Digital Adventures utilizes an instructor-led, classroom-based model for our coding classes for kids.There are 4 key reasons why we believe this approach is beneficial for our students.
Getting Unstuck
One of the biggest obstacles when learning a new subject, like coding, is how to get unstuck when faced with an unforeseen challenge. Without the ability to quickly understand where one went wrong and move beyond, students may lose interest or think the new subject is not for them. Within the classroom environment, a knowledgeable instructor has usually seen many students face similar challenges and can often utilize several different strategies (verbal, visual) to help the student quickly figure out where they have gone wrong & get them back onto the right track. This rapid recovery helps increase student confidence and is an essential part of learning to code (program computers).
Design
Within a physical classroom, you can leverage design to influence student motivation & create an optimal experience. At Digital Adventures, we painted the walls bright green, utilized an open floor plan, installed flat screen televisions that play music in the background and project student’s work along with white boards to sketch out concepts at the start of each lesson to create an environment that is not unlike technology startups in Silicon Valley. In addition, because we have a physical space, there is a great deal of flexibility to change the room around to match the project topic. We can bring out a folding table to use as a construction surface for the building of a robot. As you can imagine, this puts our students into an innovative, creative mindset which is essential when developing new projects from scratch.
Differentiated Instruction
Each student is unique. There is no one size fits all model for instruction. There are times when some students need additional challenges because they quickly understand the subject and want to take their knowledge further. At other times, students may not progress as quickly. Depending on the topic, day & student, the necessity to effectively differentiate is essential to the learning process.
Social Interaction/Engagement
By nature, we are social creatures. We enjoy the company of others in a variety of settings. During the learning process, our desire to interact and engage socially is no different. Within a classroom environment, not only can kids learn from the instructor but they can also learn from each other. This balance between learning and instruction for kids creates better learning outcomes because true mastery is most apparent when you can explain to someone else what you have learned in a way that they understand it.
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About the Author: Omowale Casselle ([email protected]) is the Co-founder & CEO of Digital Adventures. Prior to Digital Adventures, Omowale led the development, launch & management of an interactive advertising & marketing platform, SAMPLEit (division of Outerwall, Inc.), in high traffic retail locations (Walmart, Meijer, HEB) that will help consumers trial, discover, and ultimately make more informed choices about their most important purchase decisions. Earlier in his career, Omowale was part of the new product development team that successfully brought industry-leading vehicles to market including Ford Mustang, Ford Fusion, and Ford Escape Hybrid. His passion for continuous learning and development has led to degrees from Harvard Business School (MBA), University of Michigan (MS Engineering), and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BS Engineering).