In the Classroom

The province has determined that coding and programmatic thinking are so core to the student experience that they have been built into the algebra strand from grades 1-9 (Ontario, 2020). Scratch is often used as a student's first programming language around grade 5. At this point tasks are very simplified, meant to build facility with the concept of programming from simpler programmatic models used in earlier grades. A teacher in these lower grades might use scratch to have students make a simple sprite move when a command is issued. As students progress and become more comfortable with coding, teachers can branch out and use scratch to discuss not only programming concepts, but general mathematical concepts like repeated summation or conditional logic. Furthermore, the teacher might even use scratch as an enrichment task for a student who has shown interest in programming, offering them a more complex or open-ended problem to solve to further cement their learning and drive engagement in inquiry.

Research Connections

Scratch coding is an innately student-centred learning experience as there is little to be gained from simply reading scratch blocks. While developing scratch code, the tool plays on the natural curiosity of the user - even when they're simply following a tutorial or set of instructions - leading them to experiment with what happens if they change this or that parameter. As a result, scratch can be considered a type of gamified learning (Nathan, 2022). Furthermore, when viewed through the TPACK framework, scratch coding is a form of pedagogy that requires all three domains of knowledge from its teachers (technical, pedagogical, and content).

References

Ontario. (2020). The Ontario Curriculum - Mathematics Grade 1-8. Ministry of Education. https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-mathematics

Nathan, A. (2022). Game-Based Learning: Coding with Scratch. In: Power, R. (Ed.) Technology and the Curriculum: Summer 2022. https://pressbooks.pub/techcurr20221/

↩

☰

↪