Many STEM fields include computer programming and interaction with devices. They also include the need for emotional intelligence and collaboration with humans. Technology will continue to play a more significant role in the global economy. Our ability to communicate and interact with machines will be at the forefront. Just as we recognize the importance of collaboration and compassion, we must also teach our students how to communicate with devices through the language of coding.
We need to build a culture where today’s graduates leave our high schools prepared for the challenges of the real world. We must ensure that we provide opportunities for our students to become learners, thinkers, advocates, and collaborators. Can students direct their learning, persevere, and take risks to find happiness and achievement? Can students think critically and problem-solve? Do our students embrace diversity and show empathy and respect for others? Are our students able to achieve short-term and long-term success? Can our students communicate effectively and resolve conflicts with their colleagues…and with their robotic counterparts?
Coding for Academic Success
“Good morning, Alexa. What will the weather be like today?” That may be a typical first question of the morning for many of us. Next up is grabbing the cell phone to start the coffee brewing. As one sips the warm coffee, they may be programming their washing machine to start a load of laundry at 3:00 p.m. so that it is ready for the dryer after the workday. With another cup of coffee, they may realize that the coffee creamer is down to the last drop. No worries—just scan and add it to the refrigerator-generated list. Then use voice activation on the vehicle’s daily companion autopilot to begin your journey to the office. You feel safe as you depart your home for the day because your home security doorbell provides a consistent extra set of eyes.
Whether you live this way or just utilize your smart TV for Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu, you can relate. Others may just be too busy being guided by their Apple watch and reminders to move. Either way, no one can deny that science, technology, engineering, and math will continue to change the way we live, how we think, and the jobs of the future.
Considering the Future
Where will the future take us? What will be the jobs of tomorrow? According to Code.org, 71 percent of all new jobs in STEM are in computing. Only 8 percent of STEM graduates are in computer science. We also know that our school systems continue to struggle to fill math and science teacher openings. We must be creative in our strategies to ensure and insist that STEM plays a part in our students’ learning. STEM curriculum can no longer begin in our high schools. It must start with our youngest learners in kindergarten as we build a culture for the future.
The process of authentic creation allows all students to make things that matter to them and in the medium that interests them most. These personally relevant projects are laying the foundation of computer science and personalized learning. As students progress, they will become versed on the internet. They learn to navigate digital information and learn how to program and build applications. All of this will be done with data privacy, security, and safety in mind.
Redefining Career Paths
Educators and community leaders are wrestling with redefining the jobs of tomorrow. As former manufacturing factories sit vacant and become targets for crime and undesirable activities, our business leaders also search for answers. By embracing science, technology, engineering, and math, we can create the STEM Century together. That is how we will redefine our communities and create the jobs of tomorrow. To bring these changes to fruition, we must start by making the necessary educational changes that our students have requested. This must occur both in our schools and with our virtual partners.
Creating a Culture of Innovation
In the Meriden Public Schools, we have been recognized for our digital transformation and culture of innovation. STEM education has always been a focus area. However, we now realize that our work must start with our youngest learners to lay the groundwork for this cultural change. That is why we have partnered with Sacred Heart University and Code.org through Project {FUTURE} to bring computer science to our elementary schools. Through a U.S. Department of Education Innovation and Research Grant, we launched a comprehensive coding program for all our elementary students starting in kindergarten. We are well on our way with a high-quality Code.org curriculum in place and instructional coaching for all of our teachers.
The Value of Coding
Coding teaches the skills of problem-solving, persistence, creativity, collaboration, and communication. These are the skills our students need for academic success in reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and life. Coding is not another activity jammed into a busy schedule. It allows students to develop necessary skills and dispositions through computer science. According to @teachcode, students will learn to “value and expect mistakes as a natural and productive part of problem-solving, experiment with new ideas and consider multiple possible approaches and mediate disagreements and help teammates agree on a common solution.”
Additional STEM and coding experiences are offered through the Meriden Public Schools’ partnership with The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts Digital Learning and Community initiatives. Through a grant with MusiQuest, The Bushnell has provided our students an opportunity to enter the world of music. They can embark on a creative new way to learn coding through music. The focus of MusiQuest is to allow students to create their own music by building a song from scratch. The lessons are interactive, hands-on, and fun for students. They can play with over seventy-five instruments as they create their own musical piece. MusiQuest’s curriculum integrates music fundamentals with math, science, nature, literacy, social-emotional learning, and more.
Getting Creative with Opportunities
As we work to ensure that all of our students graduate from high school with a college and career plan in place, we know that data entry positions have been great career starters for our students. With coding universally incorporated in our younger grades, it was time to focus on providing creative opportunities for our high school students. We looked no further than our terrific business and community partner, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.
As part of The Bushnell Digital Learning Workforce Development Program, The Bushnell hosts an eight-week summer internship on digital design and production. Aspiring high school students who wanted to learn more about coding, art, and writing were encouraged to apply to The Bushnell program. Students in the program create their own video games. The intensive lessons include Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop), Illustration Writing in HTML (using the Construct Game Three engine), and Collaboration Across the Web (writing narrative documents and preparing budgeting and marketing plans).
Coding must be embedded into all content areas to create a culture that prepares students for today and tomorrow. It should be part of what we do, not just another add-on.
Ten Thousand Lines of Code in One Night
It was a chilly, windy, and drab early December evening when I headed to one of our elementary schools for our district’s Hour of Code Event. It was a long day at the office. I thought I would briefly appear at an event with limited attendance, energy, and excitement. I knew we had promoted the event with flashy posters and personalized messages to families.
When I arrived at the school, I was shocked to see so many cars. I struggled to find a parking space. What else was going on at the school? Youth basketball? The community choir? A neighborhood association meeting?
I found a parking space between two large SUVs. Then, I entered the school with limited expectations and plans for a quick stop and a brief stay. Thank you. What I saw amazed me! The gym was filled with student-made racetracks, Ozobot Bits, and Ozobot Evos circling the large student-developed racetracks. Parents and family members cheered on like they were at the Daytona 500. Our students’ excitement, engagement, and energy picked me up after a tough, long day. Then, I visited the Media Center to see the next Hour of Code Station. There, I saw parents and younger students working together to program the Code & Go Robot Mouse.
At the Media Center
I saw one student holding the mouse and scanning the Media Center. I knew it was now my turn to have a little fun. So, I approached the student, who gave me thorough programming directions. The student watched as I tapped the forward arrow five times before pushing the right arrow three times. I anxiously waited for my mouse to move. Maybe it needed new batteries? As it sat idle, the student came over and gently touched the middle green button for me. Just like that, my mouse began the journey I had programmed for it.
At another station, students selected one of Code.org’s tutorials. They used block coding to code their own Dance Party and design Flappy Code games. They also programmed characters, such as Frozen’s Elsa and Anna or Star Wars’ Leia and Rey, to complete a series of tasks. By the end of the evening, our students had written over ten thousand lines of code. Students and parents were also introduced to the wonder of virtual reality as they explored undersea adventures and ancient wonders of the world through VR headsets. As students coasted through their activity stations, teachers signed off on their Hour of Code Passports.
After sharing some laughs and enjoying some hands-on activities, I moved on to the cafeteria. I saw that BotleyⓇ was a big hit there! Botley was a larger robot that could push and move things. What indeed moved me from that night was my thinking about how the coding of robots could play a role in our district’s STEM efforts. In turn, this could promote a culture of learning.
Jump-Starting Transformation
In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont recently announced a collaboration between the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy, and Amazon WebServices to train more than two thousand residents for careers in cloud computing. All Connecticut state and community colleges will offer courses and certificates that align with the skills needed for employment in high-demand technical careers. In addition, colleges will work with interested high schools to ensure these students have access to cloud computing curricula and resources. Governor Lamont stated, “We know that a workforce rich in tech talent is one of the keys to Connecticut’s future economic success.”
Our graduates will need to embrace imagination, innovation, and technology integration at an early age to be ready to compete successfully in the STEM Century. We must raise 21st-century graduates who design organizations that imagine what is possible, support innovation, and inspire employees. Together, we can jump-start transformation by ensuring that all of our students learn the universal language of coding. Only then will society truly recognize and maximize the benefits of what technology can do to support learning and work.
About the Author
MARK D. BENIGNI, ED.D.
Dr. Mark Benigni has been an educator for over twenty-five years. He is in his twelfth year as superintendent of the Meriden Public Schools. Dr. Benigni served as a teacher, principal, and four-term mayor, and has authored over thirty-five articles in educational journals. Rowman and Little Field Education (2011) published his book, Mentoring Matters. Since Dr. Benigni’s arrival in 2010, the Meriden Public Schools has increased student academic achievement and growth and created schools where students and staff want to be.
Dr. Benigni has presented at national venues and taught doctorate classes. He currently serves as president of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents after spending many years as co-chair of the Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents.
Dr. Benigni was recognized with AASA’s 2020 Digital Superintendent of the Year Award, a 2015 Education Week Leader To Learn From Designation, a Social Justice Award from the CT Coalition to End Homelessness, the William A. Yandow Educator Award from the Bushnell, and he was a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. Under Dr. Benigni’s leadership, the Meriden Public Schools has received awards from ISTE, CoSN, The Learning Counsel, NSBA, Digital Promise, District Administration, Edutopia, HundrED, Google, and the International Center for Leadership in Education.
Dr. Benigni grew up in Meriden, and his children Bria and Blake attend the Meriden Public Schools. He welcomes the rich diversity of an urban community and is committed to providing exceptional learning opportunities for all students in the Meriden Public Schools.
