Coding at Tynkertopia
WHAT
The Tynkertopia Coding Mentorship Program will team high school students with elementary school students to focus on expanding creativity and inquiry skills through coding.
Our program embraces a “tynkering” mindset that allows students to play with their own ideas, try different approaches, contemplate what to do next, and learn from their mistakes. It is fun, creative, purposeful, and mindful at the same time. Developing coding skills is the ultimate form of “tynkering.”
WHO
We are recruiting thirty high school students who have some formal or informal experience in coding who will serve as mentors to the thirty to fifty 1st-4th grade students (mentees) interested in learning to code. Each mentor will receive a $250 US Savings Bond or Gift Certificate to help them achieve their educational goals.
Each student mentor will also be paired with an adult mentor who are engineers and computer scientists in Flagstaff. Each student mentor will have a 30- to 60-minute Zoom or face-to-face meeting with his or her adult mentor at least once during the project.
WHEN
Each mentor-mentee(s) group will meet 20-25 hours under the guidance of a Tynkertopia staff member. Our three 2021 cohorts and the number of mentors needed is summarized below:
- Cohort 1: January 18 – April 10 (Virtual)
- Cohort 2: October 8 – 30 (Face-to-Face)
- Cohort 3: November 5 – December 4 (Face-to-Face)
WHY
Tynkertopia wished to expand access to computer science and increase interest and skills in coding in Flagstaff students. Coding is important for today’s youth in that it helps students develop the skills needed for jobs in their futures. Learning to code:
- increases skills in problem solving, abstract reasoning, and computational thinking;
- develops resilience, as coding projects push students to persevere and learn how to use failure as a tool for making progress; and
- develops and uses creativity for self-expression as well as for problem-solving.
HOW
Apply to Tynkertopia’s Coding Mentorship Program at www.tynkertopia.org/events/coding/