The rationale behind our computing curriculum

Designed by a first class honours computing graduate and experienced primary school teacher, the Studyzone.tv computing scheme of work has been well thought out and tested in a number of schools. It in underpinned by five main principles:

1

Children need to be taught explicit skills

 Computing skills build upon prior learning. Explicit skill teaching is required before children can apply their learning. This includes mouse control and touch typing, as well as key coding concepts.

2

Challenges deepen understanding

 Children benefit from completing extended tasks. Each of our coding units of work includes a challenge which will really test and extend children's understanding.

3

Focus on concepts not syntax

 At a primary level, the 'programming language' is less important than the programming concepts. By sticking to one platform and one language, children can develop their knowledge of coding concepts, as well as developing their problem solving skills.

4

Teaching confidence differs

 It is natural for teaching confidence to vary, especially in coding. To support all teachers in delivering outstanding coding lessons, we offer over 50 video tutorial lessons that can either be used prior to a lesson, within it, or by children at home.

5

Children learn at different speeds

 Some children will just 'get it', whereas others will need to revisit key concepts more than once. Our short tutorial videos allow students to learn at their own pace, either by watching again in a lesson, or extending their own understanding at home.

Three main disciplines

Digital Literacy

  • These lessons focus on getting the most out of existing software and hardware. Children are taught how to produce documents for a given audience, as well as how to stay safe when using technology.

Computer Science

  • These lessons allow children to develop their coding skills as they learn to become computer programmers. It also helps them develop resilience and problem solving as they learn to think as coders.

Computing Technology

  • These lessons focus on how computers and computer networks are used and how they enhance people's lives.

Our coding video lessons are broken into four main areas

Concept lesson

  • These videos seek to make programming concepts less abstract by relating them to real life scenarios. These introductions set the tone for each new unit.

Teaching lesson

  • Each unit is broken down into a series of lessons that develop programming skills one step at a time. Each video explains the concept and models how it can be used in the free programming software Scratch.

Programming challenges

  • Each unit builds towards a programming challenge where new concepts must be applied to solve a problem. These fun challenges are designed to be tricky, encouraging students to work in groups, explore ideas and experiment with code.

Debugging challenges

  • A key concept that can be overlooked is that of debugging; fixing problems that exist within code. Every unit includes a debugging lesson, in which specific skills are taught. Links are also provided to buggy programs that need fixing, allowing students to apply their knowledge.

Using it in and out of the classroom

Classroom delivery

  • Use our video lessons and resources to support your teaching. Show videos on a whiteboard then discuss the concepts introduced. Use the video to kickstart your own teaching of a concept, before setting your students going on a task.

Teacher training

  • View our video lessons prior to teaching a lesson to improve your own understanding of new programming concepts, including loops, variables and IF statements. Our videos are far more flexible than training in staff meetings or staff development days, since it allows teachers to develop their understanding when they need it, which far improves knowledge retention.

Self directed learning

  • Students love coding and you'll often find that they're eager to do more at home. By signing up for an account with Studyzone.tv, you can give your students to access to all our video lessons at home, enabling them to revisit concepts they found hard or extend their understanding further.

Coding Curriculum

  • Immediate access to over 100 minutes of videos tutorials
  • Clear skills progression broken up into 10 units
  • Printable worksheets and resources
  • Give students access at home

Small School

  • Up to 200 student accounts
  • Perfect for a 1 form entry school

Medium School

  • Up to 400 student accounts
  • Perfect for a 2 form entry school

Large School

  • Over 400 student accounts
  • Perfect for larger schools
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