Teaching Python

Episode 25: The Best Editors and IDEs for Teaching Python

July 17th, 2019  |  34 mins 12 secs

python, software, teaching

In this episode, Sean and Kelly discuss their top 5 favorite editors for teaching (and learning) Python.

Episode 24: Avoiding the Summer Slide (For Teachers)

June 27th, 2019  |  30 mins 34 secs

professional development, project-based learning, python, teaching

Many teachers give advice to parents on how to keep kids engaged during the summer. Sean and Kelly take their own advice and apply it to teachers and professional development. In this episode, we discuss how to avoid the “Summer Slide” and what we are doing to keep on learning.

Episode 23: Being Reflective: A Year of Learning, Teaching, and Python

June 20th, 2019  |  38 mins 12 secs

python, reflection, teaching

Kelly and Sean both agree that reflecting on your teaching is vital for our growth as educators and learners. In this episode, they take a few moments to reflect on their year, their lessons, their learning, and their progress. “ Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.”-Confucius

Episode 22: Talking About Teaching With Meg Ray

June 20th, 2019  |  51 mins 34 secs

pedagogy, python, teaching

In this episode, Kelly and Sean talk to freelance educational consultant Meg Ray. She was the founding Teacher in Residence at Cornell Tech where she was responsible for the implementation and design of a coaching program for K-8 CS teachers in New York City schools.

Episode 17: Abstraction and Analytical Thinking

April 22nd, 2019  |  47 mins 29 secs

abstraction, analytical thinking, python, teaching

Kelly and Sean get motivation from Michael Kennedy’s podcast Beginners and Experts. Where Michaels and the panelists discuss, how do you go about attacking a problem? In this episode, Kelly and Sean digest abstraction and analytical thinking in the school setting and how computational thinking plays a part in all this. They discuss the activities that are used to help promote these skills.

Episode 14: Innovation In An Innovative Field

March 7th, 2019  |  43 mins 25 secs

education, innovation, teaching

With their school's Innovation Institute coming up, Kelly and Sean explore the topic of innovation in education. How do you cultivate it in yourself and others? What skills help you become more innovative? How do you teach it?

Episode 13: Block-based Python with Josh Lowe

March 1st, 2019  |  35 mins 28 secs

edublocks, python, teaching

In this episode, Kelly and Sean talk to Joshua Lowe, a Python entrepreneur who invented Edublocks to help bridge the gap from Scratch to Edublocks and then into Python 3. Joshua started learning Python in 2013 and wanted to find a way to make Python easier for others to understand.

Episode 8: Persistence in Python

January 21st, 2019  |  37 mins 12 secs

pedagogy, persistence, python, teaching

Persistence is defined as the ability to stick with something. In the educational world, it is often used interchangeably with the phrases: Sticktoitiveness, grit, or perseverance.

In this episode, we will discuss how to develop persistence in programming for all learners. Whether your students already have an innate ability to stick with coding or if you are hoping to instill the “desire” in your students, Sean and Kelly will examine ways that they develop persistence in programming in their classrooms.

Episode 7: Teaching with the BBC micro:bit

January 14th, 2019  |  42 mins 57 secs

microbit, python, teaching

In this week's episode, Kelly and Sean discuss one of the tools that we like to use in class: the BBC micro:bit. Thanks to the instant feedback and physical/tactile nature of the device, this inexpensive little IoT device makes the process of learning Python more intuitive for students. It's also an easy starting point for those teachers who are new to coding.