Coding in the Classroom

With this site, our goal is to support educators as they adapt their practice to incorporate coding into their classroom. Although our focus will be on Science and Technology as well as Mathematics, we also hope to provide ideas and examples to be used across all grades and subject areas.  

Articles on this hub will include practical examples for teachers to incorporate into their teaching, tips and frameworks for coordinators who are supporting their colleagues with teaching coding, and research about best practices. Whether you are new to coding or have years of experience integrating coding into your teaching practice, or if you are an administrator looking for ways to implement coding effectively in schools, we hope that there will be something here for you!

We have included articles that are geared towards all educators, from grades 1-8 and 9, who are looking for support, frameworks, and ideas related to coding in the classroom. There are also additional pages that are focused on coding in primary (grades 1-3), junior (grades 4-6), and intermediate (grades 7-8 and 9) education, which you can access using the buttons above or the links below.

While coding may be newly situated within recent Mathematics (grades 1-8 and 9), Science (grade 9), and Science and Technology (grades 1-8) curricula, we would be remiss if we did not recognize that educators have been coding in Ontario schools for decades. Many of the ideas, coding software and applications we see today have been inspired by Seymour Papert, who believed that “computers can be carriers of powerful ideas and of the seeds of cultural change” (p. 4). Papert’s legacy continues to influence how coding is used to enhance understanding of mathematics. 

We welcome Ontario Educators to share their coding ideas, practices and experiences. Please get in touch with us if you have an idea, application, or article to share.

Thank you for visiting our hub. We look forward to sharing, supporting and inspiring ideas for Coding in the Classroom.

Also, note below the links to webinars. These are webinars that have occurred, and have been saved so that educators can review them afterwards.

Coding in K-12 Education

• Why students should learn to code
• PRIMM - A framework for teaching coding
• Selecting a programming language for students
• Coding terms and definitions (with images)
• Soccer scoring game - Educator and student guide
  Collaborating, Learning and Sharing: Coding in SNCDSB
• Coding Affordances in Science and Technology
  

Primary (Grades 1-3)

• Coding in Primary Mathematics
• Patterns, location, movement and code in the primary grades
• Webinar - Primary coding and mathematics
• Primary - Which one doesn't belong?
• Coding in Primary Science and Technology
• Coding Photosynthesis in Primary

Junior (Grades 4-6)

• Coding in Junior Mathematics
• Coding and counting change with Scratch and Makey Makey
• Creating an addition game with conditional statements and variables
• Webinar - Junior coding and mathematics
• Coding in Junior Science and Technology

Intermediate (Grades 7-8, 9)

• Coding in Intermediate Mathematics
• Coding transformations
• Coding and sports data
• Coding and plotting points
• Coding and data - Educators page - Student page
• Webinar - Intermediate coding and mathematics (grades 7-8)
• Webinar - Coding and mathematics (grade 9)
• Algebraic expressions and coding (grade 9)
• Coding in Intermediate Science and Technology