School Spotlight: Weaver Lake Students Discover Coding
This week, students nationwide are celebrating Computer Science Education Week with an event called the Hour of Code. Weaver Lake Elementary students are celebrating too, but for them it’s just another day discovering science.
Weaver Lake is a science, math and technology elementary school in Maple Grove. It’s part of the Osseo Area School District. A typical day at Weaver Lake often involves some kind of code.
“One of the eight STEM identities that we have is problem-solver, and coding has a lot to do with solving problems,” said Melissa Pederson, Weaver Lake’s technology curriculum integration coordinator. “The computer is doing what you told it to do.”
Melissa Pederson teaches a short lesson on Edison robots to a diverse group of students at Weaver Lake. She said one of her favorite parts of the job is giving every kid an equal experience.
Pederson also works with each grade at Weaver Lake on coding projects. It is a part of the school’s STEM-based curriculum approach.
“We start with our science standards and build everything around that,” Pederson said. “We start with science, and put the reading and writing right into the science.”
Hands-on Computer Science at Weaver Lake
On Wednesday at Weaver Lake, third graders worked with Edison Robots. Pederson opened the class with a discussion on the wider impact.
“There are over a hundred million students that have tried to do something with code,” she said, pointing to a map of kids participating in the Hour of Code event. “You are a part of that hundred million.”
They had two tasks to complete: get the robot to move with a clap, and get it to dodge obstacles by using a bar code.
Third graders at Weaver Lake worked with robots on Wednesday morning.
Most of the class was already familiar with robots. They began working with them in Kindergarten, using so-called “Bee-Bots.” The robot has buttons on its back. Students use the buttons to plot out a path for the robots.
Pederson said students work their way up to eventually create their own code.
“The lesson is more about kids discovering, [as] opposed to me telling kids what to do and how to do it,” she said.
There is something for everyone — the challenge of science is paired with built-in encouragement.
“It is really fun, it’s kind of different than any other school,” one third-grader said.
“It is hard for me, and then it challenges me,” another classmate said, explaining why he likes the program.
Pederson said it gives students the confidence to excel inside and outside the classroom.
