Technology & Innovation - Issue 11

to predict real-world scenarios, outcomes and events. A grasp of the scientific language commonly employed inmodelling will support students in better understanding the outcomes presented. MFL: Comparing coding languages to spoken languages can be a big help when explaining the syntax used within coding. Coding languages differ in the same way spoken languages do, in that both can refer to the same objects and functions using different terms and ‘vocabulary’. This analogy can extend to grammatical differences between languages too, since programming syntax will similarly vary between one coding language and another. Physical Education: Common coding concepts, such as algorithms, are now used more than ever in sports training to better understand the impact of injuries or illness on performance, and to hone in on specific areas for potential development. Creative arts: Holding down the strings on a guitar to play chords can be compared to coding logic through examples such as ‘if’ statements. If a particular number of strings are held down and those strings are played, multiple notes will sound. We can also teach coding throughmusic composition or the act of creating digital art. There are coding platforms available that will enable students to bring musical instruments together, control them and create music using programming commands. Business and economics: We can explain how coding across a number of different applications can be utilised for business analytics. The code used to analyse data frommarket research can support the development of new applications designed to solve identified business problems. The code used to create websites can be made to gather information about a business’ target audience and geographical location. Environmental studies: Coding expertise within the context of sustainability projects is set to become a highly prized and sought- after skill. We can demonstrate just how important it is via lesson activities involving sensors of the type that authorities might use to monitor heat, wind or water levels, and how these can be made to trigger environmental defences. You could also reference key figures in the field of environmental science, and explore their use of coding and applications to simulate climate patterns, predict weather changes and analyse the impact of human activities on the Earth’s ecosystems. An interconnected discipline By highlighting interdisciplinary connections in this way, we canmake coding lessons more engaging and relevant to other areas of our students’ lives. This will surely help them better appreciate just how important and powerful coding can be, and gain a greater understanding of how interconnected the discipline is withmany other subjects and fields of study. We want our students to develop a deeper understanding of coding itself, but at the same time we should encourage them to think critically and creatively. Reinforcing the many different ways in which coding cuts across subjects could well encourage a new generation of multidisciplinary programmers who possess an in-depth knowledge of, say, art history or geography, as well as the ability to combine that knowledge with skills in coding in all manner of imaginative and unpredictable ways. We should try to regularly include these interdisciplinary connections in our lessons where we can – or at least often enough for them to become an established part of our standard pedagogy. This will encourage our students to take greater ownership of their learning, and start feeling comfortable with the idea of applying various coding practices to seemingly unrelated everyday scenarios. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rob Wraith is head of learning technology and digital learning at NCG – a group of seven colleges across the UK; for more information, visit ncgrp.co.uk CROSS- COMPATIBLE Five ways to include other subject knowledge and practice into coding lessons. 1. Mathematics Include mathematical concepts such as sequences, patterns and operations within your delivery via various coding exercises 2. Science Demonstrate how coding is used in scientific research, data analysis and simulations to model scientific phenomena and analyse experimental data 3. Languages Discuss the translation of human intentions into machine-readable code, similar to how translating between different languages bridges the gap between language and coding 4. Environmental studies Demonstrate how sensors are designed to trigger the running of code to perform specific actions when pre-set thresholds are met 5. UI/UX Design: Deliver coding in the context of user interfaces and user experiences, demonstrating how code can be used to highlight suggested items based on a user’s previous activities 65 T E C H I N A C T I O N teachwire.net