• Front Page
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Search
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Menu

ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
  • Front Page
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Search
  • Info
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Should kids dictate the lesson? Photo from Pixabay.com CC0

Should kids dictate the lesson? Photo from Pixabay.com CC0

6 reasons that computing lessons shouldn't be driven by kids

March 4, 2016

I know that some teachers let their pupils dictate what they will learn in Computing lessons, but except in one general case I think it's am misguided notion.

The exceptional case is when they are doing project work. My approach there was to set the problem or challenge at the start of a six week period, and then leave the pupils to decide how they were going to tackle it, and what they were going to do by when. Obviously, I provided guidance and help, but on the whole they were in charge of their timetable.

Indeed, there is another aspect of project work that lends itself to pupils setting the agenda: if you allow them to decide on the challenge or problem in the first place.

But when it comes to more ordinary lessons, I think allowing the pupils to decide what they want to learn is a big mistake.

My reasons

First, they don't know what they don't know. Unless the pupils are familiar with the whole of Computing I don't see how they can possibly make a reasonably informed choice of the topic they wish to cover.

Second, what they decide to focus on may not be the most important thing they ought to focus on. I regard this is a subset of the first reason.

Third, if you are teaching to a qualification, it is down to you to decide what needs to be covered, and in what order.

Fourth, even if you are not teaching to a qualification, that idea I mentioned a moment ago is very important: order. The syllabus, and therefore your lessons, should be more than a collection of topics. In Computing especially it is reasonable to take the view that some concepts are fundamental, and that without an understanding of those then anything else you cover will be like a building resting on sand.

Fifth, in my experience, without guidance pupils tend to select topics that are too easy, or which are not as rich in terms of possibilities.

Sixth, call me old-fashioned, but I think the teacher is nominally the person in charge, and should therefore be the actual person in charge.

My track record

Just for the record, I have some experience in what I'm talking about, and this has influenced my views. In particular, I have experimented with allowing  adults to decide what they would like to cover (in the context of a course about understanding how the economy works). Most had no idea of what they would like to cover, except for a vague notion that they would like to be able to understand the news. Others had very definite ideas, to the extent that taking note of all of their preferences would have made the course (a) unmanageable, (b) cacophonous (which the only word I can think of to describe a mish-mash of a course in which nothing really gels with anything else) and (c) counter-productive because the result would have been an understanding not of how the economy works, but of how aspects of the economy works in particular circumstances.

That was my experience with adults, who have had a lot more life experience than kids, and whose thinking is (one would suppose) more mature.

I have no reason to believe that handing my computing lessons over to kids would yield better results.


For longer articles, news, competitions and more, sign up to our free newsletter, Digital Education. More details here: Digital Education.

In Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags kids, lessons
← What I've been reading: Perfect ICT Every Lesson7 Books for Computing teachers →
Recent book reviews
When.jpg
Review: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

Hopefully, neither you nor I will ever find ourselves in court, undergoing a medical procedure, or taking an important exam.

Read more →
finding fibonacci.jpg
Review: Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World

Finding Fibonacci is a memoir of the authors’ quest to find out about Fibonacci.

Read more →
The Teachers' Standards in Primary Schools.jpg
Quick look: The Teachers' Standards in Primary Schools

This is very well set out. It takes each standard, and gives you ideas on how to achieve it, and what success in this context looks like.

Read more →
How Computer Games Help Children learn.jpg
Quick look: How Computer Games Help Children learn

When I was teaching Econnures I realised that I could have taught quite a chunk of the synabus if I'd been able to run Sim City on the school network.

Read more →
Reinventing Project-Based learning.jpg
Quick look: Reinventing Project-Based Learning

I can verify from first hand experience that PBL kept students highly engaged, and helped them to develop skills such as working with others and independent research.

Read more →
The human touch.jpg
Quick look: The Human Touch

Although this book is published by the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, the focus is not on IT at all.

Read more →
Better Living through science.jpg
Quick look: Better Living through science

I have often thought that I would have been much more interested in science at school, and been much more successful at it, had the teachers taught us anything of practical value.

Read more →
Tubes.jpg
Quick look: Tubes: Behind the scenes at the internet

We are all so accustomed to using the internet, searching the world wide web — "going online" — that most of us most of the time probably do not stop to consider the question: yes, but where exactly is it?

Read more →
profits, prophets.jpg
Quick look: Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) do leaders make a difference?

I have somewhat dichotomous views of this question of whether leaders make a difference, or much of a difference.

Read more →
power up.jpg
Review: Power Up, by Matthew Lane

This book looks at the maths concepts — and, to some extent, the physics concepts — hidden in popular video games.

Read more →
Dig+Ed+Banner.jpg

Contact us

Privacy

Cookies

Terms and conditions

This website is powered by Squarespace

(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved