Guided Project Sessions

Guided project sessions follow "Typical Session Structure", with the activity time being a project worksheet. If students still have work to do on a project from the previous session, simply continue that. Otherwise, students will choose a new guided project from their folders and work on that for the majority of the session.

View Projects

Some things to remember these sessions:

Encourage a team-based learning environment - " Give me Five " is a great way for students to share something they found that's cool or interesting, or to pose a question for the rest of the class. Feel free to pause for group discussions if you see an opportunity.
Make time for reflection journals at the end (about 5 min). It may be tough for some at first, but students will become better at reflection with practice. Read here for tips on how to get the most out of reflection time.
Students will be learning at different paces, so don't rush the process. You should try to do at most one project per session. If students don't finish a project, they can continue it the following week. If advanced students get through it quickly, make sure they're trying the "extra challenges" at the end. Then, put the question back on them to think more creatively, eg: "what else do you think you can make that's similar?" If advanced students are struggling to challenge themselves or think creatively, you can try picking one of the other projects.
Before students begin typing code examples from the worksheet, ask them to predict what they think the code will do. If they don't know, just say "cool, let's find out!"
As a mentor, try to limit how much time you spend explaining concepts to students (they might be tuning you out before you know it). Instead, try the Socratic Method. Here's a great article documenting how someone taught 3rd graders binary just by asking questions: http://www.studygs.net/teaching/crtthkc.htm

Typical Session Structure

Each session follows a general structure:

Warm-up / Icebreaker activity
Introduction or recap
Activity time
Reflections
Clean-up
Mentor debrief

Some sessions are more heavily structured, such as the first session, and the start of the creative project phase.

Warm-up / Icebreaker activity

Most program sites like to begin their sessions with a fun game or activity to loosen everyone up and build team camaraderie. You can find a list of these activities on our Icebreakers page.

Sometimes, especially during the later sessions, students want to dive right into their projects, which is perfectly acceptable. The practice of warm-ups and icebreakers vary from site-to-site, and you should find what works best for your site. We do highly encourage using them early during the program.

Introductions

Some sessions require a mentor to lead the entire class in a group discussion. This is the case with the first session and the introduction to the creative project. You will need to prepare ahead of time and choose a mentor to lead these discussions.

Activity time

Learning activities take up the bulk of the session time. Students work in pairs with mentors to accomplish the learning objectives for the day.

Clean-up

5 minutes before the end of the session, all students and mentors help with clean-up:

Wrap up laptop cables

PRO TIP: Don't wrap the cable around the power brick -- wrap the cable by itself and tighten the velcro strap around it
Wrap up mice cable (wrap cable in a loop, then pass the USB end through the loop to tighten)
Wipe down tables using included disinfectant wipes
Lightly wipe down keyboard surface and mice (don't use dripping-wet wipes, wring out if necessary)
Put laptops and cables in laptop cart
Put supplies back in supply bucket

Reflection Time

Have students reflect on their learning experience in their Reflection Journals

Debrief

Mentors should spend a few minutes after to debrief. Ask questions such as:

What went well?
What issues did we encounter?
What new ideas might we try next time?
Are there any specific mentor roles we need to consider for the next session?