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PYTHON a history of success

Posted on 15 May 2023

We have often mentioned that one of our biggest goals is to support and find ways to improve the education system and provide a better education for our students. Following our How to Teach Python (2021-2022) initiative, with the support of the Python Software Foundation, we secured a grant to develop another worthwhile project.

In January 2023, we started the How to Teach Python to Students training. Twenty-four teachers from the city’s nine-year schools were trained for three months at Elite Academy to gain decent competencies in teaching the Python programming language.

In the 90 minutes of each session, knowledge and interaction, interwoven with better learning techniques, built a new skill from the ground up.

Leading up to the 2030 National Strategy for incorporating Python into the curriculum from sixth grade, we believe we have done a good job. We have helped the most important actors, the students, by helping their teachers.

This project had three main goals:

1.Full training and qualification of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) teachers in knowing and teaching Python

2.Raising the level of teaching of ICT teachers in the city

3.The third goal is too broad to be synthesized in one sentence. We are confident that by helping teachers, through training, qualifications, and new approaches to teaching, we not only help them as people and professionals but work for a more far-sighted goal. Everything we do is for our young people. This training was born to create a safer environment for the future, for students to understand that their city is prone to talent and ability, and that there are teachers who can cultivate and nurture their talent to help them build a future.

Python is undeniably the most widespread programming language. Python gets used to creating web pages and other more complex structures. Thinking that the professions of the future are in the fields of technology, we felt the birth and importance of this training to be natural.

When asked how confident they felt in teaching programming languages before the training, 42.9% of teachers chose two on a 1-5 rating scale, while 57.1% chose five after completing the training. For us, it is meant that teachers, in addition to values, also have a clear overview of opportunities and potential within themselves, which allows them to be better professionals. 71% of teachers said they needed the course 5 out of 5, a clear indication the training has achieved its goal. Also, we understand that teachers, helping the students’ formation, should never compromise their own learning, as only this way do they educate by example. Half chose two regarding their Python knowledge before the course, and 57.1% chose four after the training.

At the end of the three months, the teachers were certified.

We are always demanding of ourselves, and although we feel proud, we understand we can do more. We work hard to get ahead of the times.