Eagle Crest Elementary La escuela está alcanzando nuevas cotas gracias a un enfoque innovador para integrar la programación en el plan de estudios de infantil y primaria (K-5) a través del programa «Late Start Coding for All».

A través del programa «Late Start Coding for All», el objetivo principal es «aumentar las oportunidades de programación creativa para todos los profesores y alumnos de infantil y primaria», explicó Katy Schwirtz, profesora de « STEM » en Eagle Crest Elementary. «Queremos desarrollar las habilidades de programación en nuestras aulas, al tiempo que fomentamos la participación de los alumnos en futuras oportunidades relacionadas con la informática».

Late Start Coding for All began with Eagle Crest’s participation in the Scratch Education Collaborative during the 2022-2024 school years. “As part of this program, schools can receive a grant for up to $15,000 to use toward providing more access to creative coding for underrepresented groups,” stated Schwirtz.

During Wednesday’s Late Start meetings, teachers spend 20-30 minutes learning and understanding a coding lesson, and in the afternoon they complete the lessons with their students. By the end of the day, all students in grades K-5 have learned coding skills and have created projects with their classroom teachers. The lessons are created by the STEM teacher and include screen-free and on-screen coding.

Students in grades K-2 use apps like Little Miss Inventor Coding, BeeBot, Daisy Dinosaur, and Scratch Jr., and grades 3-5 use Scratch and Code.org. “My favorite thing is to program Scratch cat to jump up and come back down,” shared kindergartener Declyn O’Toole.

In the second semester, students will use Scratch Jr. (grades K-2) and Scratch (grades 3-5), to create coding projects that represent their unique personal identities. Additionally, fourth-grade students will have the opportunity to take their coding skills to the next level by designing code that connects their projects to LED-lighted circuit boards called micro:bits.

El programa «Late Start Coding for All» fomenta el desarrollo de numerosas habilidades y conocimientos esenciales que van más allá del simple aprendizaje de la programación. Aprender a programar refuerza conceptos matemáticos como el pensamiento algorítmico, la resolución de problemas y la secuenciación. «Nuestros proyectos y actividades en torno a la programación fomentan la adquisición de vocabulario y lenguaje, la narración de historias y la creatividad», explicó Schwirtz.

Late Start Coding for All brings so much excitement and curiosity to both teachers and students. Fourth-grader Kendra Diaz shared her enthusiasm stating, “I love when we get to code during Late Start days. I have learned that I like coding and learning new things.”