Sharing Good Practice
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
CODING - A SUCCESS STORY
BY: HSING-WEN WANG
M
any countries have paid
increased
attention
to
the
fields
of
Science,
Technology,
Engineering,
and Math (STEM). Several countries
have also raised the flag about potential
shortages in STEM professionals [1]. In
the past decades, computer science
(CS) has driven innovation in all STEM
fields. Computing has become a
fundamental part of our daily life
and almost every occupation in the
modern economy. However, limited
K-12 CS programs are implemented
worldwide. In US, only about 35% of
public high schools teach CS [2]. State
and local school districts are now
aggressively adopting CS policies [3]. In
UAE, a K-12 CS standard was published
in 2015 and the Emirati School Model
was announced in 2017 to recognize
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Term 1 Sep - Dec 2019
coding and computer skills as one
required skill for any kid to succeed in
life [4].
While
the
CS
policy
and
implementation helps address a lack
of access to CS, a lack of engagement
to CS or programming/coding could
also be problematic. CS is traditionally
viewed as being boring [5]. Code.org
Advocacy Coalition also recognizes
that establishing these policies does
not guarantee student success. Great
teachers and leaders, as well as access
to the devices and network, are also
needed [6]. It is important to change
K-12 students’ views about computer
programming, and at the same
time motivate and engage them to
start learning text coding, as well as
necessary computer management
Class Time
and knowledge.
Many
companies/institutes
have
developed graphic programming
products such as Scratch, invented by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
so that children could have fun
while
learning
“computational
thinking” at an early age. However,
to move students into more serious
programming or a CS track, text-
coding skills are necessary. Text coding
is the basic skill of most professional
programming and is believed to
require a high degree of rigor. Usually
it is not common to teach coding
until high school, and often only for
students who express an interest in
pursuing computer programming as
a career or option in higher education.