Creating Quality Computer Science Learning Experiences for Elementary Students
With the Help and Support of Her Principal, Delavita John Offered Lessons for Students to Explore Computer Science
Hi! My name is Delavita John, and I have been teaching for more than 20 years. I moved to Oklahoma in the past year and started teaching K-5 Technology at Dove Science Academy School. When I started my new role, I decided I wanted to make a significant change to the existing curriculum.
My schedule was packed with classes from K-5 and though I had little experience teaching computer science, I wanted to explore it with the students. My kids are talented and hungry for computer science and with the help and support of my principal, I got the green light to teach a curriculum that inspired students to develop new programming skills.
I found CodeHS during a summer tech conference in Las Vegas in 2014. I was able to easily modify the CodeHS lessons to match Oklahoma state standards as well as my students’ interests. My goal was to include students of all levels, from honors to gifted to advanced. I wanted to ensure every student was exposed to computer science and learned more about programming fundamentals through hands-on activities.
After joining the CodeHS Inspire Fellowship, I started thinking about how I could create a safe space for girls to explore computer science by starting an exclusive after-school club. Unfortunately, I found I did not have enough female students who could commit to an after school activity. Pivoting, I switched it up after the 2nd semester and went from offering Tracy the Turtle Python to HTML and CSS. My class was composed of four boys and nine girls. With the new group of students in my classes, I realized I had to cater the curriculum differently. The majority of girls in my class didn’t feel like they resonated with computer science. This disconnect pushed me to find creative ways to engage my female students and connect computer science to their real-world interests.
The language barrier was another challenge I had in my computer science classroom. My school has a diverse population with students who speak German, Turkish and Spanish. I used Google translate during a large majority of my classes to effectively communicate with every student.
In the last year, I had a few students who really stood out. In one class, the majority wanted to explore Java and Python, but one student in particular wanted to continue learning HTML. Several female students were excited to code through music and some tried to create memes with art.
Some of the programs my students created include:
I want to continue exposing more of my students to computer science and hopefully, spark a long term interest in the field to help build a diverse workforce.
Read more stories about how CodeHS Inspire Fellows have expanded computer science education to Black, Latino, and Native American students in their community!
