{"id":18985,"date":"2019-09-20T10:50:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T17:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/?p=18985"},"modified":"2023-03-07T17:51:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T01:51:37","slug":"paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuddenly the most simple math problems can be really deep learning experiences within Tynker when you have to embed them in code.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Connect<\/strong><\/em><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a>@PaulRayner60<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\" <\/a>E-Learning Blog<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"  Diocese of Rockhampton<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"\"Free   Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n

Paul Rayner is a Tynker Blue Ribbon Educator and an e-learning consultant for the Diocese of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. The diocese covers a large area in Queensland, including 40 primary schools and colleges (equivalent to \u2018elementary schools\u2019 and \u2018secondary schools\u2019 elsewhere)! He also worked at a boys\u2019 college for students in Years 7 through 12, where he taught a variety of technology subjects. As a teacher who\u2019s familiar with several programming languages, including HTML, JavaScript, Java, PHP, and Python, Paul helps students use computation to solve problems. Read on to learn more about Paul, who helps students and teachers tap into the power of computer science!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large part of Paul\u2019s role is helping teachers feel capable of teaching computer science. When teachers were first required to teach computer science, Paul explains that they needed support: \u201cThey needed to see that this was not some university-level stuff that we were doing.\u201d Paul often models for teachers how to teach computing, and in doing so often puts them at ease as they realize it\u2019s something they can also do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tynker has been a great resource for teachers as they\u2019ve taught computer science: Schools in the diocese use a variety of devices, from iPads to laptops running Windows, and Tynker is compatible with all those devices. This uniform adoption helps when teachers need assistance because there are many people they can collaborate with who are all using the same coding platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students benefit as Paul encourages them to use computing as a problem-solving tool. Paul recalls an instance where a student who didn\u2019t generally shine academically had the chance to show her problem-solving skills:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Problem-solving strategies<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe problem I had given [students] was to represent a relatively small number, I think 100, where they\u2019re using text or numbers. I was hoping that they would use dots or pen marks to represent that number in an array. So, they had to work through sequence and iteration to put 100 dots on a screen in 10 by 10 rows.\u201d Paul remembers that the students struggled with this task, which called for some problem-solving strategies, like acting out the problem.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then it happened: \u201cOne girl got it pretty early. And so I said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you see if you can represent a million.\u2019 And almost by the time I\u2019d turned around and gone off to help some others, she\u2019d taken that small instance into a fairly large example of the power of computing, that we can easily upscale it to do all sorts of things.\u201d This is an example of how Computer Science can engage kids with different learning styles and abilities: \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re doing with Digital Technologies. It\u2019s often an opportunity for kids who don\u2019t normally shine, who perhaps think in a different kind of way, to really show others what they\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Via Twitter @paulrayner60<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We asked Paul about the role of computer science in preparing students for the future. Queensland\u2019s economy is largely based on agriculture and mining, which Paul says doesn\u2019t deter him from thinking that programming is a useful skill for students to learn: \u201cI don\u2019t see what we\u2019re doing in the primary schools as being about developing programmers for the future. Only about a handful of those kids are going to go on to be a programmer. To me, the core of what we need to be doing is to develop those skills of problem-solving and those dispositions like grit, resilience, and persistence, so they can go out and be great at whatever they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to career choices, those may change as time goes on; a large part of what teachers are doing now is to simply give students options for the future: \u201cIf we give them the exposure, who knows what careers these kids are going to go into in 5 or 10 years. But if we\u2019ve done a good job with some stuff in the digital technologies arena, kids can go, \u2018I remember doing some of that stuff in primary school, let\u2019s see if I can work with it and solve the problem.\u2019 That might not happen, but they\u2019ll still have some problem-solving skills in whatever they choose to go into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Paul, it\u2019s vital that students have authentic learning experiences. That\u2019s why he feels that pairing coding with math is a great fit: \u201cI see the natural integration for Tynker to be within maths. Suddenly the most simple math problems can be really deep learning experiences within Tynker when you have to embed them in code.\u201d He also uses physical computing to help students learn more about how programming works: \u201cI use the Spheros and the Parrot drones, and I see a lot of benefit to those, because any real-life stuff is going to be pretty engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul stresses the value of computational thinking while working with students, and sees Tynker as a way to help reinforce this problem-solving framework: \u201cFor me it\u2019s that computational thinking, that decomposition, the pattern recognition, abstraction, and the algorithms. Those four areas of computational thinking. That\u2019s where I think Tynker comes to the fore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, Paul feels that a theme of his career has been helping students learn computation in meaningful ways\u2014something that all teachers should try to do! As Paul puts it, \u201cTry to get kids to engage with whatever they\u2019re doing and to do that in an authentic way, whether it\u2019s something in STEM where you\u2019re posing an authentic problem or an authentic problem in Tynker that they can go through and solve. If we can make it real, then there\u2019s a good chance kids will see the value in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re excited that there are teachers like Paul Rayner who are helping teachers and students better understand computer science! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read our previous article about how <\/em>students in Zimbabwe are learning to code<\/em><\/a> as part of the International Institute of Junior Coders and Engineers! <\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning \u201cSuddenly the most simple math problems can be really deep learning experiences within Tynker when you have to embed them in code.\u201d Connect @PaulRayner60  E-Learning Blog   Diocese of Rockhampton    Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Paul Rayner is a Tynker Blue Ribbon Educator and an e-learning consultant for the Diocese of Rockhampton in Queensland, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,52,108,12,513,58],"tags":[498,449],"class_list":["post-18985","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","tag-school"],"yoast_head":"\nPaul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning! - 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\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning! - Tynker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning \u201cSuddenly the most simple math problems can be really deep learning experiences within Tynker when you have to embed them in code.\u201d Connect @PaulRayner60  E-Learning Blog   Diocese of Rockhampton    Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Paul Rayner is a Tynker Blue Ribbon Educator and an e-learning consultant for the Diocese of Rockhampton in Queensland, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tynker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Gotynker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-20T17:50:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-08T01:51:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1140\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tynker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gotynker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gotynker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tynker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning! - Tynker Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning! - Tynker Blog","og_description":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning \u201cSuddenly the most simple math problems can be really deep learning experiences within Tynker when you have to embed them in code.\u201d Connect @PaulRayner60  E-Learning Blog   Diocese of Rockhampton    Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Paul Rayner is a Tynker Blue Ribbon Educator and an e-learning consultant for the Diocese of Rockhampton in Queensland, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/","og_site_name":"Tynker Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Gotynker\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-20T17:50:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-08T01:51:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1140,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tynker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gotynker","twitter_site":"@gotynker","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tynker","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/"},"author":{"name":"Tynker","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b63acd9ceebe78ea474bfcfbfdac7d57"},"headline":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning!","datePublished":"2019-09-20T17:50:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-08T01:51:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/"},"wordCount":1062,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg","keywords":["Featured Educator","School"],"articleSection":["Blue Ribbon","Coding in the Classroom","College and Career Readiness","Ideas and Tips","School","Teacher Feature"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/","name":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning! - Tynker Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-20T17:50:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-08T01:51:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190920105011\/coding-for-kids-paul-rayner-blog.jpg","width":1140,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/paul-rayner-uses-authentic-problems-for-authentic-learning\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Coding for Kids","item":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Paul Rayner Uses Authentic Problems for Authentic Learning!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/","name":"Tynker Blog","description":"Tynker makes it fun and easy to learn computer programming. Get started today with Tynker's easy-to-learn, visual programming courses designed for young learners in grades K-12.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Tynker - Coding for Kids","url":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220713063303\/appicon-120.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220713063303\/appicon-120.png","width":120,"height":120,"caption":"Tynker - Coding for Kids"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Gotynker\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gotynker","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tynkercoding\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/gotynker\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/tynker"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b63acd9ceebe78ea474bfcfbfdac7d57","name":"Tynker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e763a250a1fd5790919d1e588e78461c1f50971644d40baac7f6176d0a4ea007?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e763a250a1fd5790919d1e588e78461c1f50971644d40baac7f6176d0a4ea007?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tynker"},"description":"Tynker enables children to learn computer programming in a fun and imaginative way. More than 60 million kids worldwide have started learning to code using Tynker.","url":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/author\/tynker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18985"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20840,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18985\/revisions\/20840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}