Minute with Mitch: Many Paths, Many Styles
“Different children have different interests, come from different cultures, learn in different styles.” Engage learners with diverse interests and backgrounds while creating with Scratch.
As professor Mitch Resnick has noted in his post Designing for Wide Walls, “no single project will be meaningful to all kids. So if we want to engage all kids — from many different backgrounds, with many different interests — we need to support a wide diversity of pathways and projects.” Scratch is designed to support the creation of different types of projects, so kids can make what they feel passionate about: they can create their own games, but also interactive stories, art, music, animations, simulations, and more!
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Scratch pioneered block-based programming, enabling young people to learn to code creatively and interactively. Creating Scratch projects fosters the development of computational and creative thinking skills that are critical for future success: learners identify problems, break them into smaller parts, debug them, and iterate on solutions.
Over the years, we’ve loved seeing the unique, exciting strategies educators use to explore Scratch and creative learning in their classrooms, clubs, and beyond. To learn more about our Creative Learning Philosophy, see our guide that lays out our guiding stars and includes a trove of facilitation tips and recommended reading. And we encourage you to explore the variety of Creative Learning Materials in our Learning Library (including lesson plans, coding cards, and educator guides).
When we adapt/remix or develop a creative coding activity/lesson, we look to:
- Design for tinkering and learning through play
- Design spaces for learners to bring themselves in and see themselves in the lesson (considerations we call the 4/5 P’s): Peers, Passion, Projects, Play, and Purpose
- Allow multiple pathways of engagement to foster a wide diversity of projects and support different experience levels (what we call low floors, wide walls, high ceilings or the “house model”)
- Create opportunities that naturally guide learners through the creative learning spiral (an iterative process of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, reflecting, and imagining again) by building in time and opportunities to play, share. and reflect
As facilitators, we want to support playful learning and tinkering mindset values, so that participants can:
- Engage playfully in projects that are meaningful to them and elicit joy
- Collaborate with peers to experiment, share, and celebrate ideas
- Develop a mindset that is comfortable with the discomfort of getting stuck (making room for risk and iteration)
- Develop a mindset that thinks critically about strategies for getting unstuck (saving space for the process to start again or help them imagine what’s next)
“Students aren’t just learning to code, they’re coding to learn.” Students can use Scratch to express ideas across subjects.
“When people think about thinking, they often think of a lone individual in deep contemplation. But most creative thinking doesn’t happen that way.” Support students in learning with their peers.
“Students will get more deeply involved in projects when they feel a sense of purpose – when they become engaged with issues that are meaningful to them, and to others.” Students can use Scratch to connect to the people, communities, and world around them.
See our “Imagine a World” or "Build the Change" resources for examples of an activity that encourages learners to imagine what they want to see in the world.