{"id":17222,"date":"2019-05-10T17:03:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T00:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/?p=17222"},"modified":"2023-10-27T03:22:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T10:22:15","slug":"justin-mattson-teaches-students-to-code-before-they-can-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/justin-mattson-teaches-students-to-code-before-they-can-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s nice that there are tools out there like Tynker Junior that are accessible to [young learners].\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>-Justin Mattson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<hr>\n<table style=\"height: 215px; border: 1px solid black; margin-left: 10px;\" width=\"300\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Connect<\/strong><\/em><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 15px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newulm.k12.mn.us\/\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-16898\" src=\"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190419142447\/school.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190419142447\/school.png 240w, https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190419142447\/school-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 20px) 100vw, 20px\" \/><\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newulm.k12.mn.us\/\"><strong>New Ulm Public Schools<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 15px;\"><strong>New Ulm, MN<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<p>The classroom is quiet. Suddenly, a student excitedly shouts, \u201cYeah!\u201d They\u2019ve just completed a challenge as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/new-tynker-junior-app\/\">Tynker Junior<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/k2-school\/coding-curriculum\/ocean-odyssey\">Ocean Odyssey<\/a> coding puzzle! Whether they\u2019re completing the challenges in Tynker Junior or programming robots, kindergartners in Justin\u2019s classroom are sure to have fun, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/parents\/curriculum\/creating-with-code\/skills\/\">learn critical thinking skills<\/a>, and practice resilience. Justin, the Librarian and Media Specialist at the Washington Learning Center (a facility specifically for pre-K and kindergarten students) at New Ulm Public Schools in New Ulm, Minnesota, wears many hats: He administers the academic screening process as kids register for school, teaches coding, helps kids learn to read, and more! A former chemistry teacher, Justin used Tynker with 8th and 9th grade students and now uses Tynker Junior with his young learners. We had the opportunity to speak with Justin about how coding helps students develop problem-solving skills, academic abilities, and self-confidence! Read on to learn more about this inspiring Blue Ribbon Educator.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float:left; margin-right:20px;\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-86LRzFS1Y0?start=113&amp;end=156&amp;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p>Some educators, Justin\u2019s observed, feel that kids shouldn\u2019t be taught to code until their reading and math skills have matured, but he has discovered that coding actually helps foster those very skills, along with other valuable cognitive skills: \u201cI think those skills for working with technology, like sequential problem-solving, can help [students] even as they\u2019re learning to read. You know, I have to take this word, I have to split it apart, just like if I\u2019m solving a puzzle in coding. And look at the first part, put the different pieces together, and then we can move on to the next piece.\u201d Justin talks more about sequential thinking in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-86LRzFS1Y0?start=113&amp;end=156&amp;\"> this video about the Washington Learning Center<\/a>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Justin\u2019s found that Tynker and Tynker Junior are the right tools to help his students develop these kinds of coding and cognitive skills. When he started working at the Washington Learning Center, he felt that it was important for students to not just play computer games but actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/\">learn programming skills:<\/a> \u201cTynker was one of the options that works for them at that level.They\u2019re in kindergarten, so there are kids coming in and starting to program and they\u2019re not reading yet, so it has to be icon-based. It has to be things that they can figure out by trial and error. Tynker forms kind of a nice bridge to lead them in.\u201d Tynker Junior\u2019s interface, including the Tynker SmartPass QR codes that students use to log in, make it easy for Justin\u2019s students to navigate the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to helping Justin\u2019s students build academic and programming skills, learning to code can also facilitate students\u2019 confidence in their abilities: \u201cBecause I do all the screenings, I know where the kids are at with their reading and math skills. It doesn\u2019t always align with the kids who are the first to solve the puzzles and be done and help their neighbors.\u201d In this way, coding is an opportunity for students who perhaps don\u2019t always perform well in traditional academic areas to have successful learning experiences.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re so excited to have Justin as part of our educator community! We\u2019re sure that students will continue learning valuable skills like coding and problem-solving in Justin\u2019s classes. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/code.org\/advocacy\/state-facts\/MN.pdf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"733\" height=\"218\" src=\"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190513095303\/Minnesota_stats.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190513095303\/Minnesota_stats.png 733w, https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190513095303\/Minnesota_stats-150x45.png 150w, https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190513095303\/Minnesota_stats-300x89.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click the graphic above to learn more!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Read our previous post about <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/ross-hartley-teaches-collaboration-through-robotics\/\"><strong><em>Blue Ribbon Educator Ross Hartley<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>, who uses robotics to teach students collaboration skills! <br><\/em><\/strong><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write! \u201cIt\u2019s nice that there are tools out there like Tynker Junior that are accessible to [young learners].\u201d -Justin Mattson Connect &nbsp;&nbsp;New Ulm Public Schools New Ulm, MN The classroom is quiet. Suddenly, a student excitedly shouts, \u201cYeah!\u201d They\u2019ve just completed a challenge as part of the Tynker Junior Ocean Odyssey [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,52,108,12,513,58],"tags":[498],"class_list":["post-17222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blue-ribbon","category-coding-at-school","category-college-and-career-readiness","category-ideas-and-tips","category-school","category-teacher-feature","tag-featured-educator"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write! - Tynker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/justin-mattson-teaches-students-to-code-before-they-can-write\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write! - Tynker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Justin Mattson Teaches Students to Code Before They Can Write! \u201cIt\u2019s nice that there are tools out there like Tynker Junior that are accessible to [young learners].\u201d -Justin Mattson Connect &nbsp;&nbsp;New Ulm Public Schools New Ulm, MN The classroom is quiet. 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