Teaching Programming to 5- to 11-year-olds

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This course will help you to become more confident in teaching programming to young children. As well as developing your own understanding of programming, you'll also investigate a range of strategies that you can employ to help your pupils.

During this course, you'll learn about the key programming concepts of algorithms, sequence, repetition, selection, and variables. You'll experience a number of different programming languages suitable for young people, and use your new knowledge to modify and create programs in the block-based language Scratch.

The course will also introduce you to program design. You'll learn about and experience all of the stages of program development from idea to running code.

By the end of the course, you'll be able to design and code your own Scratch programs, as well as being able to support your young learners as they begin their coding journeys.

What you will learn

Over the following four weeks you will learn more about algorithms and programming, and how to teach young children to code.

You will:

• Look at how kids can create algorithms using direction cards, labelled diagrams, and flowcharts.
• Think about how you can help children progress through different levels of abstraction when creating a program.
• Consider a range of programming languages suitable for young people, including ScratchJr, Logo, and Crumble.
• Examine the key programming concepts of sequence, repetition, selection, and variables, and how you can introduce children to these, including by using real-world examples.
• Design programs using these concepts, and use the block-based programming language Scratch to implement your design.
• Review a lesson to put into practice what you've learnt in the course.

Syllabus

Week 1 - Introduction to programming

• What is programming?
• What's an algorithm?
• Moving from an algorithm to code

Week 2 - Repetition

• Identifying patterns in tasks
• Implementing repetition
• Different types of repetition

Week 3 - Selection

• Conditions
• Implementing selection
• Controlling program flow with selection

Week 4 - Variables

• What are variables?
• How can variables be used in programs?
• Adapting a learning resource for your class

Auto Summary

Discover key programming concepts and effective teaching strategies tailored for primary-age children (5- to 11-year-olds) in this foundational course by edX. Spanning 15 hours, it’s perfect for educators and parents. Available with Professional and Starter subscription options.