COMPUTATIONAL THINKING 8.1.5 COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN PROGRAMMING YEAR 8 COMPUTER SCIENCE @MRC-ACADEMY

GET READY SETTLER ACTIVITY Get ready for the lesson: Login Computer Go to rother-net.co.uk Password Mrc_1672 Go to KS3 > 8.1 Computational Thinking Download 8.1.5 Worksheet ___ Think about the following: How do you think Computational Thinking can be applied in Programming? GET READY SETTLER ACTIVITY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES In this lesson you must: UNDERSTAND how computational thinking is used in programming. UNDERSTAND how to break down an idea for a program. So that you can: PLAN how you will write programs. CREATE an algorithm for a small program.

PROGRAMMERS & CODERS The terms ‘programming’ and ‘coding’ are often used to describe the same functions. But! A programmer analyses the problem, creates an algorithm and then codes the solution. A coder just codes the solution, the algorithm could be created by someone else. I want all of you to be programmers and not just coders!

PROGRAMMING In our next unit of work, you will be learning how to use Python to write programs. Python is a high-level programming language. When you run a program, each line of code is read one at a time. This means you have to write code in a very specific way, so the program knows exactly what it has to do. Before you start writing code, you need to think like a computer scientist and apply computational thinking to prepare and plan a program correctly!

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING 4 Stages. Decomposition > Abstraction > Pattern Recognition > Algorithm.

CLASS QUESTION: Before we start coding we plan our algorithms so we know what we need to code. Why do we do this? What are the issues faced if we don’t plan carefully before starting? THINK: about ideas on your own. PAIR: discuss your thoughts with the person next to you. SHARE: your thoughts with the rest of the class.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS? When we get an idea for a program, we need to consider the steps we need to take. From a clear beginning to a clear end, step-by-step. To carefully consider the steps we need, we can decompose our idea to begin to identify the steps we might need. Apply abstraction to remove any unnecessary steps. Use pattern recognition to see if any steps can be repeated and then finally we can plan our algorithm.

TASK 1: FIND THE STEPS --- 10min task 2 Player Complete in Worksheet You want to create a program which calculates the area of a rectangle after the user has input the length and width. What steps do you need to include? What is the right order of steps? EXTENSION: Create a program to calculate the area of: A triangle or a circle. A shape of the user’s choice. TASK 1: FIND THE STEPS --- 10min task 2 Player Complete in Worksheet

TASK REVIEW: A program which calculates the area of a rectangle after the user has entered the length and width. What steps do we need to take? Which order does this has to take? What would happen if you got this order wrong?

PLANNING AN ALGORITHM Before anything gets created, it needs to be designed carefully first. For example, we do not build a house unless we have drawn out plans called a blueprint. The same applies to computer programs, no one should start coding a program before they have planned it first. There are two methods to plan a program...

PSEUDOCODE Pseudocode is an outline of a program written in a way that can be easily converted into a computer programming language. It mixes natural language with standard programming constructs. You will be able to do this when you learn more about programming in the next unit and if you continue your studies in GCSE Computer Science. For now, we are going to focus on the other method...

FLOWCHART A flowchart is a diagram that represents a set of instructions. Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different instructions. There are few real rules about the level of detail needed in a flowchart. Sometimes flowcharts are broken down into many steps to provide a lot of detail about exactly what is happening. Sometimes they are simplified so that a number of steps occur in just one step.

FLOW CHART SHAPES TASK 2: --- 10min task 1 Player Complete in Worksheet Complete the missing boxes from the table. You might need to find the name, the shape used or the usage. Search ‘BBC Bitesize Algorithm Flowchart’ to help you. EXTENSION: Try the test on BBC Bitesize. Make a note of your score on your worksheet.

Here are the answers you should have found... TASK REVIEW: Here are the answers you should have found...

DRAW A FLOWCHART An algorithm has a start and an end and shows step- by-step instructions throughout. Your flowchart should represent this. A simple program could be created to ask someone their name and age, and to make a comment based on these. This program represented as a flowchart would look like this:

TASK 3: SHAPE PROGRAM --- 10min task 1 Player Complete in Worksheet Create a flowchart for the program idea from the first task. A program to calculate the area of a rectangle. EXTENSION: Create a flowchart for a program which calculates the area of a shape of the user’s choice (square, rectangle, circle or triangle).

TASK REVIEW Let’s see if we can use your creations to draw an answer on the whiteboard.

REMEMBER THINGS TO From the unit so far, you need to remember: 4 Stages of Computation Thinking. Algorithm Design. Pseudocode. Flowchart. Can you remember? Once work is complete, you need to get in the habit of printing it and putting it into your folders.

NEXT LESSON We will look at why it is important to evaluate our algorithms before coding our programs.