CAS London Sessions 2020

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Table of Contents
A. Session Summaries for sessions 1-4 and lunchtime tables (for each session shown in green, there is further information about it below)
B. Further information about each session, added as it comes in

John Nixon – Ofsted keynote

A. Session Summaries

Session 1

  1. Suitable for all – G Suite and other cloud-based tools to support learning  – Christian Turton (IT2)
  2. KS3/4/5 – Making the abstract concrete – William Lau (H2)
  3. Primary – Barefoot Over the hump (introduction to primary programming) – Jon Chippindall (IT6)
  4. Primary – Adapting a computing curriculum to take cognitive load theory and other non-computing research into account  – Phil Bagge (H5)
  5. KS3/4 – PRIMM in Python for KS3/4 – John Feleppa (IT1)
  6. KS3-KS5 – Agile methods (come try them out) – Eirini Kolaiti (H6)
  7. KS4 – Exam Board iMedia – Vinay Thawait (H7)
  8. KS5 –  Functional Programming – William Marsh (IT7)
  9. KS5 – Chocolate Turing Machines – Paul Curzon (H10)

Session 2

  1. All – Digging into program code: the Investigate part of PRIMM – Sue Sentance (H2)
  2. EYFS – EYFS and computing – Bradley Dardis & Simon Airey  (IT2)
  3. KS2/KS3 – Scratch 3 and physical computing devices such as the micro:bit – Nic Hughes  (ICT6)
  4. Primary – Design in Primary Programming Activities – Jane Waite & Matthew Wimpenny-Smith (H5)
  5. KS2/3/4/5 – Digital Creativity – 3DAmi – Peter Kemp (IT3)
  6. KS3 – Machine Learning – Michael Jones (IT1)
  7. KS4 – Algorithm Design for GCSE CompSci – Alan O’Donohoe  (H6)
  8. KS4/5 – The importance of trace activities in teaching programming (using Python examples)- Paul Curzon (H7)
  9. KS5 – Teaching stacks and postfix notation using Forth – Hardip Mothada (IT7)
  10. KS5 – Review of Summer 2019 A-level  – Steve Kenny (H10)

Lunchtime tables

  1. Digital Health – Resource to support pupil mental health in tech use – Neil Rickus (please share your ideas with Neil via Jane – j.l.waite@qmul.ac.uk)
  2. NCCE what can we do for you? Meet your hub leaders –  Wendy MacLeod, the hub leaders and Alex Parry
  3. Isaac Computing Surgery. Using Isaac student resources and looking at teacher CPD
  4. Book, books, books –  please bring books to show (remember to name them)
  5. Sharing Student Projects – bring example projects to share with others (and talk about them in the teachmeet)
  6. Babbage’s Victorian Computer (History, Maths and Computing) Paul Curzon & Jane Waite

Session 3

  1. All – Semantic waves and good explanation – Paul Curzon (H2)
  2. Primary – NewsWise: Fake news detectives – Elli Narewska (H9)
  3. Primary – Curriculum Planning (double session 3 and 4) – Gillan Ingram (and many others) reviewing plans using the new NCCE learning graphs (IT6)
  4. KS2-KS5 – Engaging & Inspiring All Into Computer Science – Alan O’Donohoe (H5)
  5. KS3/KS4/KS5  – Network basics using Binary Boxes – Rohini Shah (H6)
  6. KS3/4 – Game Design with Construct 3 – Estelle Ashman (IT1)
  7. KS4 – AQA’s amended GCSE Computer Science specification – Steve Kenny (H7)
  8. KS4/5 – Introduction to Data Analytics – William Marsh (IT3)
  9. KS5 – Developing a web front end to your python project with Flask – Alex Parry & Sue Sentance (IT7)
  10. KS5 – Exam board OCR A Levels – Vinay Thawait (H10)

Session 4

  1. All – Digging into program code: the Investigate part of PRIMM – Sue Sentance (H2)
  2. Primary – Computing and Special Needs  – The LGfL Inclusion Team, Hilary Norton, John Galloway (H9)
  3. Primary – Curriculum Planning (double session 3 and 4) – Gillan Ingram (and many others) (continuation of session 3) (IT6)
  4. Primary – Data Skills – Jon Chippindall, Isabella Lieghio (IT1 -was in H5)
  5. Babbage moved to lunchtime table 
  6. KS3/4 – Approaches to teaching GCSE Systems Architecture and the Fetch Decode Execute Cycle – Katie Vanderpere-Brown (IT2)
  7. KS4 – Exam board OCR GCSE – Vinay Thawait  (H7)
  8. KS3/4/5 – Procedural Terrain generation and grid worlds GUI Zero  Eliot Williams (IT3)
  9. KS4/5 – Rosenshine’s principles in action – Craig n Dave (H10)
  10. KS5 – OOP in python – William Marsh (IT7)

Notes

  • IT rooms are a computer room, H rooms are classrooms
  • IT7 (formally ICT5) is the Isaac Computing funded stream.
  • For biographies of the presenters please see here.
  • For each session shown in green, there is further information about it below.

B. Further information about each session

Session 1

1. All – Google in the classroom (and other collaborative options too) – Christian Turton Considering evidence-based approaches and practical implications of using G suite

2. All – Moving from abstract to concrete and back again using Semantic Wave theory – William Lau  Why is it that students can do so well on those online quizzes, yet do not do so well in their final exams? Why do some students find some topics seemingly difficult to understand, yet they grasp others with ease? This 1-hour session will introduce you to Professor Karl Maton’s Semantic Wave theory and help you plan practical activities, lesson tasks, worksheets and sequences of lessons. I promise that you will leave with resources and ideas that you can implement in your next lesson.

3. Primary – Barefoot Over the hump (introduction to primary programming) – Jon Chippindall

4. Primary – Adapting a computing curriculum to take cognitive load theory and other non-computing research into account- Phil Bagge: Cognitive load theory was first proposed 20 years ago. Since then efforts to replicate its effects in many areas of education have been very successful. Phil Bagge explores what it is, why it is necessary to take it into account when teaching programming, it’s limitations and simple effective ways we can use it. He also outlines other beneficial non-computing research areas that benefit programming teaching and learning.

5. KS3/4 – PRIMM in Python for KS3/4 – John Feleppa & Rohini Shah: This session will demonstrate the PRIMM method with a KS3-4 Python programming technique. It can be engaged with on two levels: it will teach the Python technique as well as demonstrate the utility of following the PRIMM method. Here, students predict the behaviour of some source code, then investigate & modify it with teacher guidance. Finally, the technique is mastered by applying it to a new context in a ‘make’ task.

6. KS3-KS5 – Agile methods (come try them out) – Eirini Kolaiti: In this session, you will learn about the core methods of Agile SCRUM, a popular framework in industry for managing software development projects. You will have a chance to apply these methods in order to complete a fun project using Lego (hurray!) and explore how Agile can be used in lessons to facilitate project-based learning and increase student engagement.

7. KS4 – Exam Board iMedia – Ceredig Cattanach-Chell

8. KS5 –  Functional Programming – William Marsh

9. KS5 – Chocolate Turing Machines – Paul Curzon The Turing machine, invented by Alan Turing in 1936, is one of the most important theoretical ideas in computer science. The Turing machine is a simple model of computation used to explore the limits of what it is possible for any computer to do. We will bring Turing Machines to life by making them from chocolate.

Session 2

1.All – PRIMM and Program Comprehension – Sue Sentance: In this interactive session we will look at questioning in programming lessons, drawing on the PRIMM approach and the Block Model.

2. EYFS – EYFS and computing – Bradley Dardis & Simon Airey

3. KS2/KS3 – Scratch 3 and physical computing devices such as the micro:bit – Nic Hughes: In this session, you will get hand-on experience of using the BBC micro:bit with Scratch. We will discuss what physical computing is and where it fits in the Computing curriculum. You will leave with practical examples that you can take back to school. You will have some opportunities to try other devices that also work alongside scratch.

4. Primary – Design in Primary Programming Activities – Jane Waite & Matthew Wimpenny-Smith :  This session is output from a research programme with expert primary computing teachers. In the research, we looked at the use of design in programming activities and developed a set of concepts to help deliver lessons. This is the first, of a set of CPD sessions, from this research. In this session, using hands-on activities, we find out about the basic building blocks of design and how to introduce these in different formats in class.

5.Digital creativity – a hands-on session showing how you use 3D animation as part of the computing curriculum.

6. KS3 – Machine Learning – Michael Jones

7. KS4 – Algorithm Design for GCSE CompSci – Alan O’Donohoe

8. KS4/5 The importance of trace activities in teaching programming: Paul Curzon We will explore why trace/dry run activities are a critical tool in teaching programming. These program comprehension tests are a vital way to practice when learning to program and a very useful tool to quickly diagnose and correct misunderstandings.

9. KS5 -Teaching stacks and postfix notation using Forth – Hardip Mothada: Forth is a fascinating language where the stack takes centre stage. Calculations take place using postfix notation also known as Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). AQA and OCR A Levels require students to understand the concept and uses of the stack and RPN. Forth provides us with a simple and interactive way to teach these topics in a practical and engaging manner.

10. KS5 – Review of Summer 2019 A-level  – Steve Kenny: The session will review key data from AQA’s summer 2019 examinations and provide an opportunity to understand some of the common misconceptions by marking answers to questions from the summer 2019 examinations.

Lunchtime session information

1. Digital Health – Resource to support pupil mental health in tech use – Neil Rickus (please share your ideas with Neil via Jane – j.l.waite@qmul.ac.uk)

2. NCCE what can we do for you? Meet your hub leaders –  Wendy MacLeod, the hub leaders and Alex Parry:  The Computer Science Accelerator Programme is a professional development programme, which is designed to support teachers to improve their knowledge of computer science and to deliver the whole GCSE curriculum. The free face-to-face and online courses have been created to help teachers gain confidence in the classroom by enhancing their subject content knowledge, and are a great opportunity to network with other teachers who are learning the same topics. These courses also provide activities that can be adapted to be used directly in the classroom. Teachers are able to gain “the National Centre of Computing Education certificate in GCSE Computer Science subject knowledge”, which means you will be automatically entitled to free CPD from the NCCE and you may even be eligible to apply for a training bursary to support you while you learn. Find out more at ncce.io/cs-acc

3. Isaac Computing Surgery. Using Isaac student resources and looking at teacher CPD – TBC

4. Book, books, books – TBC – please bring books to show (remember to name them)

5. Sharing Student Projects – TBC – bring example projects to share with others (and talk about them in the teachmeet)

6. Primary/KS3 – Babbage’s Victorian Computer (History, Maths and Computing) Paul Curzon & Jane Waite: A smorgasbord of cross-curricula opportunities in history, maths and computing. Enact the basic workings, make a cardboard component, evaluate a cartoon (made by Sydney Padua) of Babbage’s engine. Victorians, place value and the fundamentals of computing.  Classroom activities to take away and be part of a Babbage and Ada programme of work with Oxford University, Royal Holloway and Queen Mary University of London.

Session 3

1: Semantic waves and good explanation – Paul Curzon: What makes a good explanation? Maton’s educational linguistics theory of Semantic Waves gives a simple but powerful way to answer this. It helps, for example, to understand why a lesson works or not, what makes unplugged computing effective, and gives a tool to improve lesson plans.

2. Primary – NewsWise: Fake news detectives – Elli Narewska: Become a fake news detective and learn why being able to critically understand online information is so important, get tips on how to keep activities authentic, fun and safe, and develop ideas on how pupils can put their knowledge into practice by producing real news reports for a real audience. NewsWise is an award-winning programme from the Guardian Foundation, National Literacy Trust and PSHE Association, which aims to empower KS2 pupils with the skills and knowledge to navigate the world of news.

3. Primary – Curriculum Planning (double session 3 and 4) – Gillan Ingram (and many others) reviewing plans using the new NCCE learning graphs

4. KS2-KS5 – Engaging & Inspiring All Into Computer Science – Alan O’Donohoe 

5. KS3/KS4/KS5  – Network basics using Binary Boxes – Rohini Shah: I have used binary boxes to teach networking to KS3, KS4 and KS5. The learning covers communication, protocol, layers, encryption, handshaking etc. The students work in groups and have been able to figure out the topic and how communication works in real life. They have enjoyed working in groups and have said they will remember the keywords better for exam purposes.

6. KS3/4 – Game Design with Construct 3 – Estelle Ashman

7. KS4 -AQA’s amended GCSE Computer Science specification – Steve Kenny: An overview of AQA’s new specification for first teaching from summer 2020 including how AQA will assess programming skills in an examination

8. KS4/5 – Introduction to Data Analytics – William Marsh

9. KS5 – Developing a web front end to your python project with Flask – Sue Sentance & Alex Parry

10. KS5 – Exam board OCR A Levels – Vinay Thawait

Session 4

1.All – PRIMM and Program Comprehension – Sue Sentance: In this interactive session we will look at questioning in programming lessons, drawing on the PRIMM approach and the Block Model.

2. Primary – Send and Computing – The LGfL Inclusion Team, Hilary Norton and John Galloway 

  • The LGfL Inclusion Team – computing and pupils with autistic spectrum conditions.
  • Hilary Norton –  first steps in computing for SEND
  • John Galloway – gadgets and gizmos- devices to support SEND and Computing. One of the things I want to showcase is CodeJumpers – https://codejumper.com/ – a resource that was launched the week before Bett. It is specifically designed to teach coding to blind pupils in KS2, but it could be used by any learner and is highly inclusive.

3. Primary – Curriculum Planning (double session 3 and 4) – Gillan Ingram (and many others) (continuation of session 3) (ICT2)

4. Primary – Data Skills – Jon Chippindall, Isabella Lieghio : Data used to be a prominent feature in the ‘old’ ICT curriculum. At first sight, you might think it has disappeared from the new Computing Programme of Study. It is still there, and is as important algorithms! Data, objects and algorithms all go hand in hand. Come and find out about the data elements of the primary computing curriculum. Find out about attributes using a classroom KS1 activity, flex your excel muscles as you explore the data modelling lifecycle. Lots of links to maths and other subjects. 

6. KS4 – Approaches to teaching GCSE Systems Architecture and the Fetch Decode Execute Cyc- Katie Vanderpere-Brown (ICT1) : Often seen as a ‘dry’ part of the curriculum, Katie will share her experience of developing lessons to help make this an engaging topic. Drawing on metacognition, she will show how you can connect this area of the curriculum to the wider curriculum and in turn develop a student’s schema.

7. KS4 – Exam board OCR GCSE – Vinay Thawait

8. KS3/4/5 – Procedural Terrain generation and grid worlds GUI Zero – Eliot Williams: In this session we are going to learn how use the GUI zero library to easily create and control a 2D grid of pixels. We will use this to display a procedural generated map containing a coast line, river, forests and mountains as well as looking how this also be used for the creation of other classic grid programs such as cellular automata and Conway’s game of life.

9. KS4/5 Rosenshine’s principles in action Craig n Dave The introduction of new specifications can be a great time to consider not just what we teach, but how we teach too. In this session Craig’n’Dave explore the application of Rosenshine’s principles of sequencing, questioning, review, stages of practice, and how they apply them effectively in their planning for new GCSE and A’level lessons.

10. KS5 – OOP in python – William Marsh