The BC Ministry of Education announced that it will invest $6 million in training for teachers to teach coding and the new curriculum, as well as computers for classrooms.
Connecting students with the skills they need to succeed in our changing world is the key goal of British Columbia’s new curriculum. By the end of Grade 9, every student in British Columbia will take a module of basic coding under B.C.’s new curriculum.
Coding is a hands-on way of teaching students how to analyze a problem, determine the steps to fix that problem and then create directions so a machine can carry out those steps. Whether or not students pursue careers in the tech sector, these are vital analysis and critical thinking skills for future success.
BC Ministry of Education News Release - June 10, 2016
- Each district will decide when students, between grades 6 to 9, will do the coding module which forms part of the Applied Design, Skills and Technologies curriculum.
- Part of the funding will allow a number of key educators in every district to get intensive training and become the trainers in their own communities, for their own colleagues.
- Coding curriculum is now available for B.C. teachers and students as part of the new and redesigned Applied Design, Skills and Technologies curriculum, launched in fall 2015.
- Last year, a wide-ranging support plan was introduced so teachers get the information and training they need to bring B.C.’s new curriculum to life in their classrooms. The support plan included $1 million to fund targeted training this school year, as well as dedicated time.
- New Kindergarten to Grade 9 curriculum will be fully implemented in classrooms in fall 2016.
- Draft curriculum for grades 10 to 12 is ready for teachers to use in classrooms in the 2016-17 school year and will be fully implemented in 2017-18.
- The Ministry of Education is working directly with more than 250 teachers on 20 curriculum teams to develop the new curriculum.
- The new curriculum fits in with the key goals of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint to re-engineer education to ensure young people have the skills they need for in-demand careers.
