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Programming Pedagogy in Secondary Schools: Inspiring Computing Teaching

4.8 (32 reviews)

Examine a range of pedagogical approaches suitable for teaching computing in Key Stage 3 (Grade 6–8 in the USA).

3,037 enrolled on this course

A collage of key illustrations that appear throughout the course representing the topic of Pedagogy - a student thinking, circuitry, robotics

  • Duration

    3 weeks

  • Weekly study

    2 hours

  • Accreditation

    AvailableMore info
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This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

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Transform your teaching by developing your pedagogical approach

In the first two weeks of this course, you’ll be introduced to a range of pedagogical approaches suitable for Key Stage 3. You’ll look at a range of pedagogies aimed at developing your students’ computational thinking skills, from unplugged approaches to PRIMM, and more. You’ll also investigate worked examples and targeted tasks such as Parson’s Problems.

In the final week of this course, you’ll see several of these pedagogies in action as you work on a rock-paper-scissors game, and think about how the teaching could be adapted for use with your students.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 3 seconds Are you a teacher who wants to develop your pedagogical knowledge to create more effective programming lessons? What methods and activities are most effective when teaching programming to secondary school students aged 11 to 14? How can you best use physical computing in your classroom? This free course will help you to reduce the cognitive load for your learners, using worked examples, pair programming, and Parsons problems. You’ll take part in practical activities to design lessons using the PRIMM method and live coding. The three week course also contains peer led discussions, training interaction, and feedback on your knowledge as you progress. You can learn whenever or wherever you want.

Skip to 0 minutes and 41 seconds So if you’re an educator looking to improve how you teach programming in your school, this course will help you to understand the principles of secondary programming pedagogy. Sign up now at rpf.io/secondarypedagogy.

What topics will you cover?

  • Computational thinking
  • The unplugged approach
  • Use-Modify-Create and PRIMM
  • Worked examples and live coding
  • Pair programming
  • Parson’s Problems
  • Using functions, loops, variables, and selection to create a rock-paper-scissors game

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

  • Date to be announced

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe a range of pedagogical approaches suitable for use with 11- to 14-year-olds
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how these approaches can be used in the classroom
  • Evaluate the suitability of each approach for a particular audience and teaching objective
  • Produce a lesson plan using one of the pedagogical techniques addressed in the course

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at teachers of computer science and programming who teach 11- to 14-year-olds (KS3 in the UK).

What software or tools do you need?

You will need either a Python Integrated Development Environment (IDE) downloaded to your computer, such as Mu, or to use an online Python service such as Trinket.

Who will you learn with?

Ben Garside

Ben is a Learning Manager for the Raspberry Pi Foundation making teaching resources for educators. When he's not spending time tinkering with his Raspberry Pi, he likes spending time with his family

Rebecca Franks

Learning Manager (Secondary) at the Raspberry Pi Foundation. I have been a classroom teacher for over 15 years and specialise in Computing.

Who developed the course?

Raspberry Pi Foundation

The Raspberry Pi Foundation works to put the power of digital making into the hands of people all over the world, so they are capable of understanding and shaping our increasingly digital world.

National Centre for Computing Education

This course is part of the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). Funded by the Department for Education and partners, we aim to change the way computing is taught in schools across England, and enable more young people to benefit from studying this important subject.

If you are a teacher in England you can get free upgraded access to this course, and use it towards NCCE certification. To do this, you must join the course through the Teach Computing website

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  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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