Progression in Code Clubs: What matters to you?

Although Code Clubs are fun and informal, some clubs like to observe and track the progress that their members make. Over the summer, we consulted members of our global Code Club community to find out what you see and value as progress.

We also talked about the tools available to help you observe and celebrate progress. Here’s what you told us!

Melbourn Code Club

What kind of progress do you value seeing in your Code Club?

The progress that our community talked about most was growth in confidence and independence, followed closely by growth in “creativity and innovativeness”. 

Firstly, I want to see our learners being happy and enjoying the club. I like to see the students’ skills develop. I like to see them make their own things to build their skills beyond the tutorials. Rhiwbina Library, Wales

The most interesting thing for us is to observe if students are changing the projects we propose, and if they are creating their own things away from the club. Also we’re interested in stimulating teacher confidence in using Code Club tools outside of the club environment. Tagusvalley, Portugal

I’d like to see them code better and design applications that have direct application in the real world. Faridabad, India

Club members from St Paul’s C of E Academy, Sandwell

Our community also wanted to see coders “tackling and grasping more challenging concepts” as well as growing their  “problem solving, debugging, and critical thinking” skills.

I like to see the young people tackling increasingly complex projects, and having the confidence to move from Scratch to Python, or to try physical computing with Picos or micro:bits. Cranmere Primary, England

What progress would you like to keep track of?

Clubs are interested in easy, automatic ways to track progress. The progress most clubs wanted to keep track of was young people’s development of “programming skills” followed by their progression through Code Club projects and pathways

I would like to be able to see what kinds of functions students were able to add to a program independently. For example, if a student used an if/else conditional appropriately or if they used a function that they created. Dr Knox Middle School, Canada

Specific skills, such as using selection, sequence, repetition, and variables.
Kingston St. Mary Primary School, UK

I’d like to see pupil progress along the various learning pathways. This can easily allow a club facilitator to know who’s progressing and at what pace. Crosshall Junior School, UK

Children having fun with code!

Other community members told us they were also interested in tracking the development of computational logic as well as learning confidence and independence; however, some were not keen on tracking at all. 

I don’t feel the need to track progress at all. It is a non-formal club, not a lesson. Anonymous

Why track progress?

Our community members expressed a general consensus that tracking progress increased awareness of learners’ progression and several people discussed other positives to monitoring development.

For example, Fiona Lindsay from Hillside School in Scotland valued automatic tracking of individual progress as she felt this would give her a better appreciation of how each child is progressing and who is able to then support newer members of the club.

I’d really like an automatic track of where they are in a project, so I can monitor this, to help me keep better track of where each pupil or pair actually is in their learning journey.

Meanwhile, Sue Gray from Fakenham Library said she uses a spreadsheet to see who has attended her club, how often they’ve come, and what projects they’ve already done. This has helped her to see who is ready to move on to the Introduction to Python path or other projects beyond the Introduction to Scratch pathway.

Similarly, Nick Nurock from Thomas’s Academy felt it would be helpful to receive an automatic reminder of which blocks or commands had been used successfully in a previous week so as to know which concepts to move onto (or remain on) in the following week. 

How to track progress in your Code Club

One way to follow your members’ progress is to create pupil accounts. These enable young people’s work to be saved, so you and they can revisit projects and see how much they have progressed.

You can use Scratch accounts to save projects on our Scratch pathways and Raspberry Pi accounts or Trinket accounts to save projects on our Python and Web design pathways. With a Raspberry Pi account, learners’ progress is tracked automatically through all our pathways. Find out more about this on our digital progress tracking FAQ.

You spoke…we listened! More ways to celebrate progress

We’re excited to share two new resources that we’ve developed in response to some of the needs expressed by members during our community consultations. We hope that they will help you to observe and celebrate progress in your club — no matter how small!

  1. The Unique Feedback certificate is blank and editable. You can tailor it to whatever is valuable to you, to recognise and celebrate your learners.
  2. The accounts permissions letter: this is a template letter for you to obtain parental permission for learners to use accounts during or outside of Code Club sessions. We’ve updated it to include the Raspberry Pi Foundation Code Editor and Raspberry Pi accounts so you can use the automatic tracking features to monitor your learners’ progress. This editable version of the accounts permission letter can be sent to parents by email, while this printable version can be printed and filled out manually.
Unique feedback certificate

We hope that these two new resources will help you keep track of what matters to you. If you have another way to monitor progress that you’d like to share with us, you can contact us at support@codeclub.org 

Digital literacy and computing in India

In today’s world, digital literacy and computing skills are essential, and serve as a gateway to coding and computational thinking. In India, there is a pressing need to bridge the gap in ICT skills among youth.

According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report for 2020-21, only a small percentage of young people possess the ability to write computer programs using specialised programming languages.

Recognising this challenge, the third National Education Policy of India, launched in 2020, emphasised the integration of digital literacy, coding, and computational thinking into the curriculum starting from grade 6. There is now a growing acceptance of computing programs for children, like extracurricular or after-school activities in the form of Code Clubs, in the school as well as community.

Four girls looking at two computer screens working on Scratch projects.

History of Code Clubs in India

The Raspberry Pi Foundation had also recognised the need for young people to access ways to learn computing skills, so work in India started in 2018 with one team member, Divya Joseph running the show. By the end of that year, there were 150+ Code Clubs across the country through partnerships and volunteers. In 2019, our team expanded when Vasu joined — and from then, we have never looked back! We partnered with Pratham Foundation and the number of Code Clubs went up to 350+.

The pandemic was a difficult time for most of our clubs — learners and supporters alike. The engagement then was continued through online hackathons and community calls.

In 2022, our team grew to six people, and we started teacher training and registering Code Clubs based in government high schools of Odisha — one of the eastern states. We presently have over 1,100 active Code Clubs.

Learning through the years

While Code Clubs typically run in schools, we realised that the model in India was going to be a unique one. Organisations like Pratham Education Foundation work with out-of-school children and facilitate learning in community centres based in remote villages. Their needs are completely different from what we have experienced before. 

A rural building in India, painted blue with Code Club posters hanging outside.

Fostering a warm and supportive environment for both teachers and students is at the heart of Code Club’s mission. We reached out to the community to understand their situation better because we knew we had to adapt quickly to cater to our community’s needs. 

One such community-focused initiative is “Coding Pe Charcha,” a voluntary session conducted every Friday. The phrase “Coding Pe Charcha” translates to “Discussions over Coding.” Conducted entirely in the local language, Odia, this session is specifically designed for teachers who have been trained and assisted in setting up Code Clubs in government high schools.

To have teachers voluntarily join these sessions week after week, despite their non-computing background and other ground level challenges, points to genuine interest in the area of computing. Interacting with these teachers also enlightens us to their specific support needs — from very basic digital literacy skills, like changing passwords and getting over infrastructural challenges, to using resources which come in English and are prepared for a global audience.

Another community-driven initiative is the “Come together to Learn together” (CTLT) calls. Code Club has always prioritised community engagement, regularly organising quarterly meetups and workshops for community members, some of which are led by the community itself. These gatherings feature panel discussions centred around a chosen theme relevant to their current needs.

Topics have ranged from “Computational Thinking through Offline Activities” to “Introduction to Raspberry Pi Pico.” These calls have consistently attracted approximately 120+ participants, actively involving community members and placing them at the heart of Code Club’s work.

A screenshot of some code being shown as part of a webinar.

Impact of Code Clubs

The impact of Code Clubs in India has been substantial and transformative. Through partnerships with organisations like Mo School Abhiyan (Odisha government) at the school level and Pratham Foundation at the community level, Code Clubs have reached over 32,000 students in high schools across Odisha, with an impressive 54% of them being girls. These Code Clubs serve as a crucial first step for many students in their digital learning journey. 

Suchitra Bhuyan, a Code Club teacher from Brundavan Govt. High School in Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, shares her experience saying, “When I work on coding with my students, I myself feel like a student. Sometimes I learn from them, and sometimes they learn from me. So we, the teachers and students, learn together and create together. When we succeed in creating something, the happiness on their faces is truly heart-touching.”

Five women standing in a row with their thumbs up. Behind them is a screen showing Scratch.

What next?

Looking ahead, Code Club’s focus remains on engaging and supporting existing clubs, partners, volunteers, and teachers. While coding education in India is still in its early stages, particularly among disadvantaged groups, Code Club is determined to expand its reach and empower more children with digital literacy and computing skills. By fostering a warm, community-centric approach and placing the people behind the impact at the forefront, Code Club continues to make a difference in the lives of countless young learners across India.

Through some inspiring people on the ground running these Code Clubs, we are trying to build a community of coding learners and supporters. Do you wish to support us in any of the already running Code Clubs? Do you wish to start a Code Club in your community? Reach out to us at: india@raspberrypi.org

What you’ll learn at Code Club online workshops

Whether you’re a coding enthusiast, an educator, or someone who is new to coding, Code Club’s online workshops offer you the opportunity to learn alongside like-minded people in a supportive environment. 

Code Club online workshops introduce you to a wide range of coding languages. From Python to Scratch, HTML to Unity, you’ll get hands-on experience using different tools and programming languages, as well as exploring the Code Club projects and resources that can support the running of your club.

Join us at an online workshop from a location that suits you!

Darren Bayliss, Programme Coordinator, leads on the delivery of our workshops and shares more about the format:

“Our shorter format workshops have been designed to turn educators’ curiosity into empowerment and to help build your confidence as a Code Club leader. By developing your coding skills through our online short codealongs and deep dives into our projects and resources, it will allow you to support young coders to explore different coding languages and design projects that matter to them.”

Here are three outcomes that you will gain from attending our workshops:

Increased confidence

One of the highlights of the Code Club online workshops is the opportunity to engage in short codealongs of our projects to understand basic concepts like loops, conditionals, and variables. Through interactive exercises and practical examples, you’ll gain confidence in your coding abilities, see your projects come to life, and be able to take this learning back to your Code Club.

Collaborative learning

Our workshops foster a collaborative learning environment. You’ll have the chance to connect with fellow Code Club community members and learn alongside each other.

By engaging in group activities and discussions, you’ll enhance your problem-solving skills, learn from different perspectives, and build valuable connections with the Code Club community, who share your passion in providing coding opportunities for young people.

Creativity 

We believe that coding is not just about lines of code; it’s a place for self-expression, imagination, and creativity. During each workshop, you’ll have fun exploring our coding projects and discover how you can encourage learners in your Code Club to get creative and code projects that matter to them. 

Our workshops are developed to give you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to deliver a fun and inspiring Code Club. Our event series changes monthly, so make sure you keep an eye on our events calendar

If there is a workshop that you’d like us to run, please email Darren at support@codeclub.org as he’d love to hear from you!