Teaching Coding and Computer Science to SWD

Teaching Coding & CS to Students with disabilities

S T A R T

EDIN 692Project completed by: Khalilah Summers Professor Epstein Semester: Fall 2021

Presentation Agenda

Introduction

"Teaching students with disabilities how to code"

Goals of this Project

Learning Objectives

CSTA Standards of NY (2017)

Coding Programs Used

Instructional Design Theories

Student Rubrics Used

Student work Samples

Obstacles

Conclusion

Introduction..who am I?

Good day everyone, my name is Khalilah Summers and I am a special education teacher at the Brooklyn Transition Center in New York City. This school year I Have the pleasure of teaching line and block coding to students with disabilities, and I am excited to continue to embark on this journey. Currently, I am also apart of the Master of Science in Instructional Technology Program on the Corporate track here at Touro College.

AUTHOR

Capstone Research Project

"Teaching Coding to students with disabilities"

Project Goals

• Students will utelize several coding platforms (of their choice) in order to understand, comprehend and obtain coding creation capabilities.
• Students will learn how to independently go to their preferred coding platform in order to create digital creations of their choice.
• Students will learn to overcome obstacles such as time constraints and identifying and correcting bugs.

"The goal of the project was to show and study how students of many cognitive abilities have the capacity to learn and implement coding and shouldn't be looked over or exempt from being taught this necessary life skill." Khalilah Summers

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize what is expected when students transition into the computer lab.
2. Use appropriate terminology when referring to a computer mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen.
3. Recognize problems or "bugs" in a program and develop a plan to resolve the issues.
4. Sequence commands in a logical order.
5. Count the number of times an action should be repeated and represent it as a loop.
6. Create a program that draws complex shapes by repeating simple sequences.
7. Decompose a shape into its largest repeatable sequence.
8. Apply empathy and creativity to design technology for others.
9. List several different examples of smartphone apps.
10. Recommend technology to others based on their unique needs.
11. Apply computer science concepts in an open-ended project.
12. Overcome obstacles such as time constraints or bugs.

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017)

• AP - Algorithms & Programming
• 1A-AP-11 - Decompose (break down) the steps needed to solve a problem into a precise sequence of instructions.
• CS - Computing Systems
• 1A-CS-02 - Use appropriate terminology in identifying and describing the function of common physical components of computing systems (hardware).
• 1A-CS-03 - Describe basic hardware and software problems using accurate terminology.
• IC - Impacts of Computing
• 1A-IC-17 - Work respectfully and responsibly with others online.
• 1A-IC-18 - Keep login information private, and log off of devices appropriately.

Coding Programs Preferred Levels

(student preferences)

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Code.org

Codespark.com

https://www.makewonder.comhttps://www.makewonder.com

http://scratch.mit.eduhttp://scratch.mit.edu

https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/s/en/home

https://www.soundtrap.comhttps://www.soundtrap.comhttps://www.soundtrap.com

https://grasshopper.apphttps://grasshopper.apphttps://grasshopper.app

https://codehs.comhttps://codehs.comhttps://codehs.com

Instructional Design Theories

The original work detailing the Sociocultural Learning Theory was written in the early 1930s. Due to political turmoil under Stalin and translation issues, it took a long time to become widely known. The theory revolves around three critical elements. These are culture, language, and the zone of proximal development. It suggests that our environment plays a crucial part in a learner's development. For example, peers have the power to influence how a learner thinks or feels about a particular subject.

Merill's Instructional Design theory relies on the different ways learning can be facilitated. Each phase in the learning process has an important role to play. There are four core phases of learning: demonstration, activation of previous knowledge, application, integration into real-world challenges. The approach is task-centered. In addition, this theory involves "scaffolding," whereby learners are gradually introduced to more complex ideas and concepts as the lesson progresses.

As the name implies, the Individualized Instruction Theory revolves around the individual and how they learn. This Instructional Design theory is the basis of "The Keller Plan" and "The Personalized System of Instruction," which relies on the fact that learners must be able to explore the topic on their own to fully understand the ideas involved. If you are learning something and catch on quickly, you can keep going. However, if you are not connecting with the material, the theory allows you to go at your own pace. It also accounts for learners who respond better to different learning preferences.

Rubric Used

Student work Samples

Block Coding in Action

Reviewing How to Code

Writing Code

Student work Samples

Hands on Coding

Finding the source code

Writing Code

Obstacles Faced

• What I didn't expect was to have to raise funds for materials that were needed in order to successfully implement this program and meets the students where they are.
• I created three donors choose projects, which provided text books, workbooks, 3 Dash Robots, 4 Artie 3000 robots and 3 Osmo tactile coding kits.
• I also didn't expect to use so many different coding sites to offer individualized coding abilities and interests.

Project 1

Project 2

Project 3

Conclusion - Coding Results

Context: Avg student grade range: 3rd-4th Avg coder 1-5 in the industry writes approximately 100 lines of code per day and 25,000 lines of code per year.

Thank you for your attention.

any questions?