Don’t Teach Coding: Until You Read This Book

Product Description

The definitive resource for understanding what coding is, designed for educators and parents 
Even though the vast majority of teachers, parents, and students understand the importance of computer science in the 21st century, many struggle to find appropriate educational resources. Don’t Teach Coding: Until You Read This Book fills a gap in current knowledge by explaining exactly what coding is and addressing why and how to teach the subject. Providing a historically grounded, philosophically sensitive description of computer coding, this book helps readers understand the best practices for teaching computer science to their students and their children. 
The authors, experts in teaching computer sciences to students of all ages, offer practical insights on whether coding is a field for everyone, as opposed to a field reserved for specialists. This innovative book provides an overview of recent scientific research on how the brain learns coding, and features practical exercises that strengthen coding skills. Clear, straightforward chapters discuss a broad range of questions using principles of computer science, such as why we should teach students to code and is coding a science, engineering, technology, mathematics, or language? Helping readers understand the principles and issues of coding education, this book:

Helps those with no previous background in computer science education understand the questions and debates within the field
Explores the history of computer science education and its influence on the present
Views teaching practices through a computational lens
Addresses why many schools fail to teach computer science adequately
Explains contemporary issues in computer science such as the language wars and trends that equate coding with essential life skills like reading and writing

Don’t Teach Coding: Until You Read This Book is a valuable resource for K-12 educators in computer science education and parents wishing to understand the field to help chart their children’s education path.

From the Inside Flap

The definitive resource for understanding coding, designed for educators and parents
What is coding? Why should we teach students to code? Is coding for everyone, or only for specialists? Why do many schools fail to teach computer science adequately? Whether you are an educator or a parent, knowing what coding is and how to teach it has never been more important. As more and more public schools are mandating computer science education, you need to understand how to effectively teach programming languages and coding. Written by expert computer science educators and researchers, Don’t Teach Coding: Until You Read This Book is a comprehensive, yet accessible resource that explains everything you should know before you start teaching a programming language.
This much-needed book demystifies programming languages while offering real-world insights on charting a child’s educational path in computer science. The authors share recent scientific research on how the brain learns coding and provide classroom-proven exercises for strengthening coding skills. Clear, jargon-free chapters explore a wide range of essential topics, from the history of computer science education and its influence on the current educational system to contemporary issues such as the “language wars.” After introducing its main ideas through the engaging Wizard’s Tale fictional narrative, each chapter examines progressively more powerful and complex programming languages.
Don’t Teach Coding: Until You Read This Book is indispensable for both beginning and experienced K-12 teachers as well as any adult with an interest in the teaching and learning of programming languages — one language at a time.
“Hamilton tells the best, untold story of America, while Don’t Teach Coding does the same for computer programming. It’s a transformative read for anyone who believes coding is for gearheads. Spoiler alert: It’s for the literary