Curriculum

CodeClub, an extra-curricular club where older students can come and self-teach was introduced in 2019. Firstly, though only the most dedicated students attended, we see this as essential to them being able to accelerate their learning and for student interns to work on their internship projects. Our teacher Mustafa Kharnoub’s parting advice in his exit interview was: “The more self-learning the better. You need nothing but self learning for your own evolution.” Secondly, we learned that when working with illiterate students like at Sonbola Centre, classes should not overly focus on language-based software and kits like Bee Bot and Robot Turtles give students a break from learning new words.

Equipment

We learned that it is essential to have laptops for each student to avoid time wasting. We now ensure that each student has their own laptop ready to use at the start of class. This required installing a lock on the classroom door as laptops are left out overnight. We also learned to ensure equipment is kept in secure and organized cupboards from the start and that classrooms are locked and all CodeBrave staff have keys.

Recruitment

In 2019, we learned that it is more important for teachers to be educators than to be technicians. We found that teachers that were skilled educators had the best success with students. Technical skills in coding and robotics are less important.

Teacher On-Boarding

In response to feedback from teachers, we improved our on-boarding process and developed a ‘Teachers’ Manual’ including key information, teacher responsibilities and links to important documents. In addition, we created an HR policy to detail the steps for on-boarding new staff.

Teacher Training

This year, we developed our child psychology training and hold more regular training session with teachers, like Rana, where we discuss challenges and propose techniques to trial in class. This need was highlighted by all teachers.