Lesson Plan Reflection
Description
My lesson plan introduced second grade students
the basic concepts of how a computer program works. They learned that a
computer program consists of a series of command sequences and that these
commands often follow an algorithm to obtain a result or execute a task. They
also learned that they need to use a programming language, in this case
Scratch, to make a computer program. By the end of the class they could answer
in very simple terms: How does a computer program work? What is a command
sequence? And what is an algorithm for?
For my lesson I used a hands-on approach.
Students experienced how a computer program works by constructing a simple
project using Scratch. During the process of building their own program some
questions were asked in class that they answered with clickers, the results
were later analyzed and debated among learners. Students experimented different
command sequences and then came together as a class to discuss the results.
I do not teach Computer Science in Elementary
School so I asked the second grade CS teacher at my school to use my lesson and
I would take video and take notes of the implementation. So thanks to Miss Rosario Díaz for her collaboration!
Lesson Implementation
While the students arrived at the Computer
Science Lab a clicker was given to each one as they entered. On each of their
screens and at the front of the class they could see the first slide of the
TurningPoint presentation for this lesson.
They were curious about using the clickers in
class, so the teacher explained to them that she would be asking some questions
along the way. She then proceeded to the next slide which asked the students if
they knew how a computer program worked. Some of them answered speaking aloud,
so the teacher asked them to first use their clicker and later they would discuss
the results.
This question helped the teacher get to know her
students’ understanding or misconceptions of how a program works. Listening to
the kids discuss about how they thought a computer program worked was really
interesting. Only a few had a close idea of the truth. Some of the students
that had answered “No”, stayed quiet at first but after listening to their
classmates some gave their opinion as well.
She then started talking to them about Scratch,
a computer language program that allows you to create animations and games.
Many of them listened carefully while others were a bit preoccupied by the
clicker they had in their hand.
To see if the students had put attention to her
first explanation of Scratch, she asked them a couple of questions using the
clickers. The girls that had gotten correct answers cheered, got excited and
wanted more questions. The ones who had gotten them wrong or guessed them
stayed quite. This short pause between topics helped to get the attention of
the students who were getting distracted. Now the teacher could see who had or
hadn’t sent a response.
Following the lesson plan, she continued her
class introducing students to basic Scratch commands and simple command
sequences. Every certain time she would use the clickers to get the students’
feedback. Because of the lack of time she did not introduce iteration to the
students as the lesson plan describes. Instead, she just asked students to
experiment with different sequences of commands.
Having the instant feedback from the students
allowed the teacher to explain with more detail the concepts that the students
had trouble understanding. However, it also made the class take longer than planned.
The girls really enjoyed using the clickers.
They were motivated to listen to their teacher just to know later what to
answer. Some students that had gotten some questions wrong asked immediately
why that was. I was surprised how fast other classmates were willing to explain
to them why they were mistaken.
By the end of the class the students had very
clear what a command sequence was. They also understood how a computer program is
developed and that it works following a set of programmed instructions.
Reflections
Part One
With this lesson students learned the basics of
how a computer program is developed. That it takes a sequence of commands that
follow a certain algorithm and that you need to computer language to do it. Many
of the students had no idea how the programs that they use all the time in the
computer worked.
Children learn best when they are allowed to
construct a personal understanding based on experiencing things and reflecting
on those experiences. So my lesson allowed students to experiment and build
their first program using Scratch. Instead of telling them how it is done, they
are doing it themselves and discussing with others the results.
Although my lesson has mostly elements of
constructivism, I did observe some elements of behaviorism. When the students
used clickers, getting a correct answer meant cheering loudly and it turned
into a positive reinforcement or operant conditioning. I think adding the
clickers enhanced the learning of something that was already central to the
Computer Science curriculum.
Through this lesson I tried to provide multiple
and flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship. For example, students
could express their understanding by creating their Scratch project, answering
questions with clickers or by discussing the results in class. I could see how
each student chose different ways of letting the teacher know what she was
learning.
By the end of the class each student had completed
a short Scratch project and had answered many questions with clickers making
them analyze and reflect on what they were doing. The teacher can now take all
this material to assess each student’s learning.
Part Two
Technology played a very important role in my
lesson. It’s central to the class subject. The novelty was adding the use of
clickers while learning Scratch. The only disadvantages were that the students got
a little distracted by the clickers at the beginning of the class and that they
might have guessed some answers.
I didn’t expect such a positive reaction from
the students while using the clickers. They would get really excited when they’d
see the results of each question. They would even defend their point of view if
they thought that their answer was right.
I think having that instant feedback helped the
teacher explain the concepts better and during the class period students became
less distracted because they wanted to answer the clicker questions correctly.
