George Paravantes, Adam Thomas
Learning how to code can be challenging (Gomes & Mendes, 2007). Teaching code to students who are not interested in learning code can be even more challenging. Having students who are not engaged in a course topic or are only enrolled in a course as it is a requirement is something all post secondary instructors experience. I have been teaching code at a college in Toronto, Canada for over ten years and I have observed several consistent barriers to success that students face: a) they often believe that learning to code is out of their reach; b) they intend to put in “just enough” effort to pass; and/or c) they are only enrolled because the course is a requirement.
Millennials are often disengaged with current pedagogies in postsecondary education, and consequently, overcoming barriers such as those described above is even more challenging (DiLullo, McGee, & Kriebel, 2011). Although educators may be hesitant to change their practices, adapting pedagogy to accommodate all learners does not have to mean lowering the quality of the learning experience; it can make the classroom more engaging, improve learning, and even make it more enjoyable for instructors.
With this poster, I will describe a SoTL research project that I have conducted on a series of innovative pedagogical approaches, aimed at addressing these barriers. Based on the idea that millennials prefer authentic problem-solving and projects based on real-life experiences (Oblinger, 2003), I have been integrating a series of tangible aids – board games, other STEM educational tools, Raspberry Pis, and Lego Mindstorms EV3 – to help ease students into the idea of learning code.
The tangible aids were integrated into six “Introduction to Coding” classes. Students completed pre- and post-semester surveys and participated in a series of focus groups. I will share the research findings that show that after integrating these tangible aids, students had an easier time recognizing the relationship between their code and its outcome, identifying errors, and developing solutions. I will also show evidence that students were less intimidated by the idea of coding, and showed greater levels of confidence when they were introduced to coding with playful, tangible aids (c.f. Kurebayashi et al., 2006).
