Practicum Review

For my practicum, I spent the summer teaching kids code online. I was working with kids of many ages and from all over the world. I would teach them through zoom and different coding platforms. For example, we used java through codekingdom; html, css, and javascript through codepen; and python through codesters and scratch.

I found this site as this has been my job. I actually searched for it on google because a long time ago I just searched teaching code jobs in the hopes to find an internship for a high school requirement. Instead I found this job and it has been very consistent since then. Especially during a time such as COVID, this job has been able to help me make money remotely. I would advise future SGC Scholars on identifying a practicum site that you would benefit from. For example, as a student studying computer science, I gained more opportunities and knowledge from this job. A nursing major or student studying biology would benefit from working with research as it would be beneficial on their resume and as experience in the labs. In my opinion, I think lab research about something that interests you would be the most beneficial and you would be able to gain a lot more knowledge about the future profession.

Before the class, the tasks I performed at my job was creating presentations with the specific concept lesson. Some topics could range from variables, if statements, methods, loops, and classes, to a lot of more language or platform specific concepts such as how to navigate through minecraft, or how to create a button on a webpage and then make it have actions. Then I would practice or modify the code before I would teach it the next day, just to make sure I was comfortable with the platform and language. This is important as I would be teaching it and the kids can sense when confidence is lost and it would look unprofessional if I were to not understand what was going on. I would also collaborate with other instructors to make sure that the curriculum or projects were engaging and if there was a specific way to teach the class or structure it that would be more beneficial and entertaining. However, on the day of I have to clock in and log into the zoom. Usually every day is the same routine however on the first day I would have to add another step which is making sure that everyone has their passwords, can log in, and are able to access all the different websites or things that they need to be able to access. The routine everyday is usually a warm up, then the concept lesson, then a break, and for the rest of class we would work on a project, and then wrap up the class and reinforce the concept that was learned today. Classes do not always run smoothly, so I would encounter errors in code or issues with the internet or computer a lot. After class I log every student’s progress, and type in notes regarding the class. I often do this for my managers and just to remember if something specifically occurred that may be important to note for later. Then I write the parents an email of the summary of the class, and then clock out for the day.

This site is not the regular science that involves beakers or chemicals, but instead computer science! We worked with code directly and as well, I was able to influence many different kids regarding code. This is not the usual science but it is a science that has become more prevalent in the future and will continue to evolve. When combining coding with kids, I believe that it is a successful idea for down the road as code will become a more common area for students to learn and I believe that kids will have a lot of fun especially when code can be adapted to their interests.

Coding with kids has affected my personal goals and helped me learn more about myself. I strengthened my knowledge of basic coding concepts and adapted them to learn new languages. I learned that I do not think I would like to pursue a career in education because I never appreciated how much time and effort go into working with both kids and teaching, but together it requires a lot of energy. I do want to go into computer science but working with people around my age or around my skill level where we can work together and grow from each other. In conclusion, teaching kids code is an experience that I will never forget and that I will always be grateful for.

Thank you Dr.Merck and Dr.Holtz for a great two years. It was truly a pleasure to know you both and be able to learn from you both!