Innovation in the classroom is not always comfortable. Taking educational risks requires us to justify doing things differently. We need to assess the learning and how it fits with provincial curriculum, divisional and administration’s expectations for learning.

My class this year has embarked on an exploration of coding and computer programming. We have spent time playing coding games on code.org and tynker.com.  I have encouraged them to do coding at home as well.  They are learning the value of using the technology available to them to create rather than consume. Why play a video game if you could create one for others to play?

We were lucky enough to have Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) lead a workshop in block coding where students were able to code Dash drones. This experience demonstrated some really powerful learning moments. They were collaborating, problem solving, and reading and writing code.  It challenged their logic and communication skills.

As an educator I feel a need to justify why I am doing things different in the classroom.  I need to explain how coding and drones have led to numerous writing prompts, developing research skills, working on logic and collaboration.

As an educator innovating and attempting to do things differently often is uncomfortable.  My administrators and support teachers have been supportive of this coding journey of learning in my classroom but I still feel a need to prove that what we are doing is worthwhile.

Recently, through discussions with my Inquiry Support Teacher Cheryl Zubrack, I have come to realize that this feeling of a need to justify the ‘why’ of what we are doing in the classroom has actually served me well.  Being a little uncomfortable doing this innovative journey with my students has forced me, at every step of the way, to consider students’ learning, making it less about what we are doing but more importantly how we are learning how to learn.

Derek Turnbull
Wellington School
Cluster 1965