At New Providence, Rocky Creek, and White Knoll elementary schools, students learn to code from kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the first Computer Science Immersion Schools in South Carolina. Coding gives Lexington District One students a new "language" designed to propel them into a growing area of STEM. Through a partnership with Code To The Future, kindergarten students start their coding experience with hands-on activities and Scratch, a programming language from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Students may begin by simply comparing and contrasting story games created with code, but, by the end of the unit, they create their own story game using their new language of coding.
Students use the same skills as they use in a language immersion school as they learn the language of coding. It fosters a culture of failing forward. Students make mistakes and problem solve as they develop and modify the code to get their robots working.
Students working together on projects creates opportunities for them to collaborate and think through problems together to come up with solutions. They have to use those soft skills (power skills) that we are trying to teach them in an authentic way.
Innovation Portfolios
