Hello everyone! Today, we’re going to dive into some exciting lessons where we learn new ideas through fun, hands-on activities led by a teacher. These lessons help us understand new programming concepts by building something called a “mental model.” A mental model is like a picture in our minds of how something works, and it gets clearer as we learn more. For example, once we understand what a variable is, it helps us learn about lists later on.
Explore lessons are special because they use things we can touch, like physical objects, pictures, and activity guides to help us learn. Before starting, teachers look at the lesson plan and slides to get ready. Some teachers like to print these out to have them handy while teaching.
Before the lesson, teachers might practice using the objects to act out the lesson prompts. Explore lessons usually begin with a quick activity or question to get us interested and help us remember what we already know. Then, the teacher introduces the new idea using objects or guides. The lesson often switches between the teacher explaining things and us doing activities with the objects. We work together in groups to solve problems and learn.
As we work, the teacher walks around the room to listen to our discussions and see if we have any misunderstandings. For instance, if someone puts two sticky notes in one bag when there should only be one, the teacher can help us figure out what might have gone wrong in our thinking or coding.
If we get stuck, the teacher encourages us to explain our thoughts using the objects. At the end of the lesson, we can write down new words or ideas in our journals. Sometimes, we might see some code, but we don’t need to know how to use it all by ourselves just yet.
The two most important things in an explore lesson are building a shared mental model and learning new vocabulary. We’ll use these mental models in future lessons where we investigate, practice, and create new things.
Gather a set of everyday objects like cups, balls, and blocks. Work in groups to create a mental model of a simple concept, such as how a variable works in programming. Use the objects to represent different parts of the concept and explain your model to the class.
Create flashcards with new vocabulary words from the lesson. Pair up with a classmate and take turns drawing a card and explaining the word using objects or drawings. This will help reinforce your understanding of the new terms.
Participate in a relay race where each team must solve a series of small problems using the objects provided. Each team member takes turns solving a problem and passing the solution to the next person. This activity will help you practice working together and applying your mental models.
After the lesson, write a journal entry about what you learned. Include any new vocabulary and describe how the objects helped you understand the concept. Reflecting on your learning will help solidify your mental model.
Look at a simple piece of code related to the lesson’s concept. Work in pairs to discuss what the code does, using your mental models to guide your understanding. You don’t need to write the code, just explore and discuss it.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Hello class! Today we are going to explore lessons where students learn a new concept through a teacher-led hands-on group activity. The goal of these lessons is for students to develop a shared mental model of a new programming concept. A mental model is a representation of how something works, and it often builds over time throughout the course. For example, a mental model of a variable will be used to develop a mental model of a list in later lessons.
Explore lessons typically use physical manipulatives, visual slides, and activity guides linked in the lesson plan. To prepare for the lesson, first take a look at the lesson plan and the provided slides. Some teachers find it helpful to print out the lesson plan and use it as a reference while teaching.
Before you teach the lesson, it can be helpful for you to use the manipulatives to act out the prompts from the lesson. Explore lessons start with a short prompt or activity to grab students’ interest and activate their prior knowledge. From there, you will introduce the new concept using manipulatives or an activity guide. Often, the activity alternates between the teacher giving short explanations and students completing tasks using manipulatives. These tasks are collaborative, as students are working together.
As you circulate the room, listen to conversations and see if you identify any misconceptions. For example, if you notice that a student has two stickies in the same baggie, you can address this common misconception by guiding them to figure out what line of code might have caused it, reminding them that a baggie can only hold one sticky.
When students are stuck, encourage them to explain their thinking using the manipulatives. At the end of the class, you can have students add new vocabulary or concepts to their journals. Sometimes code may be referenced in an explore lesson, but students don’t need to know how to use it independently yet.
The two most important parts of an explore lesson are to build a shared mental model and to introduce key vocabulary. You and your students will refer back to this mental model in the upcoming investigate, practice, and make lessons.
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This version removes any informal language and clarifies the content while maintaining the original meaning.
Lessons – Sessions where students learn about a specific topic or skill. – In today’s computer class, we had lessons on how to create a simple website.
Programming – The process of writing instructions for a computer to follow. – Sarah enjoys programming because she likes creating her own video games.
Variable – A symbol or name that holds a value in a program. – In our coding project, we used a variable to store the player’s score.
Lists – Collections of items or data that can be used in programs. – We learned how to use lists to keep track of our favorite books in a program.
Objects – Instances of classes that can hold data and perform actions in programming. – In our coding class, we created objects to represent different characters in a game.
Teacher – A person who helps students learn and understand new concepts. – Our computer teacher showed us how to fix errors in our code.
Activities – Tasks or exercises that help students practice what they have learned. – The coding activities were fun and helped us understand how to use loops.
Problems – Challenges or exercises that require a solution, often used in learning to code. – Solving problems in coding class helps us think like programmers.
Coding – The act of writing code to create software or applications. – We spent the afternoon coding a simple calculator program.
Vocabulary – A set of terms and definitions related to a specific subject. – Learning the vocabulary of programming helps us understand how to write better code.
