Courtesy of http://scratch.mit.edu As we sat inside at lunch on yet another blustery, frigid day I ate with a kid in the Learning and Literacy program who wouldn’t stop talking about which video games I should ‘learn’. He began discussing games of his own design as well as ideas for alterations of preexisting ones. I asked him if he’d like to learn how to program.
... that was it. That was the moment teachers love... His jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out as he blurted, “I can do that??”
It turns out that he’d been interested in this “forever”, but didn’t know how to pursue it. I threw Scratch, a programming application for kids, on his computer and asked him to click every button (which is my favourite way to teach new technology). He shared this with another student, and together they created their very first game. They are now both hooked on using their “growth mindsets” to request access to tutorials on Youtube, to solve problems, and to seek solutions. Best of all, they are both doing this on their own time and they are following their passions!
This student has also started asking for resources and support in all of his school work. I was (and continue to be) extremely proud of him. In the fifth grade he has developed a growth mindset and has started to truly advocate for himself. Because of his new found skills, I know he can learn/do anything.
Mike MacKenzie is the Learning Commons Lead Teacher at Keeler School where he teaches K-6. He blogs at a3lc.blogspot.ca and tweets @mik_enzie.
... that was it. That was the moment teachers love... His jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out as he blurted, “I can do that??”
It turns out that he’d been interested in this “forever”, but didn’t know how to pursue it. I threw Scratch, a programming application for kids, on his computer and asked him to click every button (which is my favourite way to teach new technology). He shared this with another student, and together they created their very first game. They are now both hooked on using their “growth mindsets” to request access to tutorials on Youtube, to solve problems, and to seek solutions. Best of all, they are both doing this on their own time and they are following their passions!
This student has also started asking for resources and support in all of his school work. I was (and continue to be) extremely proud of him. In the fifth grade he has developed a growth mindset and has started to truly advocate for himself. Because of his new found skills, I know he can learn/do anything.
Mike MacKenzie is the Learning Commons Lead Teacher at Keeler School where he teaches K-6. He blogs at a3lc.blogspot.ca and tweets @mik_enzie.
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