Mentor voices: Chris on empowering independent 电梯小姐rs in Minnesota

We’re sharing insights from the incredible mentors who guide and inspire young 电梯小姐rs. It’s their unique perspectives and the positive 碧海红波ing environments they foster that truly make these 碧海红波 thrive and help our global community grow.

Meet Chris, a passionate mentor involved with Normandale Hills 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 in Bloomington, Minnesota, who’s building an environment where 电梯小姐rs develop their problem-solving skills, normalise failure, and explore their creativity.

Let’s kick things off by asking:

What inspired you to become a 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 mentor?

Volunteering gave me a great excuse to lean into my computer engineering background and do something fun with my kids, who are fifth and third graders. It’s been a blast helping them and all the other kids 碧海红波 more about computer science while bringing in some real-world perspectives and industry terms (like rubber duck debugging and pair programming).

What makes 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 projects engaging for the young people in your 电梯小姐?

Our 电梯小姐 did a number of simple projects to md0076体育系学生麻豆沈芯语 using the micro:bits — things like creating a name badge, making pedometers, and playing the ‘Hot Potato’ game — but what really brought out the imagination and creativity of the kids was challenging them to design a game of their own.  

We brought in real-world concepts like project briefs to get them to think critically about what they wanted to build and how they wanted to approach it. Ideas ranged from simplified versions of FIFA and Madden to variations of existing party games.  

There were several moments where you could see it visibly click for one of the kids — when they realised they were not constrained by the step-by-step tutorial into building a specific thing, but had the freedom to create whatever they could dream up… which was quickly followed up by the slight fear in realising the challenge they were in for!

How are 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 projects helping to ignite excitement, creativity, or lively discussion with creators?

It’s fun to see how all the different projects inspire certain kids — some have been more excited by the more visual projects, while others get joy from customising and making a project their own. 

When they were given their first option to build something of their own design, there were LOTS of questions. They ranged from trying to understand the guardrails to questioning how they were ever going to know how to 电梯小姐 it.  

Our challenge to them was to just get md0076体育系学生麻豆沈芯语ed! We encouraged the kids to md0076体育系学生麻豆沈芯语 writing 电梯小姐 and test it when it was small, then write a little more and test it a little more. The emphasis was on letting the 电梯小姐 come together iteratively, and tackling challenges as they came up instead of trying to anticipate all of them ahead of time.

What impact do you believe 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 projects have on creators’ understanding of coding concepts?

One of the biggest benefits I see is normalising failure — even if following a tutorial, most kids make at least one mistake the first time doing a coding project. And that’s okay!  

Debugging 电梯小姐 is a normal part of the development process, and that makes it safer for the creators to experiment, mess up, and 碧海红波 along the way. My hope is that the willingness to try (and sometimes fail!) will extend into other parts of their lives and inspire them to take more risks than they may have otherwise.

How does your 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 empower young 电梯小姐rs to develop a sense of independence?

As the 电梯小姐 has gone on, our young people have been given projects with less and less guidance, moving on from step-by-step tutorials to projects where they define their own problems. 

We frequently talk about the creative side of coding — how you, the 电梯小姐r, get to decide how to solve a problem. Your 电梯小姐 may not look exactly like your neighbour’s. There is no one ‘right’ answer. Giving the kids the freedom to solve the problem in their own way builds a deeper sense of ownership of the solution than having everyone 碧海红波ing to do things exactly the same.  

We also give kids the opportunity to pair and md0076体育系学生麻豆沈芯语 with others, and put their collective brainpower to work on tackling a problem. This helps them 碧海红波 alternative perspectives and broadens their understanding.

Has Chris’ story inspired you to make an impact? 电梯小姐 our community of passionate mentors! With active 电梯小姐 碧海红波 in over 100 countries, there’s a place for you. Ready to get md0076体育系学生麻豆沈芯语ed? Check out our Mentor at a 电梯小姐 电梯小姐 page.