apps on their own (e.g., an index of words that the children use in their texts that grows over time; the index promotes the expansion of the vocabulary of the entire class and the weaker primary school pupils can easily "look up" the correct spelling of the words).
- Primary school pupils should be able to use a computer as a tool for exploratory learning in "traditional" subjects such as mathematics, geometry or geography. The turtle graphics approach by Seymour Papert (further developed and updated by Yasmin B. Kafai / Quinn Burke) is well suited for this purpose. The students of ‹Specialised Upper Secondary School› should therefore acquire the concept of Turtle-Graphics, so that they can explain it later to their primary school pupils. As future teachers, they will then be able to set their own tasks that elementary school pupils can solve with turtle graphics.
- The students should also understand how programs and other teaching materials can be published as Open Educational Resources (OER) to make it easier for teachers to prepare and hold lessons. This allows them to use IT applications for contemporary forms of collaboration.
«Passende» Programmierumgebungen
Welche Programmierumgebung eignet sich, um die genannten Ziele zu erreichen? Dazu seien einige Auswahlkriterien angeführt.
Die Programmierumgebung muss benutzerfreundlich sein, damit sich die SuS in der kurzen für das Modul «Programmieren» zur Verfügung stehenden Zeit mit den Grundlagen des Programmierens vertraut machen können.
Sie muss moderne Programmier-Konzepte unterstützen (z.B. Objekt- und Ereignisorientierung), damit die SuS damit auch anspruchsvolle Programmiervorhaben bewältigen können.
Die Programmierumgebung muss von Primarschüler:innen genutzt werden können. Und sie muss «Turtle-Grafiken» unterstützen (gemäss dem Konzept von Seymour Papert, 1967, damals realisiert mit der Programmiersprache Logo und Schildkröten – engl. turtles – als sich bewegende Objekte).
Die Programmierumgebung muss die blockbasierte Programmierung unterstützen. Die textbasierte Programmierung eignet sich für den Unterricht in der Primarschule nicht.
Idealerweise unterstützt die Programmierumgebung das kooperative (Weiter-) Entwickeln von Programmen.
Die Programmierumgebung sollte schon recht verbreitet sein. Mit einer grossen Nutzerschar («community») ist eher sichergestellt, dass die Umgebung laufend weiterentwickelt und auch an sich ändernde schulische Bedürfnisse angepasst wird.
Schulisch eingesetzte Software sollte möglichst allgemein verfügbar sein und es auch bleiben, damit Bildung für alle zugänglich ist. Idealerweise wird sie von personenunabhängigen Stiftungen oder auch Institutionen der öffentlichen Hand getragen. Damit sie nicht monopolisiert werden kann, sollte sie quelloffen programmiert sein.
Nachfolgend sind einige bekannte Programmierumgebungen, die im deutschsprachigen Raum für schulische Zwecke genutzt werden bzw. in Frage kämen, kurz beschrieben. Der Auswahl und der Reihenfolge der Programmierumgebungen liegt keine explizite Systematik zugrunde. Schliesslich wird die Wahl von Scratch als Programmierumgebung für den Unterricht an der Fachmittelschule Berufsfeld Pädagogik begründet.
Im Dokument Datei:ModulProgrammierenDisposition-v4.odt sind einige bekannte Programmierumgebungen, die im deutschsprachigen Raum für schulische Zwecke genutzt werden bzw. in Frage kämen, kurz beschrieben (XlogoOnline, Kara, Scratch, Snap!, ScratchKara, WebTigerJython). Der Auswahl und der Reihenfolge der Programmierumgebungen liegt keine explizite Systematik zugrunde.
Gewählte Programmierumgebung: Scratch
Für das Erreichen der Ziele des Moduls «Programmieren» an der FMS Berufsfeld Pädagogik eignet sich dieProgrammierumgebung Scratch sehr gut.
Scratch bietet mit der Unterstützung moderner Programmierkonzepte (Objekt- und Ereignisorientierung, Prozesskommunikation) eine Umgebung, die sich allgemein für das Programmieren an Mittelschulen eignet.
Scratch eignet sich aber auch speziell für das Programmieren mit Kindern, insbesondere für das entdeckende Lernen mit Turtle-Grafiken.
Scratch wurde 2007 entwickelt und wird mittlerweile an vielen Schulen in verschiedenen Schulstufen eingesetzt. Scratch ist kostenlos und in über 70 Sprachen verfügbar. Die Scratch-Community umfasst 42 Millionen Projektersteller:innen. Die Scratch Foundation, eine Non-Profit-Organisation, gewährleistet die längerfristige Verfügbarkeit und Weiterentwicklung von Scratch.
Zu Scratch gibt es auch eine grosse Auswahl an frei verfügbaren Unterrichtsmaterialien. Scratch ist webbasiert. Die Nutzer:innen von Scratch können deshalb mit irgendwelchen Geräten mit Internetanschluss (auch Tablets) auf ihre Projekte zugreifen. Die Nutzer:innen können Projekte auch austauschen und gemeinsam oder getrennt weiterentwickeln (remix).
Wer Scratch offline nutzen will, kann die Programmierumgebung lokal auf dem eigenen Gerät installieren. Es gibt die App für MS-Windows, macOS, ChromeOS und Android (Download-Seite). Für iOS und iPadOS (iPhone und iPad) gibt es keine Scratch-App.
Authors: Bruno Wenk, Dieter Burkhard
Translations: Patricia Berchtel
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