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Hi Orla,
Really enjoyed reading this. A clear strength here is how purposefully you already use digital technologies to inform teaching and strengthen learning. You are clearly making the most of the resources your school has and framing them around meaningful, active learning sits at the very heart of the learner experiences dimension.
I liked that your reflection kept coming back to those bigger questions, what do I want the children to learn and how will this develop skills for lifelong learning. Holding onto that purpose is what stops technology becoming an add-on and it will serve you well as you bring in more computational thinking.
Your action to embed unplugged activities across different subjects feels realistic and well focused. Starting with something like the Irish activity is a lovely way in, because it shows the children that CT is a way of thinking and not just a STEM or device task.
One question to help you focus. Would it help to pick one CT process to start with, so you have a clear thing to notice when the children work? That would also give you some specific evidence to draw on for SSE later.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the rest of the course. 🙂
Hi Jennifer,
Really enjoyed this. A clear strength here is how deliberately you choose your digital tools. Picking activities that support the lesson rather than reaching for technology just because it is there shows real intent and it is exactly the kind of purposeful use the learner experiences dimension is looking for. It makes sense that engagement goes up too because the device is adding something to the learning and not just sitting alongside it.
Your instinct to move towards more collaborative and creative tools feels like a natural next step from where you already are. You have the purposeful mindset in place, so widening the range of tools is really just building on a strong foundation.
One thought to help you focus. Since your area to develop is quite broad, would it help to pick just one or two collaborative tools to trial when you go back to school and set a small measurable goal, say using one creative tool across three lessons and noting how pupils respond? That would give you something specific to observe and some early evidence for SSE.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the rest of the course. 🙂
Hi Michaela,
This is a lovely, well thought out reflection. A real strength here is how clearly you connect computational thinking to what you are already doing. Framing collaborative problem-solving in Maths, STEM and play as CT in action shows you understand it as a way of thinking and not just a coding activity which is exactly the shift Module 1 is encouraging.
Your action to include one CT activity each week feels genuinely realistic. It is small and consistent, which is what makes it sustainable. Also, spreading it across Maths, Science and Gaeilge helps children see problem-solving as something that lives everywhere.
I also love your idea of sharing one successful activity with colleagues each term. That is such a generous, whole-school way to think about it and those discussions are often where real momentum builds across a staff.
One question to help you focus. When you record pupils’ work, would it help to note which CT process each activity draws on, say decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithms, debugging or iteration? That way your SSE evidence shows range across the processes and not just frequency.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the rest of the course. 🙂
Hi Cassandra,
Really enjoyed reading this. Your existing practice is stronger than you might be giving yourself credit for. Introducing block coding through Scratch and having children build research projects on iPads shows you are already creating rich learner experiences which sits right at the heart of that LAOS domain.
I thought your honesty about computational thinking was a strength in itself. Naming something as a genuine gap is exactly the kind of reflective practice that SSE is built on and it gives you a clear focus to work from.
Your plan to start with one lesson and set a clear outcome feels really realistic to me. It keeps things manageable and gives you something specific to observe against, so you are not trying to change everything at once.
One thought to build on your observation idea. It might help to pick one CT process to look for first, say decomposition or pattern recognition, so you know exactly what you are noticing when you watch the children work. Those observation notes could also become useful evidence if your school ever chose STEM as an SSE focus down the line.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the rest of the course. 🙂