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Teaching Programming to 5- to 11-year-olds

CO041 Online course

Build your subject knowledge and develop your skills in teaching programming.

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Key stage 1 Key stage 2 Teach primary computing certificate
Free online course Approximately 8 hours of self-study

Through the activities in this course you will learn about algorithms and programming, and how to teach young children to code.

Programming gives children the opportunity to be creators rather than just consumers of technology. From using and modifying  existing programs to complete tasks, to designing their own programmes to solve problems and develop new ideas.

This four-week course will help you become more confident in teaching programming to young children aged 5-11 years old. As well as developing your own understanding of programming, you’ll also investigate a range of strategies that you can use to help your pupils.

Who is it for?

Primary teachers who are new to teaching programming, or who would like to develop their understanding. Primary subject leaders.

Topics covered

  • What is programming?
  • Understanding of algorithms
  • Moving from an algorithm to code
  • Using BeeBots to develop understanding of programming.
  • How to teach sequence, repetition, and selection in programmes
  • Using Scratch Jr, Logo, and Scratch

How long is this course?

This is 8 hours of self-directed learning

How will you learn?

This online, self-paced course can be completed flexibly. Participants can join and start this course at any time after the advertised date.

This course is not facilitated. You can learn independently or with colleagues to directly address your individual needs.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • use a range of resources to teach understanding of algorithms
  • support children through the different stages of creating a program
  • use a range of programming environments suitable for primary- children
  • explain the key programming concepts of sequence, repetition, and selection, and know how to introduce children to these using real-world examples
  • design programs using Scratch Jr and Scratch 

This course is part of Teach primary computing

Teach primary computing

Our nationally recognised qualification will support you to demonstrate your commitment to developing your own practice and to computing as a school subject.

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This course is from the National Centre for Computing Education and is delivered by STEM Learning.

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