Intent
The Computer Studies curriculum at Carr Hill is designed to enable pupils to become confident and efficient users of technology.
They will gain:
- a large body of knowledge about computers and computing
- experience across a large range of platforms and software
- a wider cultural knowledge to help them use technology safely and responsibly
With this, and through this, pupils should learn about computational thinking – a mode of thinking that breaks down problems into composite parts, in order that they can be solved.
How the Computer Studies curriculum contributes to the school’s curriculum intent
The design of our curriculum recognises the crucial role that vocabulary plays in this discipline. As such, vocabulary is explicitly taught, practised and revisited. The curriculum is knowledge-rich, and retrieval practice of this key knowledge is a daily part of the lesson routine.
These two pillars (vocabulary and knowledge) allow pupils to express themselves accurately, which is a key part of “thinking like a Computer Scientist”.
We aim to live out Carr Hill’s Curriculum Intent in the following ways:
Engage our Young people in learning
To support this intent, our curriculum is entirely paperless, so that pupils are immersed in the use of computers from minute one to minute sixty of every lesson. A huge range of knowledge, skills and computer programs are covered. Pupils will make posters, write blogs, create data visualisations, build phone apps, program micro:bit computers, create vector graphics, code in Scratch and Python, create 3d animations, build webpages in HTML code and much more. All programs used are free, so pupils can download them at home, and develop their learning outside of the classroom.
Challenge all our students to be knowledge and vocabulary rich
Low-stakes “Retrieval Practice” starts and ends every lesson, and features throughout. Our approach allows all pupils to experience success, and overcome the barrier that complex vocabulary can create.
Build opportunities for our students to develop a strong sense of character
Our curriculum is designed to challenge. Pupils are taught that “being stuck” is a crucial thing to experience, and should not be feared. In fact, it is a requirement in developing the problem-solving skills that are so important in creating on the computer. Having said this, pupils are never left without help. All are work is contained in a Microsoft Teams “Notebook”, which exists as a reference from lesson to lesson.
Nurture a culture of aspiration
Every lesson provides an opportunity to achieve, and a huge range of disciplines are brought together in this subject. This means that all pupils can find a niche in which they truly thrive. Computer Studies encompasses skills as varied as: counting in binary, designing graphics, editing audio, designing apps, writing computer code, creating microblogs, developing prototypes, and writing data-driven recommendations. As all of these are encountered, the links to possible careers are made clear. Through three (or five) years of study in this subject at Carr Hill, pupils will come to understand that almost any ambition, or path through life, is enhanced by an understanding of the capabilities of modern computers.
Reading in Computer Studies
Reading features heavily in the delivery of new material in this subject. We believe that this helps develop fluency in the use of key vocabulary. Pupils are expected to read aloud, and to track the text when others are reading. The nature of the subject means that words and numbers need to be read with fluency, and this is best done with practice. This all happens in a spirit of warm encouragement. We all stumble – and that’s okay. Pupils also need to learn how to decode units for the purposes of reading aloud. For example, “MB” should be rendered aloud as “Mega Bytes”.
The whole lesson experience is centred around an electronic “Work Book”. This is then available at home, at school, or wherever a pupil is able to log in to Teams. It means that pupils can read up on the content of previous lessons, and not be held back by gaps in knowledge.
Learning beyond the classroom
Our curriculum is designed to inspire. For this reason, we make sure that every app or program we use is freely available. This allows those with computers at home to download the programs we use, and master them in their free time. A list of links is found below:
- Scratch – block-based coding
- Makecode – for building code and loading it onto the micro:bit computer
- Inkscape – for producing vector graphics
- App Lab – for making apps
- Thonny – for writing and running code
- Blender – for 3d animation
- GIMP – for image editing
- Audacity – for audio editing
Further to this, the department runs “Coding Club” on Fridays, and an “open door” policy on other days. In doing so, we hope to give all pupils (those with computers at home and those who don’t) the chance to pursue their enthusiasm beyond the lesson.
