Sometimes it’s all about witnessing the “aha” moments.
Today in Makerspace class we were working on Code.org. I have several students that have learned the skills quickly and are working at levels far beyond their classmates.
One young woman spent today coding a Star Wars game, but she couldn’t quite get the code correct to get it to add up the score correctly while it was playing. She struggled with how to solve that step. We talked through possible solutions (I try to get the kids to figure it out, with guidance, rather than showing them the solution).
After restarting at least twice with no success, she decided to look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes instead, At this point, the young man sitting next to her (who was well below the level she was at), looked at her screen and said, “it looks like you need to do this...” Together they talked through his solution and within two minutes her game worked perfectly!
The “aha” moment for her? Sometimes you just need another person to help you see the process clearly...or from a different perspective. Teamwork makes the dream work and all that.
I LOVED watching the smiles and high 5s all around, and seeing the pride in their sense of accomplishment.
(FYI, this picture isn’t her game, but of her blowing through the first tutorial that I make all the students start with before they can choose their next level. She’s also made a Frozen game for her little sister to play).
