Scratch, according to their website is a free programming language where participants may create their own interactive stories, games and animation. And then share with the larger community; this gives a chance for the project to be critiqued and tested, so future adjustments can be made.
The student creates code in a series of directions or steps to run a program. It can give a mundane lesson, that extra spark of interest since it was personally made by the learner (Ashenfelter, 2017). The student is put into a situation where they are given a sense of control and responsibility for their own learning. This is a constructionist approach to learning, encourages the learner to actively engage (Hughes, 2016).
Coding can be set at the pace to the individual learners; it offers a chance so they are able to develop their own strategy to complete the same task. A teacher can take full advantage by allowing students to differentiate their approach to learning in a lesson by catering for students with a basic understanding to advance (Isiaq & Jamil, 2017).
For example, a lesson could be created from Stage 4 Science “Chemical World” where the question is posed to determine whether a thing can be classified as an element or compound and whether it is a pure substance or a mixture (Stage4 CW c. e. and f). Students may choose to create a character that explores the features of elements and compounds, another angle would be to identify the features of an unknown substance and through a series of questions arrive at an answer which would reveal the substances classification. The possibility to create is only restricted by the student’s imagination.
References
Ashenfelter, E. (2017). From the Classroom A Guide to teaching Coding Using Google’s CS First. Gifted Child Today, 40(4).
Hughes, J M. (2016). Digital Making with “At-Risk” Youth. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 34 (2)
Isiaq, S O. & Jamil, M G. (2017). Enhancing student engagement through simulation in programming sessions. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 35 (2) 105-117.
Board of Studies NSW Syllabus Outcomes and Content Mapping Grids Stage 4 (2012)
4TL 
Hi Jorgen,
Thanks for pointing out how Scratch can differentiate the learning. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all technological resources could that…. allowing students to take charge of their own learning!!
Scratch and computational thinking are novel to me, the example lesson you shared really helped me to realise the potentials of Scratch.
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Nicely written. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Scratch. I don’t see how children will obtain computational thinking skills. I feel like it’s just random play to get the character to move around. At least, that’s what I was doing in the tutorial. I do like the idea of using it to determine whether something is a chemical or compund.
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