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project-guidelines.md

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Project guidelines

This is a set of guidelines for writing Code Club projects.

General Requirements

  • Projects should take less than an hour to complete;
  • Projects should require minimal additional software;
  • Project setup and preparation should be minimal;
  • Avoid the use of external resources if possible;
  • Projects should be inclusive of gender, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and disability.

Style

  • Projects should be written in a lighthearted, casual style;
  • Reinforce the idea that coding is an ability, not a gift. It comes from hard work, not from talent.

Language Requirements

  • Ensure that the project reading level is suitable for 9-year-olds. If you can, run the project by a primary school teacher to check for vocabulary and sentence complexity;
  • Avoid using slang;
  • Avoid technical jargon unrelated to the skill(s) being taught;
  • Explain any words that may be unfamiliar to children.

Pedagogy

  • Introduce one skill or idea at a time, perferably one per project;

  • If using a skill in a subsequent project, use less detail and shorten the explanation. This will allow children to think for themselves and apply the skills they've learnt. You should reference past projects, for children that may require additional support;

  • Projects should be suitable for children of a range of abilities, using open-ended challenges (see below) to push higher ability children;

  • Each project should be broken down into number of activities;

  • Each activity should be broken down into a checklist of steps;

  • Provide plenty of opportunity for experimentation and exploration. Try not to be too prescriptive in the project instructions.

  • Regularly remind children to save their projects, for example at the end of each activity or challenge;

  • Provide regular opportunities for children to test their projects, so that they can see the effect of their code. You can also ask children to test logically incorrect of unfinished code, so that they fix bugs or make improvements to their project;

  • Each project should contain at least one (and preferably more than one) challenge. Challenges are opportunities for children to apply the skills they've learnt, so they shouldn't be provided with the solution. However, you can provide hints and references to previous times in which they've learnt the relevant skill(s).

    A well-written challenge should (as much as possible) be...

    • ...optional. Subsequent activities should not depend on completing a challenge;
    • ...focused. A challenge should consolidate the learning of one skill;
    • ...problem-solving. An opportunity to apply a learnt skill to another problem domain;
    • ...open-ended. There should not be one set solution to a challenge;
    • ...challenging!! Don't make a challenge too easy - children should have to think to arrive at a solution.