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Computational Thinking for K-12 Educators: Sequences and Loops

Computational Thinking for K-12 Educators: Sequences and Loops

3,186 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

26 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

26 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week

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Assessments

7 assignments

Taught in English
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Computational Thinking & Block Programming in K-12 Education Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 6 modules in this course

How do we give instructions to a computer? Isn't programming hard? Not really! Whether it's giving someone directions to a nearby store or writing out some dance moves we frequently exhibit aspects of computational thinking in our everyday lives!

This class teaches the first key concepts of programming -- sequences of instructions and basic counted repetition of instructions. For each concept, we'll start by helping you connect real-world experiences you are already familiar with to the programming concept you are about to learn. Next, through a cognitively scaffolded process we'll engage you in developing your fluency with problem solving with sequences and repeated instructions in a way that keeps frustration at a minimum. Along the way you will learn about the common challenges or "bugs" students have with these concepts as well as ways to help them find and fix those concepts. You'll also be guided in running classroom discussions to help students develop deeper understanding of these concepts. Finally, you'll learn about a recommended pedagogical practice, Pair Programming, and find out why research recommends teaching block-based programming first.

Meet Dr. Simon and fellow learners in this class! Find out what you’ll be doing and learning.

What's included

2 videos2 readings1 discussion prompt

2 videos•Total 9 minutes
  • Welcome to the The Computational Thinking & Block Programming in K-12 Education Specialization•3 minutes
  • Welcome!•6 minutes
2 readings•Total 13 minutes
  • Using Googledocs in this Course•3 minutes
  • Why Snap? Create your account•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Meet your fellow learners!•10 minutes

Is computational thinking everywhere? Reflect on computational thinking in your life and brainstorm instructions for real world tasks. Discuss the process by which we become better computing teachers and create a block-based program in Snap by reordering a set of provided instructions.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt

6 videos•Total 36 minutes
  • What is computational thinking•8 minutes
  • Computational Thinking Concepts•6 minutes
  • My Robotic Friends in Action•3 minutes
  • My Robotic Friends: A CS Unplugged Activity•8 minutes
  • What are interactive puzzles?•5 minutes
  • How to do an interactive programming puzzle•6 minutes
1 reading•Total 20 minutes
  • Interactive Puzzles Instructions: Sequences•20 minutes
1 assignment•Total 4 minutes
  • Puzzle It Out•4 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • How to become a better computing teacher•10 minutes

Get ready to do some programming puzzles! Create a Snap program and reflect on what aspects of the program students might struggle with. Work on challenge questions and reflect on how to discuss sequences in a classroom setting. Take a break from Snap and explore the code.org curriculums to create an assessment question!

What's included

11 videos7 readings2 assignments1 app item1 discussion prompt

11 videos•Total 81 minutes
  • Writing Programs: What's special for teachers?•4 minutes
  • Debugging: Common Challenges for Sequences•9 minutes
  • More programming puzzles -- but different!•9 minutes
  • (Optional) Demo: How to do Non-Interactive Puzzles•8 minutes
  • Bloom's Taxonomy•4 minutes
  • What is Bloom's Taxonomy Good For?•9 minutes
  • Developing Computational Thinking•9 minutes
  • Classroom Discussions: Sequences•11 minutes
  • Teacher Powerup: Reinforcing + Gaining Curricular Experience•11 minutes
  • Revisiting Unplugged My Robotic Friends Lesson Plan•6 minutes
  • Did I get it?•0 minutes
7 readings•Total 111 minutes
  • Vocabulary: Programming with Sequences•10 minutes
  • Create a Sequences Program•40 minutes
  • Non-Interactive Programming Puzzles•20 minutes
  • Unplugged Activities: Great for introducing concepts•3 minutes
  • Introducing the language Blockly -- for maze programs•3 minutes
  • Make a prediction•5 minutes
  • Experience a code.org lesson: sequences•30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 30 minutes
  • Check your knowledge quiz•4 minutes
  • Concept Mastery Quiz: Computational Thinking & Sequences•26 minutes
1 app item•Total 30 minutes
  • Collaborative Knowledge Construction: Sequencing•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • What was your thinking?•10 minutes

Invent a faster way to write instructions for your robotic friend! Get started solving programming puzzles that use repeats and reflect on what areas students might struggle with. Reinforce your knowledge as you complete a set of programs on google slides -- this time without using Snap to check your work!

What's included

1 video4 readings2 assignments1 discussion prompt

1 video•Total 7 minutes
  • Debugging: Repeats•7 minutes
4 readings•Total 85 minutes
  • Getting Loopy!•5 minutes
  • Interactive Puzzle Instructions: Repeats•20 minutes
  • Create a Repeats Program•40 minutes
  • Non-Interactive Programming Puzzles•20 minutes
2 assignments•Total 8 minutes
  • Puzzle It Out•4 minutes
  • Check your knowledge quiz•4 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Where in the world are loops?•10 minutes

More programming with repeats - except with a bit of a challenge! Explore the free curriculum on code.org’s platform analyzing the feedback and hints they provide for their activities. Work closely in their artist environment and examine the difference between code.org block-based programming and your work in Snap.

What's included

1 video2 readings1 assignment1 app item1 discussion prompt

1 video•Total 9 minutes
  • Classroom Discussions: Repeats•9 minutes
2 readings•Total 35 minutes
  • Introduction to Repeat Loops•5 minutes
  • Experience a code.org Artist/Drawing lesson: repeats•30 minutes
1 assignment•Total 40 minutes
  • Concept Mastery Quiz: Repeats•40 minutes
1 app item•Total 30 minutes
  • Collaborative Knowledge Construction: Repeats•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • What to remember about learning repeats?•10 minutes

Who is learning CS? How is CS being taught? Learn about the state of CS standards and teacher credentialing. Evaluate pedagogy techniques such as pair and buddy programing -- how effective are they in teaching CS?

What's included

4 videos2 readings1 assignment

4 videos•Total 40 minutes
  • The State of K-12 Computing Education•17 minutes
  • What Do You Think?•0 minutes
  • Why Teach with Block-Based Languages?•13 minutes
  • Use Pair (and Buddy) Programming•9 minutes
2 readings•Total 32 minutes
  • What have I gotten into? (Don't worry it's great!)•12 minutes
  • What standards have we addressed so far?•20 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
  • Pedagogy Equity Mastery Quiz•16 minutes

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Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.7 (9 ratings)
University of California San Diego
27 Courses•28,436 learners

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ZB
·

Reviewed on Oct 23, 2020

The videos and reading material are extremely student friendly. assignments are well paced.Enjoyed the experiencing and sharpening new skills and knowledge.Thank you

Frequently asked questions

In this course you will learn to guide students in learning about sequences of instructions and basic counted repetition of instructions using Parsons' Problems to make learning less frustrating and give students more practice in less time.

You will also learn about common bugs students make in creating programs with sequences and repeats and specific approaches to help them figure out and fix their bugs. You will prepare to lead classroom discussions to deepen students knowledge and hear expert explanations you can model.

Finally you will learn about what is required to be authorized to teach computing in your state or country, explore the new Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards, be able to explain the benefits of block-based languages, and be prepared to support an equitable classroom using Pair Programming.

Yes! This course is designed as component of a Specialization that is 1 of a set of 4 Specializations (all will be offered on Coursera) that will support the requirements of the California Supplementary Authorization. Additionally, the Specialization may support credentialing or authorization in other states. However, most states require a transcript from an accredited institution of higher education. See the FAQ question on “Will I earn university credit” to find out how to get such a transcript.

Yes, you can earn UCSD credit for completing this course, but only by completing the full Computational Thinking and Block Programming in K-12 Education Specialization. In addition, you will need to (1) Enroll in an additional UCSD Extension course before completing the capstone ($500) and (2), complete part of the capstone project via an online proctoring service. After this is done, your Specialization course grades will be accumulated and a transcript with your final grade (both letter grade or pass-only supported) will be issued from UCSD with 4 graduate-level units. These are eligible to count towards the California Supplementary Authorization.

There is no background knowledge, neither in education nor in Computer Science, required to take this course - just an interest in learning how to give computers instructions to solve problems!

Basic proficiency in the use of Googledocs will be needed to complete assignments within the course. Google help documentation will be provided, and with some extra attention, first time use of Googledocs should not be a barrier to successful completion of the course.

By providing this course online, our goal is to enable you to master all the material in the course at a pace that is appropriate for you, rather than the typical processes of picking a specific date and measuring how much you can learn by that date of in-person courses. Instead of the relatively bigger chunks of learning work found in traditional courses (e.g. go to class, read the book, do homework, study for the test) this course has a lot of smaller and more diverse activities that guide your learning experience.

We use a lot of online features to: break learning into smaller chunks; engage you more in thinking and discussing content with others; better integrate and more frequently test your knowledge (with a focus on mastery, allowing you to go back and learn what you missed then come test again); give you practice in teaching-specific skills you will need as an educator (finding and evaluating online teaching resources, critiquing and modifying lesson plans)

We hope you enjoy and learn a lot!

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Financial aid available,