The Coding Continuum: Moving in the Right Direction

Currently I would consider myself a novice coder. While I feel that I have moved past the "Beginner" stage, I find I still struggle to fully grasp the ins and outs of programming. If you were to peek into my Scratch account you would see many half finished or abandoned programs but you would also see a few programs I have been able to complete (my favourite one being a "Comparing Geometric Properties" program called Battle Shapes).  In reflecting on my coding journey, I would have to say that I am happy with the progress I've made since the Spring of 2016. Important to note: collaborating with Lisa Floyd (@lisaannefloyd) has also helped IMMENSELY, haha.

While my hands-on coding skills continues to develop, one area that I feel I may have come more naturally is in seeing the connections between coding and our Ontario curriculum., specifically Mathematics. (Although a strong case can be made for other subjects areas as well.) Mathematics expectations can be met in all strands. Don't believe me? Try a simple subject search on Scratch. Here is what a simple "Integers" search returned, https://scratch.mit.edu/search/projects?q=integers.

The idea however that inspired this blog is connected to Geometry and specifically Geometric Properties of shapes. In fact it was this question from the 2016 Grade 6 EQAO test that triggered a rather large "AHA" moment for me this year. "Right Trapezoid" and "Isosceles Trapezoid". When I first read these words, I thought "Hmm strange, I wonder why they did that?".  Then it clicked. Visions of my previously taught trapezoid lessons began flooding my memory. All those lessons, all that learning...all with the SAME shape. The Isosceles Trapezoid. But wait, I was sure to refer to it as an Isosceles Trapezoid right?...right? Wrong!

In the school reports I was able to see, many students struggled with this question. In fact, only 58% of students provincially, scored at Grade level. Why? Well, I am sure there could be many reasons, but one reason that I believe contributed to the poor scoring on this question is/was the omission of language we often only reserve for triangles (right, scalene and isosceles).  My trapezoid lessons will be updated!

Equipped with this new understanding, I started to think about how I would introduce students to these "new" types of trapezoids. After bouncing around a few ideas, none of which I was overly excited about, the idea of using Scratch came to mind. To build an understanding I could provide a series of geometric properties that describe a certain shape, and through Scratch, students would have to use the criteria presented to construct the appropriate polygon (trapezoid in this case). The more I thought about it, the more value I saw in the activity. Why not have Grade 5's code a variety triangles or Grade 6's code different polygons according to certain criteria?

Here are some samples that I plan to use:

Trapezoids: "Trapezoid Challenge Cards"
Triangles: "Triangles Challenge Cards"

How do you use or plan to use coding in the classroom?