NOVA SCOTIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
AND
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
CODING STRATEGY
November, 2015
CODING P-12
RAISING THE NEXT GENERATION
Last year, over 19,000 Nova Scotian’s told us that when students graduate, many of them are not ready for the
“real world”. They do not have strong enough math and literacy skills, and we want to build strong critical
thinking and problem solving skills for all students.
Nova Scotia responded to concerns and released the Action Plan for Education in January 2015. A
commitment was made to Nova Scotians that our students will have the very best learning opportunities that a
modern education system can provide. Work is already underway to increase our math and literacy skills at all
grades and will continue for the next five years. Part of any modern education system is the opportunity for
students to learn about coding. And, the roots of coding can be found in mathematics. In our Action Plan we
committed to provide all student with an introduction to the basics of coding, technology and design. This the
plan that actions that commitment.
THE ACTION PLAN ON EDUCATION
In the Action Plan for Education, a commitment was made to Nova Scotians that our students will have the
very best learning opportunities that a modern education system can provide. In the plan we commit to:
• offering online learning opportunities to middle school students to prepare them for online courses in
high school
• providing students with hands-on learning activities for developing their technology skills
• providing more hands-on learning activities for students in grades 4 to 8 through computer
programming
• providing all student with an introduction to the basics of coding, technology and design
• providing students with varied learning opportunities with school technology, including the use of digital
learning resources, and completion of online courses offered by the Nova Scotia Virtual School.
• providing more time for teaching both mathematics and literacy in the early years
• extending grade 11 Academic Mathematics to a full year
• requiring students to complete three high school mathematics courses as a graduation requirement in
2020
We have already started implementing the plan and have provided more time in the 2015/16 school year
for Primary to Grade 3 students to spend on math and literacy.
WHY A FOCUS ON CODING
Coding, is recognized around the world as an essential part of the curriculum.1 2
The talent gap in Nova Scotia needs to be closed. Providing our students with the fundamentals of coding and
bridging the gap between coding, logic and math is a priority for the prosperity of the province.
What is coding? Coding requires problem solving and creative thinking, and makes it possible for us to create
computer software, apps, web browsers, online tools, programs and websites. This type of technology is
1
http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/ComputingCurric.pdf
2
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
fundamental in our daily lives and is all around us in our appliances, phones, vehicles and is critical in our
growth industries in Nova Scotia.
Learning to code will empower our students to do many things that they would not otherwise be able to do.
Students will gain a greater understanding of technology and become active participants in a technology rich
world. Computer coding is now an essential skill which promotes problem solving, creativity, teamwork,
perseverance, resilience, risk taking, critical thinking, innovation, and technological fluency. This in no way
means a drastic increase in screen time for young students, but an increase in foundational learning
opportunities that focus on creativity and logic through developmentally appropriate learning.
‘As long as computers and the Internet continue to have a central role in our personal and professional
lives, students who have not acquired basic skills in reading, writing and navigating through a digital
landscape will find themselves unable to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life around
them.3
Learning to code will open the doors of future opportunity, no matter the path that interests our youth beyond
grade 12.
CODING IN NOVA SCOTIA SCHOOLS
Through our unique approach to coding, students will advance through the grades and progress from using
computers for learning, to learning about computers, to learning to compute. Students solve problems, design
products, develop their creativity, and make connections among the many different subjects taught in schools
today. Our students can no longer simply be consumers of technology, but need the opportunity to become
creators of it too. Through coding, students can gain the technology skills they need for a wide range of
careers. Coding is now used in all industries including: banking, entertainment, ship building, government,
marine and more. Coding and career-readiness go hand in hand, and the Action Plan for Education is
dedicated to improving the career-readiness of our students. Supports will be prepared to assist parents with
this new learning for students.
LEADING THE WAY WITH HOME-GROWN AND GLOBAL ICT EXPERTS
As advances are made and as we progress through our implementation timeline we will partner with others to
keep current and to keep our pulse on future trends. Experts in the field including developers, programmers,
and members of the start-up community will be tapped to assist us with advice and to provide mentoring for
teachers and students.
We are already working with Google on implementing Google Apps for Education, and are working on plans
with IBM. In addition, we will consult with local technology specialists to refine and advance our coding action
for Nova Scotia. Expert advice will assist us to build on our current Information Communication Technology
(ICT) Curriculum and to advance the concepts that students learn in math to further develop our outlined plan
so that we can provide our students with the best educational opportunities to learn about coding and computer
programming.
3
OECD (2015), “Executive Summary”, in Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris.
FOR ALL STUDENTS
This action from our Plan will target all students, in all grades across the province. It will start in Grade Primary
with the basics of safely using a computer. In grades 4-6, students will learn what coding is and apply their
new knowledge. In high school, students can work toward a recognized certificate in coding. The
#NSGlobalReady Certificate Program will be the only one if its kind in Canada. It focuses on making sure
students have the skills in they need from coding and ICT, to citizenship, entrepreneurship, and global
studies.
We will continue to build on what is already working:
Through Brilliant Labs, we are providing Maker Spaces in every school board and through these spaces
opportunities for coding and robotics and developing an entrepreneurial mindset.
We are advancing opportunities for hands on learning through:
• sponsorship of Acadia Robotics and Junior Achievement
• the introduction of a STEAM Olympics for grades 4-8 in November 2015
• our ongoing support of the Science and Heritage Fairs
• support for the Big Data Congress and the Super Power Challenge in October 2015
• promoting participation in the Hour of Code
Last year, we invited Nova Scotia students to participate in a one hour on line activity in December. The Hour
of Code is a worldwide event and we had a very successful ‘Hour of Code’, with over 60,000 Nova Scotia
students registered in this coding event. From this, we created an award winning video that showcases this
successful coding opportunity that our students experienced simultaneously with millions of others worldwide.
See the video at https://hourofcode.com/ca/promote/country-resources but know this is only the tip of the
iceberg. We are building on this success by expanding coding and the opportunities learning to code affords
to all students and our province.
BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING P-3
At Grades Primary to 3, students will be introduced to basic computer skills as part of their integrated subjects.
As per the Action Plan, this has already started and is not new but will be foundational for P-3 students.
Computer skills introduced in P-3 include:
- Establishing safe and healthy routines for responsible use of ICT
- Use grade-appropriate digital tools to explore ideas and create original work while collaborating with others
- Locate specific information and images
- Create and analyze electronic data representations for predicting patterns and relationships
As of September 2015, ICT outcomes have been streamlined and embedded within the curriculum.
Competencies have been included with outcomes to promote: Citizenship (CZ), Personal-Career Development
(PCD), Communication (COM), Creativity and Innovation (CI), Critical Thinking (CT), Technological Fluency
(TF).
Students will continue to be engaged in plugged (using technology) or unplugged (using just brain power)
learning activities primarily through math and ICT that promote:
• basic logic
• patterning
• sorting
• sequencing
• problem solving
• digital citizenship
• internet safety
• creativity and productivity.
Coding at this level involves the understanding that clear ideas and solutions require clear plans, or sets of
instructions (algorithms), and that doing one step after another is important to arrive at the intended result. For
example, the steps to make a sandwich (or a simple recipe) involves following a set of instructions that can be
represented in a story-board. The importance of sequencing and logic is not only important in daily life but also
in math and coding.
LEVEL UP TO INNOVATIVE LEARNING 4-6
At Grades 4-6, students can Level up to Innovative Learning by earning coding/computing digital badges.
Competency Aligned Digital Badge Program- Every student in Nova Scotia will have the opportunity to earn
virtual badges in ICT, coding, computer programming. Specific criteria will be developed and students who
earn a certain number of badges, by the end of Grade 6, will receive a certificate of recognition from the
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.
These badges are related to specific activities and games that communicate what a student knows and can do.
The criteria for attaining badges is embedded digitally. Through the badge program, students will have the
opportunity to learn introductory coding languages such as MIT’s Scratch. This will be introduced beginning in
2016 with the renewed 4-6 curriculum.
Badges that we are currently considering include:
• Algorithmic Adventurer
• Problem Solver
• Storyteller
• Skillful Searcher
• Data Driven Detective
• Digital Citizenship
• Logical Thinker
• Programmer Badge
• Computing Connections (using computing skills from the technology outcomes on projects for Fairs and
special events)
• Earning badges for participation in approved out of class activities e.g. computing camps and clubs
EXPLORE AND DESIGN TO LEARN 7-8
In Grades 7 and 8, coding will support exploration, innovation, and design.
Grades 7 and 8 students will:
• be required, as part of the curriculum to participate in online activities, such as game and app
development. These activities will move the students’ skills from being consumers of computers, to be
creators of computer programming, development, etc. Coding will compliment current curricular areas
and will modernize the student learning experience.
• participate in mentoring opportunities that will be provided in person and/or online to connect students
with individuals working in the field and to provide career information
• be encouraged to explore and design their own self-directed projects within maker spacers or in other
ways in and outside of the school day. Opportunities will be provided to share and engage in online
forums.
• be encouraged to apply their technology skills to projects, science fairs and the like
• participate in the Hour of Code Dec 7-11th beginning this school year. While we encourage everyone
in the school system to take part in this world-wide event, it is required that all grade 7 and 8 students
have the opportunity in December 2015. This is a minimum one hour commitment during that week.
EECD will develop an online technology showcase. The showcase will be an opportunity for the students to
have their products (games/apps/animation) reviewed and vetted by Nova Scotia industry experts and shared
with others around the world through the EECD app domain and other online tools. This will ensure an
authentic audience for the work and give students access to new learning tools that may assist them and will
promote their skill development.
EXPERIENCING AND PREPARING FOR LIFELONG LEARNING 9-12
NS Global Ready Certificate Program- students in grades 9 to 12 will have an opportunity to work toward
completion of an #NSGlobalReady Certificate Program as an important credential for their future studies and
career choices. When they graduate, they graduate with the NS high school diploma and a Certificate in
Coding and Global Readiness.
EECD will work with industry and post-secondary to get the Certificate Program recognized.
To earn the certificate, students will be required to:
1) Successfully complete a prescribed set of courses as outlined in the PSP. These will include a new
course in Exploring Technology 9, a revised Mathematics 11 full year course that includes big data and
data analytics and Computer Programming 12.
2) Participate in both school based and non-school based activities related to coding that will introduce
students to different mentors, opportunities, and ways to working with and acquiring ICT outcomes at
this level.
3) As part of the prescribed courses, students will complete a self-directed work project. Students will be
exposed to some basic coding languages that will vary depending on interest and purpose of activities
and projects.
Students may as part of the certificate:
4) Experience an exchange program to learn more about other cultures first hand.
5) Engage in CoOp courses to experience coding in industry.
6) Provide evidence of extraordinary achievements in this area of study.
Starting in February 2016, computer programming 12 will be available to all high schools through the Nova
Scotia Virtual School. This will be one of the courses required for achieving the coding certificate.
TEACHING
While this subject matter may be unfamiliar to many teachers, most aspects of this work will be online and
teachers will be facilitators in the learning process. Teachers will initially be expected to provide their students
with opportunities from the array of online choices that will be prepared to support teaching and learning. Self-
directed learning opportunities such as tapping into existing organizations who support education free of
charge may provide project materials and a volunteering framework to support teachers in extending their
learning and in the running of coding and robotics clubs.
Teachers experienced last year that they do not need to be experts in this field to provide their students with
opportunities in coding. They need to be facilitators of learning. From that exposure, the interest of teachers
will continue to grow in this area. We will consult teachers to see what types of training they want to become
more knowledgeable about coding and we will work with teachers to develop the training. Further, we will work
to provide opportunities with universities to ensure that clear pathways are available for teacher certification
upgrading, with possibilities of online course offerings and certificate programs if teachers identify this as a
need.
At the high school level the Nova Scotia Virtual School will play an important role in making sure that equitable
access to coding certificate courses is available to all students. This further will ensure that a teacher at the
high school level is an individual who has expertise in the areas as required and will be made available to the
whole province.
As part of our Action Plan we are committed to work with Bachelor of Education programs in Nova Scotia and
this is an area that will be included for teacher certification.
LET’S GET CODING
Now, our focus needs to be on improving critical thinking and problem solving skills of our students, across all
grade levels. We will do this by implementing an action from the Action Plan for Education that calls for coding
to be introduced P-12.
The goal of this Coding Action is to raise and educate a generation of students who are ready to live and lead
in Nova Scotia. That is why we are focusing on mathematics, literacy and coding for all students. It is time to
get coding!
APPENDIX
A) Open Badges – sample badges for grades 4-6
B) The Anatomy of an Open Badge for grades 4-6- criteria and format of open badge standards
C) Implementation Timeline
D) Visual Overview of the Coding Plan
Appendix A
Appendix B
http://i0.wp.com/dougbelshaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/badge-anatomy.pn
Appendix C
Coding
For All Nova Scotia Students
