Jangled Up

Of the six periods I'm covering for this long-term assignment, the AP computer science class was the one I was worried about the least. This was the wrong assessment. 

Third period AP computer science consists of ten students who are taking a more rigorous course to prepare them for the AP test in May. Mr. J put all their materials for their code.org work in their Google Classroom so they could work their way through the the curriculum. 

In theory, this should work. But high school students. 

Mr. J had planned out when they should be ready for their test. I printed out the thing they'd have to do. (It's similar to the kind of questions they'll have to answer on the AP test.) And...

It did not go well. They're lost. A couple of them kind of get it, but the rest aren't utilizing their expertise. 

So, now we've got some adjustments to make. I can push them onward to the next section. Or, we can try to figure out what they should know before we move on. The main issue here is that the AP test is about a month away, and if they're tested on something they don't learn, they definitely will miss those questions. 

If only I knew more about computer science. If only I knew more coding than just basic basic HTML. 

When I started with them, I noted the dates Mr. J had indicated for the end of this section. I reviewed it with them, asking if those dates would work for the test. They didn't say much of anything. I took that as agreement. (The class is pretty quiet most of the time.) 

It wasn't until I dug down and figured out how to see what they had accomplished that I realized they weren't doing the work they were supposed to have done.

Well, now I know. Perhaps now I can give them enough guidance so that they will put in the effort to figure things out, or at least they'll articulate the questions so I can find a way to get them answers.

We'll see. Wish me (and them) luck.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter