Empowering Educators to Prepare Students for the Future

The Need for Coding Education

The world is being reshaped by technology, and coding skills are becoming increasingly essential for success in a wide range of careers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology occupations are projected to grow 13% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. This demand, coupled with a shrinking talent pool, creates a significant opportunity for educators to equip their students with the crucial skills they need to thrive in the future workforce.

Project-Based Learning and STEM Competitions

Research consistently highlights the benefits of project-based learning and STEM competitions in developing crucial skills for the 21st century workforce. These include:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving: Students learn to break down complex problems, analyze possibilities, and develop creative solutions.
• Collaboration and teamwork: Working together on projects fosters communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Communication and presentation skills: Students learn to effectively articulate their ideas and project results.
• Resilience and perseverance: Overcoming challenges and troubleshooting errors builds grit and determination.
• Computational thinking: Students develop the ability to think in a structured, logical way, essential for any field in the digital age.

Above, a recorded competition game of battleship.

CCPC directly addresses these vital learning outcomes by offering:

• A range of project-based challenges: These challenges go beyond basic syntax, encouraging students to apply their coding skills to solve real-world problems.
• An engaging competition format: The competitive spirit fosters motivation, engagement, and a desire to learn and improve.
• Differentiation for diverse skillsets: Challenges are available in various programming languages and difficulty levels, allowing students to learn and compete at their own pace.

Beyond Skills Development

CCPC also contributes to fostering a positive attitude towards coding and sparking a passion for technology. By providing a fun and engaging learning environment, students are more likely to see themselves as capable and confident creators in the digital world.

How to Get Started

Anyone can host and organize a CCPC! Whether you’re staff, a student, or part of a community group or out-of-school club, we welcome you to bring the excitement of coding to your community.

Plan your CCPC around a final event date, choosing to be in-person or virtual. You can also select one or more competition categories based on age groups, specific challenge prompts, or skill levels. Remember, our team is always here to assist you!

Once you define your competition, the Codecraft Works team will create your Competition Guidelines. These guidelines will include general rules, competition categories, important dates, and tournament resources. You’ll receive these guidelines along with a Challenge Invitation for distribution.

By accepting the Challenge Invitation, coaches and competitors gain access to a wealth of resources:

• Clear technical documentation: Ensure everyone understands the technical aspects of the competition.
• Engaging learning resources: Support participants in their coding journey.
• Online coding environment: Provide a convenient platform for coding and participating.
• Competition project submission: Make it easy for participants to submit their work.

Judging:

• Block-based and web development entries: Judged by a generous community of volunteers from the Codecraft Foundation ⎋ using a pre-defined rubric.
• Autonomous Game Player submissions: Compete against each other in a bracket-style tournament format.

Join the Codecraft Community: By partnering with Codecraft Works, educators can become active participants in shaping the future of our technology-driven world. Join our community and empower your students to become the next generation of coders, innovators, and problem-solvers. Sign up today and unleash the potential of your students!

Ready to get started?

Organize Your Competition ⎋

Volunteer to Judge a Competition ⎋