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Debugging and questions

Your session has begun and the club members are working through their projects. So far, so good.

The next thing that is likely to happen is that some hands will go up. Below, Lorna Gibson, Programme Manager for Code Club, gives some advice on what to do when you look across a room and see a forest of hands.

The first time I ever ran a workshop for children, a friend of mine who was a very experienced teacher gave me a piece of advice that I have never forgotten: “Don’t be a waiter.”

What she meant was: try not to spend the whole session moving from raised hand to raised hand answering questions. You’ll be tired, and the children will be frustrated because they will have spent big chunks of the session with their hands up.

The trick is to give children the power and confidence to try and answer their own questions. This can take a little getting used to if you are new to running activities, so here are a few things that you can try out in your sessions.

Sit together, learn together

Try grouping the children together if they are working on the same project or programming language. It will help them to start collaborating naturally and helping each other out.

Introduce a ‘hands up’ rule

Or rather, a 'three things before you put your hands up' rule! Encourage the club members to:

  • Check they have completed all the previous steps in the project they are stuck on
  • Check the code in the project notes to see how theirs compares
  • Work with a partner or friend to try and find the answer

Some educators call this rule C3B4me, or See Three Before Me, to help learners remember that they should try three ways of finding the answer to a question before they put up their hand to ask.

Stop and explain

Sometimes you’ll find that a lot of the children get stuck on the same thing. In this case, you might want to try stopping everyone to explain the answer to the entire group. Alternatively, why not get one of the children who has already figured it out to explain to their peers?

Think about agreeing on an approach for getting everyone’s attention. This could be a whistle (or electronic device!), a clap, or raising a hand. Set the rule that the club members should turn off any sound effects on their computer at these times and listen quietly, so that they’ll be able to get back to coding quickly. Tracy Gardner, Code Club leader, Oliver's Battery Primary School, Winchester

Question the question

Of course, if the children still need to ask you for help, that’s fine. But instead of telling them the answer straight away, why not answer their question with a question?

For example, if the question is "Can I add this block here to make the code repeat", you might answer "Why don't you try and add it and see whether it works".

More often than not, you can guide the child to the solution to their problem without giving them the answer directly — it’s much more satisfying for everyone that way!

Don’t feel overwhelmed or like you have to implement all of these suggestions. But incorporating a few of these techniques, or elements of them, will make your life as a facilitator easier and your sessions more relaxed and fun.

Discussion

  • What ideas do you have about helping children to answer their own questions and to learn independently?
  • If you're an experienced teacher, what techniques will you use in your own club?
  • If you're less experienced in teaching, what would you like to try?

Click Comments to start sharing your ideas.