Education company Pearson UK, tech-start up Kano and the National Association for the Advancement of Computer Education (Naace) announce the roll out of a unique new training course to help primary teachers get to grips with teaching the new challenging requirements for coding and programming as part of the new national curriculum in computing.
Since September, primary schools have been required to start teaching pupils how software is created, rather than just how to use it. Pupils, and their teachers, must now understand the principles of abstraction, logic, algorithms, data representation and problem-solving.
During the one-day course, ‘Teach the Computing Curriculum with Confidence’, teachers will learn all about the new Computing curriculum for England, particularly the new aspect of computer science, including programming, coding and networks. They will all receive ten Kano ‘computer in a box’ kits as part of the course package and explore how it can be used to engage and motivate children in their computing studies.
Kano, one of the UK’s largest crowd-funded organisations, have created affordable computer kits that allow children to build their own in the same way they build a LEGO model, with pre-loaded program me s, such as Minecraft, that allow children to learn about coding in a fun and intuitive way. Pearson was the first company to place an initial order of 500 kits, from the first batch produced and distributed earlier in the autumn.
Nadine Hill, Professional Development Manager at Pearson UK, said:“It is so important that teachers feel empowered to teach this new aspect of the national curriculum. This course is for all those who want to feel confident making the shift from teaching children to use software to teaching them to design and create their own programmes.
“We’re thrilled to be the first business to have such a partnership with Kano and have received very positive feedback from delegates on the pilot courses already. It really helps teachers to tap into their pupils’ natural curiosity and enthusiasm for new technology.”