<\/p>\n

Jeff Branson<\/span><\/i><\/a> recently joined The Possible Zone (TPZ) as Senior Director for STEAM Education and Partnerships. As part of our move towards giving TPZ students a more comprehensive exposure to emerging technology, we are developing intensive programs involving code, hardware, and digital services.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Jeff met with <\/span><\/i>Sabrina Tirachen<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Educator\/Advisor II, who had some project ideas and computer science (CS) experience prior and discussed the tools available for introducing CS in our setting. Jeff shared his love of the <\/span><\/i>Processing language<\/span><\/i><\/a> and after reviewing materials and some basic tutorials, Sabrina took to Processing right away. The two are working to build a fledgling program to deliver in the summer of 2024 to give TPZ students a hands-on exploration into computational thinking (more information to come).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

During this\u2013Computer Science Education Week\u2013Jeff and Sabrina are leading some \u201cpop-up\u201d programming at TPZ. They also took time for a brief interview, during which Jeff asked Sabrina questions about her thoughts on Processing, including what it\u2019s like from an educator’s perspective to move into a new language and sort out what the teaching progression and learning targets are.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Jeff:<\/strong> Hi Sabrina, can you describe your role at TPZ?\u00a0 How long have you been here?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina: <\/strong>Hi Jeff! Thanks for having me. I joined the TPZ community in mid-June as an Educator\/Advisor II. On a typical day, I prepare for classes with co-teachers \/ STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) team folks, teach school-day and after-school classes, and tinker with projects that I\u2019m prototyping to use in the classroom. I enjoy moments where I\u2019m able to be creative within lessons and provide feedback to other teachers about how I approach teaching a concept \/ addressing a learning gap (whether it\u2019s related to content, like 3D Printing, or social-emotional learning, like learning to fail forward). My favorite part of this role is that I have been challenged to learn and expand upon previous skills; while I love teaching, I\u2019m also a lifelong learner and I\u2019m a sponge for all of the knowledge that lives within our building at 31 Heath Street.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff:<\/b> What\u2019s your background in computing and computer science?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina:<\/b> Growing up, my mom was a geek who loved Tetris; the apple didn\u2019t fall far from the tree. My sisters and I lit up while we played Mario Party on the couch, as a family. We always<\/i><\/b> had a computer\u2013though it was never the shiniest \/ newest one, it gave me exposure to computers and how I could use them in my life. I have such nostalgia for coming home from school\u2013my desk was a mess of CD-ROMs, rainbow floppy discs, and doodles on scratch paper. The first programming language I learned was CSS so that I could customize forum posts! At the time, I didn\u2019t realize that\u2019s what I was learning\u2013I simply wanted my profile and posts on a gamer forum to be color-coded. It\u2019s not surprising that I became a teacher!<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, I\u2019ve always always been a creative person, but my background in creative computing started back in 2020. It\u2019s a long story. During the pandemic, I taught Second Grade and I realized that many more experienced teachers were struggling with the transition to teaching online; on a whim, I posted to a Facebook group and asked if there were any teachers interested in signing up for webinars. 4,000 likes later, I realized that my knowledge could really help teachers and students across the country during an unprecedented time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That summer, I taught 20+ webinars and hundreds of teachers across North America. I knew it was time for a change so I pivoted from classroom teaching to working as Director of Online Learning at a school in Watertown wherein I created and facilitated their full-time online programming; I also developed and led professional development workshops for teachers so they could navigate COVID quarantines and keep their classes on track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After that year, I was excited to tackle another<\/b> challenge that the school faced\u2013building out their engineering program to span K-8. I rebranded and led the expansion of curriculum to encompass Creative Computing and to reflect best practices for all learners. This made me realize how education was evolving to suit the digital age; I taught using KIBO robots that students could use\u2013 even if they could not read yet. It fascinated me and I embarked down the rabbit hole to learn as much as I could about teaching Computational thinking. I saw huge potential and growth in this aspect of learning \/ teaching pedagogy and became eager to learn as much as I could about teaching computing to students across all developmental levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

I felt motivated to help teach students this new way of thinking so that throughout their educational path, they can build fundamental thinking skills to carry them into STEM professions (if they so desire). At TPZ, I\u2019m excited to share these lessons with students and to engage them in computer science\u2013whether through Scratch, Processing, Graphic Design, Robotics, or something different! CSEd Week is just the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff: <\/b>Can you talk about your first impressions of Processing?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina:<\/b> Truthfully, I didn\u2019t know what to expect. You gave me a lot of homework! I started with The Coding Train. As a learner, I loved how quickly I saw my code translate into art. The barrier to entry felt small. The platform was built intentionally for learners and I loved how intuitive it felt. As someone who is self-taught with computer science and coding, I always favor platforms that simplify learning rather than complicate it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff:<\/b> What stood out to you from an educational perspective about Processing?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina:<\/b> I was watching Daniel Schffman\u2019s content from two perspectives\u2013both as a learner and also, as a teacher. I noted analogies \/ activities \/ etc. and the order that he introduced concepts. I started to think about our students at TPZ and what it would look like to share Processing with them. My mind went into brainstorming about how we could utilize visuals, word walls, activities etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge here is\u2013how do we support our students (likely with limited to no pre-existing knowledge of computing) in learning to code and understanding computers? How do we engage them with the multitude of things that computers can do without overwhelming them? How can we build low-commitment and deep dive opportunities for them to truly pick up on skills and concepts in our programming? Also, how do we engage the greater Boston community surrounding our Innovation Center in computer science and demystify concepts that are often not explained?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of my job is collaborating on solving these challenges and embarking on a journey to find answers to those questions. That said, I believe that Processing is going to be a great way to engage our students in learning about computer science\/coding and using computers to express themselves creatively. I love how there are a lot of resources to support the learning within Processing and the creative computing community!<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff:<\/b> What do you see as some of the challenges?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sabrina:<\/b> We have a variety of math learners. Some students are budding mathematicians who love solving problems while others have developed a fixed mindset with math (AKA shut down, stomp their feet, and avoid it at all costs). A big to-do list item is to take inventory of the essential math concepts that students will need to know to learn Processing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, my job becomes distilling these concepts into simple, fun explanations so my students can use the math to use processing. I do not want our students to shy away from learning coding because they think it will become \u201clike math class.\u201d I want to be mindful of their fixed mindsets and help them to overcome past experiences and current challenges by learning to fail forward; perhaps creative computing will be the avenue that changes their fixed mindsets into growth mindsets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe that TPZ is on the cusp of a Computer Science \/ Coding boom and I\u2019m excited to ride the wave alongside folks like you, Janet, David, and the rest of the STEAM team!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Branson recently joined The Possible Zone (TPZ) as Senior Director for STEAM Education and Partnerships. As part of our move towards giving TPZ students a more comprehensive exposure to emerging technology, we are developing intensive programs involving code, hardware,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7729,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n