Submitted by Hingham Education Foundation
Hingham, Meet Holly Kelfer (Art teacher, Plymouth River School)
Hingham Education Foundation’s (HEF) 2018-2019 CODEREDinitiative is funding the implementation of Computer Science (CS) immersion in all Hingham Public Schools (HPS). As a first step towards the Hingham Public School Administration’s ambitious goal, HEF has funded the professional development team of innovation fellows. The innovation fellows are comprised of representatives from all of HPS: K-12 teachers, and specialists who will receive in-depth training with research partners such as the Tufts Center for Engineering Education Outreach and MIT App Developer. In turn, these innovation fellows will take their training and creatively develop and integrate computer science and digital literacy lessons throughout the current dynamic K-12 HPS academic core curriculum. To learn more visit www.hinghameducation.org or https://hinghamschools.com/academic-programs/computer-science/.
Describe your experience as a computer science fellow.
“‘I have always been interested in this field since grad school. Having this opportunity to be part of team has been exciting. I have really enjoyed learning new technologies and sharing what I know with my colleagues.”
How has the professional development enriched your teaching?
“The professional development has allowed me to take my lessons to a new level. The result has been increased student interest and deepened thought. This initiative promotes the engineering process and collaboration (between kids and between teachers). I have seen an increase in my students’ focus and on-task behavior. Two wonderful effects have been watching students teaching and supporting students and the resulting boost of self-esteem in art.”
What new skills or tools have you learned?
“So far, I have learned to use stop motion animation, Scratch, Scratch Jr, Beebots, Dash and Dot (with their accompanying Blockly and Go apps), Apps including Assembly, Tayasui sketches, pixton, canva, Tinkercad, OSMO masterpiece, and green screen.”
What does computer science integration “look like” in your classroom?
“‘There can be a lot of computer science opportunities in art. It promotes team building and collaboration. These lessons are loud (in a good way!) with kids working all over the place. There’s a lot of movement in the classroom with students eager to share what they have created.”
Describe a favorite CS lesson that you have tried with your students.
“My favorite CS lesson so far has included our use of stop motion animation with color mixing. I’ve also really enjoyed using Dash to review geometry with my fifth grade students.”
How have students responded to the new computer science lessons?
“My students keep asking ‘Can we do this again next week?’ They ask me to write post-its with the name of the program or technology we used during the period, so they can tell their families about them and continue at home. I have had students go home and send in movies that they’ve created at home. These lessons really build upon STEAM week at PRS.”