"Literacy and Coding: A Perfect Match!" Ms. Allen '01 and Mr. Bear Lead AIMS Workshop

Indian Creek teachers are known as innovators, and on Wednesday, October 3, First Grade teacher Sarah Allen '01, and Lower School STEM teacher Ab Bear shared their practice with professionals from peer schools as they led an AIMS workshop called "Literacy and Coding: A Perfect Match!"

Instruction on teaching coding skills to younger children can be difficult to find, and Ms. Allen and Mr. Bear are known as educational superstars in this field. Ms. Allen holds her M.Ed. in Learning and Technology. She was the 2017 International Society for Technology in Education's Kay L. Bitter Vision Award winner and has presented at many national conferences on blended learning, coding, and robotics.  Additionally, she integrates coding activities into her first grade classroom in meaningful ways through all curriculum areas.  Mr. Bear is a Lower School Mathematics and STEM teacher with his M.Ed. in Mathematics, who has exprience teaching both in the United States and abroad. He is one of a small group of AIMS educators to teach Coding to students in grades 4 to 6.

Mr. Bear and Ms. Allen led a hands-on workshop to help other teachers explore ways to integrate coding and robotics into a literacy block. The pair helped show other teachers how to intentionally implement coding alongside reading and writing workshop. During the session, participants learned how to use robotics and coding to strengthen language arts and reading instruction through hands-on applications. In addition, teachers learned how to use coding and robotics to enhance and deepen understanding of writing mechanics, structure, and craft.

Congratulations to Ms. Allen and Mr. Bear for a successful morning of sharing their expertise in order to enhance the education of children in AIMS schools.
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Indian Creek school is a co-educational, college preparatory independent school, located in Crownsville, Maryland.  Students in Pre-K3 through grade 12 receive a vibrant educational experience based on excellent academics steeped in strong student-teacher connections.