A Guide for Secondary Practitioners

Download the first version of the Secondary Guide (3MB pdf) to teaching Computing Science for Secondary Practitioners.  This version is not yet in the same design as the Primary guide, but we wanted to share it with you and get your comments and feedback first.  If you would like to let us know of suggestions or comments, you can add them on the Google Docs page.

Professional Learning events

Edinburgh University will be running regular Professional Learning workshops for Primary and Secondary teachers.  Full details on the workshops and booking information are available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/education/professional-learning/developing-childrens-computational-skills-courses

This term we will be running three workshops:

Introduction to Scratch Programming: Coding for Art and Maths (27th October)

This course is designed for individuals in both primary and secondary sectors to give an understanding of the key concepts and strategies for teaching the Computing Science and Maths experiences and outcomes using the context of programming art and animation to engage learners.  The focus will be on learning how to use a visual block-based programming language and strategies for using this with Second level learners in a fun, creative way with minimal stress and maximum enjoyment.  Computing Science outcomes will be covered by creating cartoon animations, scripting shapes and then using repetition to draw Spirograph-style art.

Unplugged Computing: Learning Computing Science Concepts Without Computers (10th November)

This fun and lively course is designed for individuals in both early years and primary sectors to give an understanding of the key concepts and strategies for teaching the Computing Science experiences and outcomes.  The focus will be on trying accessible activities that can be introduced into the classroom with minimal stress and maximum enjoyment.  Computing Science outcomes will be covered using races, recipes, robots and rock ‘n’ roll!

Dear Data: Teaching ‘Unplugged’ Data Science, Computing, and Information Handling (24th November)

This interdisciplinary course is designed for individuals in both primary and secondary sectors to learn about the emerging field of Data Science and discover practical activities to teach learners about data gathering and presenting information.  It will give an understanding of the key concepts and strategies for teaching Data Science through the Computing Science and Numeracy experiences and outcomes.  The focus will be on learning how to teach data science through a set of ‘unplugged’ lessons that can be introduced into the school as a STEM/STEAM or interdisciplinary project.  Computing Science and Numeracy outcomes will be covered by gathering data, analysing information to identify trends and creating data visualisations

About us

This guide to teaching Computing Science has been written by Kate Farrell, Judy Robertson, Quintin Cutts and Richard Connor on behalf of Computing At School Scotland and SICSA.

 

The mission of Computing At School is to provide leadership and strategic guidance to all those involved in Computing education in schools.

The Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) is a collaboration of Scottish Universities whose goal is to develop and extend Scotland’s position as a world leader in Informatics and Computer Science research and education.

 

           

The authors are very grateful for the support from the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.