Top 3 Code Teaching and Learning Tips
April 14, 2016
To get the best outcomes with students (and yourself!), here are my top 3 code teaching tips:
1- Write real code, not ‘lego’ code.
2- Use real coding tools, not code simulators.
3- Build real projects from start to finish.
1. Write real code, not ‘lego’ code
A funny thing happens when students write real code: they start to learn not only how to code, but they learn the concepts behind the code. What I’ve seen over the years is that trying to hide the code from students with block based code teaching tools slows the learning process.
You have to write code to learn to code.
2. Use real coding tools, not code simulators
A big part of learning to code is learning the environment of coding. If you want to teach someone how to cook, you have to teach them with food and frying pans. Same for coding; students should be using code editors, and in the case of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, the web browser and its built in browser development tools.
