An open mind

If the machine can write the code, why teach coding?

Before Roehampton I was a teacher, including three years as a head teacher.

Physical computing has a long and distinguished history in UK computing education, stretching back to the BBC Micro of the early 1980s.

Vygotsky’s insight was that learning happens through language: not just external speech but the internal speech of rehearsing arguments and explaining your thinking to yourself.

Why any of this matters My day job is training computing teachers at the University of Roehampton.

This subject knowledge enhancement day brought the PGCE computing trainees together for a full day focused on two advanced programming paradigms - object-oriented programming (OOP) and an introduction to functional programming (FP) - with an afternoon ses…

This lecture brought together four perspectives on diversity in computing, structured around ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic disadvantage.

Working with assessment data sits at the intersection of classroom practice, research thinking, and professional judgement.

Adaptive teaching centres on responding to the strengths, needs, and prior knowledge of all pupils while maintaining high expectations.

Assessment is central to effective teaching because it provides information about what pupils understand, what they can do, and what they need next.

Entering the teaching profession involves a structured recruitment process shaped by school needs, national workforce trends, and expectations about professional identity.

Language plays a central role in learning.

Teachers come across the claim that large language models, and chatbots built upon them, are biased.

Live coding works best when mentors frame it as a way of modelling thought rather than presenting polished answers.

Computing is a national curriculum subject.

Generative AI has a multifaceted relationship to the professional formation of teachers.

Every few years, education policy throws up a moment that changes the tone of the whole conversation.

The conversation about AI in schools often begins with excitement about transformation.

Online safety begins with values, not filters.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review final report was published today.

In computing education, we often talk about progression as if it’s a neat, linear path.