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Teaching the Middle School Programmer

An Ohioan's Approach

Blade Frisch

This book will help you gain a firm foundation in teaching programming to middle school students.

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About

About

About the Book

Are you a math teacher getting roped into teaching programming classes? Are you a programmer looking to become a teacher? This book will help you build a strong foundation, no matter your background, in teaching middle school programming. You will learn how to prepare yourself for teaching, create curriculum, teach and manage the class, and how to give and grade projects. There is also a repository of resources for building your own course, including sample lessons and assignments.

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EducationComputers and ProgrammingComputer Science

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Author

About the Author

Blade Frisch

Blade Frisch is a researcher, educator, and software developer. He mainly works on the design and implementation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems and still maintains an active career in CS education. With over 7 years of middle school, high school, and collegiate teaching experience in Computer Science, as well as over 4 years of industry experience, Blade is able to bring practical and relevant experience and tips to the field of CS Ed. He is currently working on his PhD in Computational Science and Engineering at Michigan Technological University.

Contents

Table of Contents

Intro

  1. Who this book is for
  2. How to read this book

Chapter One: Preparing Yourself

  1. Gaining Content Knowledge
  2. What do you do if you are not a programmer?
  3. What to do if you are a programmer?
  4. What I wish someone had said to me
  5. It’s okay to fail
  6. You will not reach everyone
  7. Bad Lessons Happen
  8. Listen to your students

Chapter Two: Curriculum Planning

  1. Grade Level Differentiation
  2. Breaking up the class
  3. Background knowledge
  4. Differing assignments
  5. Content
  6. Language
  7. Relatability
  8. Fun-ness
  9. Getting Started
  10. Use a book
  11. Read everything
  12. Pick and choose
  13. Ending the class
  14. Reflection
  15. Modification
  16. Punctuality

Chapter Three: Classroom Structure & Management

  1. Physical Structure
  2. Configuration One
  3. Configuration Two
  4. Lesson Structure
  5. Plan for the Day
  6. Recall & Review
  7. Meat
  8. Recap
  9. Q&A
  10. Classroom Management
  11. Democracy vs Dictatorship
  12. Handling Different Types of Students
  13. Always have a question
  14. Always have a comment
  15. Know-it-alls
  16. Never-talkers
  17. Extraneous Activity

Chapter Four: Teaching the Class

  1. Explanations
  2. Multiple Viewpoints
  3. Illustrations
  4. Verbal
  5. Physical
  6. Demonstrations
  7. On the Board
  8. Code-along
  9. Helping Students
  10. In Class
  11. One-on-one
  12. Walkthrough

Chapter Five: Assignments & Projects

  1. Project-based Learning
  2. Schools of Thought
  3. Academic
  4. Practical
  5. Fun

Chapter Six: Grading

  1. What to Grade
  2. Beginning Programmers
  3. Intermediate Programmers
  4. Advanced Programmers
  5. How to grade
  6. Checklists
  7. Scales
  8. Critique

Chapter Seven: Final Thoughts

Appendix A: Curriculum Guides

  1. Level 1 - Young Beginners
  2. Scratch
  3. Level 2 - Older Beginners
  4. Python
  5. Level 3 - Intermediate Programmers
  6. Video Games
  7. JavaScript and Web
  8. Level 4 - Advanced Programmers
  9. iPhone Development
  10. Computer Science Discoveries

Appendix B: Sample Lesson and Assignment

  1. Lesson: If, If/Else, and If/Elif
  2. Assignment: Rock, Paper Scissors

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