Scratch 2050

Practicalities 

Give each member the opportunity to introduce themselves. Ask them to talk about their expectation from the club. Discuss with members of the club on the days and the time of the club sessions. There should be coordination between clubs since many schools will have more than 1 club. 

After agreeing on the time and the days, the teacher should have the club choose their representative who will be facilitating the communication between club members and teachers. The representative will help in organising club activities. 

Afterwards, you should help members set their codes of conduct. The coding club is different from a class, and members are responsible for the management of their club, the activities and what they want to achieve. As a teacher, you can provide ideas and guide them, but the format of a club enables more student-centred learning. Ideally, members arrive at a club session and start with a brief brainstorming, followed by collaborative coding on projects, and concluded with a sharing moment. 

Setting Targets 

Let members set targets at the beginning of the club cycle and write them down. At the end of the cycle, discuss with them whether they have achieved their targets. There are many Scratch coding clubs all around the world that can inspire you and your learners to set ambitious targets. 

https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/3476938/

Setting Guidelines for Your Coding Club

It is best that you let club members discuss and set their guidelines. In this way, members are more likely to respect them. Let club members make a poster with the guidelines and hang it in the classroom where they meet, so they see the guidelines each session and can easily refer to them.

Possible guidelines are:

• Be punctual (do not be late, do not get absent) 
• Do not misplace lab items
•  Do not enter the lab without permission 
• Complete assignments on time 
• Only use the internet for activities related to learning (Scratch)

To agree on the guidelines of the club, here are some techniques to use: 

• Put students in two groups 

• Allow them to brainstorm what they think would guide them

• Have one group present and the other complement

Introducing Your Coding Club 

At the start teachers should make sure to remind students about these principles:

• Programming is not taught by teachers on blackboards. Programmers teach themselves. 
• Programming is not learned by reading theory, but writing code/ moving blocks and understanding why it works or not. 
• Programming is a collaborative effort. So is learning it.

You may show an intro video or a script like this one: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/124863501/ ; to show to your students what they will be able to do at the end of the term.

 Activity: Ask members to take a few minutes and write down what they expect from this club? After a few minutes, ask a few learners to share their ideas.