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by ghswa 4502 days ago
It's important to remember that the "year of code" initiative is not related to the new curriculum coming into force in September 2014. My wife is writing a book for the new curriculum and, from what she's told me, it sounds quite good.

At Key Stage 1 (ages 5 to 7) children are taught about algorithms, that they are a way of breaking tasks into a sequence of steps that can be reused to solve problems.

They will also be taught about the pervasiveness of software - about the different kinds of devices and appliances that rely on software.

Finally, they will be taught about privacy. I'm not sure of the content but I assume it'll be about managing information about themselves.
2 comments
etler 4502 days ago
It's great that they're being taught algorithms. It gives a context and reason to math and fights the "when am I ever going to use this" problem. Math should taught alongside algorithms to give the techniques context throughout education.

I don't think kids benefit much at all by being taught web stuff. HTML is just a lot of boilerplate, and there are better languages than javascript that reduce the code to things happening on screen barrier.

If trigonometry is being taught alongside making an asteroids game, I think that could enlighten kids on what it can be important for. It's not just filling in values on a triangle, it's direction, it's how things move, it's integral to physics, and it's important.

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btilly 4502 days ago
When good books written by knowledgeable and well-meaning subject specialists are taught by teachers who do not and do not wish to understand the material, the result is a predictable disaster. Doubly so since most teachers are not particularly smart.

I know that sounds mean, but look at http://www.statisticbrain.com/iq-estimates-by-intended-colle... and notice how students going into education strongly tend to have lower IQs than most college majors. Smarter than the average adult, sure. But well below most people who get to college.

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etler 4502 days ago
I agree with you for a middle or high school level course, but I would hope a teacher could wrap their heads around a 5-7 year old level explanation of algorithms if they're capable of teaching math.
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btilly 4502 days ago
Based on informal asking, most teachers who are supposed to be teaching fractions cannot figure out whether 2/3 is bigger than 3/5 or vice versa.

Given that fact, I am not optimistic about what you hope.

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etler 4502 days ago
If that's the case, I don't believe dumbing down the curriculum to the lowest common denominator of teachers is the solution to the problem.
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