Learning Something New

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Is there a new skill you have always talked about wanting to do but never got around to doing it? Learning how to knit, playing the piano, learning a new language or perhaps something a little more adventurous like windsurfing, rock climbing or snowboarding. Maybe you have a long list of things you would like to tackle. One thing on my list has been computer coding.

Why coding?!

It goes back to my days in university. I had an “experience” with coding that still bothers me to this day. I finished “first year” general science at a college in my hometown and then transferred to a large university for “second year.” When transferring to the university, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in. Someone along the way suggested I try out computer science as it was the new thing that was going to be so helpful for my future (this was in the late 90’s). Great idea I thought! I went to the class faithfully, but every class I felt like the prof was speaking a foreign language, I had no clue what was going on and it was a class of 200+ students! This was my first experience feeling utterly and completely lost in something I needed to learn. I had no prior experience coding. I tried to do the assignments and I couldn’t figure it out, I stuck it out for about a month and then decided to drop the course as it was so out of my reach. I went on to complete a degree in Chemistry at this university, but this experience still bothers me, probably because it is something I gave up on. However, there is a silver lining to this story, as I met my future husband in that class.

Fast forward 20 years and I find myself still pushing to find time and space to figure out this coding thing. I strongly believe our students need to have some basic coding experiences in school, not only to expose them to this field as a potential career path, but also because coding will become more and more necessary for all sorts of other fields.


At the OCDSB, we have committed to developing 5 Characteristics and 5 Skills in our students. We call these the exit outcomes. One of the exit outcomes is Digitally Fluent, which means students know how to engage with technology to enhance their learning. In the math classroom we use technology such as Desmos, Google suite products and other learning tools but it seems like such a missed opportunity to not introduce students to computer coding and use it to enhance the curriculum. Not only coding, but robotics as well. The reason I think robotics is also important to mention is because when students work with a tangible object, not only does engagement increase, but they can also start to physically see and “test” the mathematics they are working with.

Before I can expose my students to coding, I need to learn some basics first. Starting in Scratch has been a great first step. It has made my brain hurt, which can’t be a bad thing, but I have forgotten how hard it is to learn something that I know absolutely nothing about. Learning how to code in Scratch is like learning how to think in a new way. I have discovered that I need to start with a very small step and then I can build on it. For example, I recently attempted to create a program that would calculate an unknown side in a right angle triangle (application of pythagorean theorem).

Pythagorean theorem, the well-known geometric theorem that the sum of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle)—or, in familiar algebraic notation, a2 + b2 = c2. Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/Pythagorean-theorem

I initially had to keep it simple. I had to create things called variables. I had to think about conditional statements (if/then/else). I tested little parts to see what would happen, I made mistakes, fixed them and then added to my program to make it do more and become more complex. I learned, and I was proud when it worked! This is the experience I hope my students can have too.


You can try my pythagorean theorem program here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/249768752/
Prior to this I simply attempted a program to calculate the volume of a rectangular prism which can be found here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/249672619/

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