A podcast by Kelly Paredes and Sean Tibor about their adventures teaching middle school computer science, problem solving, handling failure, frustration, and victory through the lens of the Python programming language.
Kelly Paredes has taught all over the world and specializes in curriculum design and development. She currently teaches seventh grade computer science at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her first year using Python.
Sean Tibor has worked in marketing and technical management roles selling toothpaste and toothbrushes, designing chemical inventory and tv media databases, enrolling online nursing students, and running his own digital marketing agency. He's currently teaching Python to sixth and eighth grade students at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the first time.
February 21st, 2019 | 44 mins 45 secs
code challenges, guests, pybites, python
In this episode, Kelly and Sean meet Bob and Julian from PyBit.es to discuss strategies, and how to seek advice and motivation when learning Python.
February 14th, 2019 | 30 mins 33 secs
learning, pedagogy, python
How do you know your students are really learning in Computer Science? In this episode, Sean and Kelly dig into developing the learner-centered classroom and some of the pedagogical philosophy of how to look for learning in your teaching.
February 3rd, 2019 | 37 mins 41 secs
loops, python, turtle
This week, we're discussing how to use a very old programming tool to teach modern concepts. That's right, it's the return of the Turtle tool! Kelly and Sean will explore why this 53-year old concept still works so well to teach fundamental programming concepts.
January 29th, 2019 | 1 hr 1 min
adult learners, college, guests, python
This week, we're joined by Peter Kazarinoff, Professor of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Portland Community College to discuss how adult learners can learn Python, the use of Jupyter notebooks as teaching tools, and some of the common goals of learners of diverse ages, backgrounds, and education levels.
January 21st, 2019 | 37 mins 12 secs
pedagogy, persistence, python, teaching
Persistence is defined as the ability to stick with something. In the educational world, it is often used interchangeably with the phrases: Sticktoitiveness, grit, or perseverance.
In this episode, we will discuss how to develop persistence in programming for all learners. Whether your students already have an innate ability to stick with coding or if you are hoping to instill the “desire” in your students, Sean and Kelly will examine ways that they develop persistence in programming in their classrooms.
January 14th, 2019 | 42 mins 57 secs
microbit, python, teaching
In this week's episode, Kelly and Sean discuss one of the tools that we like to use in class: the BBC micro:bit. Thanks to the instant feedback and physical/tactile nature of the device, this inexpensive little IoT device makes the process of learning Python more intuitive for students. It's also an easy starting point for those teachers who are new to coding.
January 9th, 2019 | 37 mins 1 sec
coding, makecode, python
Kelly and Sean are back in this week's episode to talk about the role of coding challenges for student understanding. Coding challenges are teacher-defined coding problems that students tackle individually or in groups with more than one possible solution. The advantages of these challenges compared to passive learning include deeper retention of skills and knowledge, opportunities for social and emotional education, and increased student confidence through subject mastery.
December 31st, 2018 | 28 mins 55 secs
education, python, resilience
Co-hosts Kelly and Sean discuss their top eight methods for building resilience in students. Whether you call it grit, perseverance, persistence, determination, or something else, it's important to help students get through the hard and often frustrating moments of learning a new language so that they can become self-sufficient.
December 24th, 2018 | 31 mins 13 secs
books, programming, python
In this episode, Sean and Kelly go through their top books for teachers to learn about Python and teach students. With everything from coding your own games in Python, to automating the boring stuff, there's something for every teacher here.
December 17th, 2018 | 34 mins 14 secs
education, flow, metacognition, python
Kelly and Sean discuss the importance of the 'click' when learning Python and identify strategies for encouraging a state of flow in classrooms. What is the click moment? How do you know when flow is achieved?
December 10th, 2018 | 29 mins 54 secs
getting started, mu editor, newbies, python
What does the first week of Python look like for new coders? Where do you start? Is it better to jump right in or give them a softer start? We'll talk about everything from what exercises work best, how to get new Python coders started with an IDE like Mu Editor, and more.
December 5th, 2018 | 30 mins 48 secs
education, getting started, python, tynker
Our very first episode! Kelly and Sean talk about how to get started teaching Python, including how to set up a room for computer science, what books and podcasts were most useful, the joys of Tynker, and how to set your own expectations for how to teach Python for others.