Dave Gibbs's public profile

Username	Dave Gibbs
Email	d.gibbs@stem.org.uk
Organisation	National STEM Centre
Current Role	Consultant/adviser

I am the Computing and Technology Specialist for STEM Learning leading on computing curriculum resources, projects and CPD.

I have taught science, including Physics to A-Level, before becoming a curriculum leader in ICT. I then managed a City Learning Centre in my home town of Sheffield, and led secondary computing and ICT support for secondary schools in Sheffield LA.

Areas of interest include teaching programming and computer science, space robotics, and making use of computation to support learning across STEM.

Resources
Opinions

Resources

Shared Resources

25 Feb 16

1 file

0

Shared Collections

1 Dec 16

11 links

0

28 Jul 16

5 links

0

28 Jul 16

3 links

0

28 Jul 16

3 links

0

28 Jul 16

20 links

0

Opinions

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

STEM Ambassadors… meet computing teachersComputing teachers have worked extremely hard to make a success of the new computing curriculum, despite only a small minority actually possessing a degree in a related field. Few have worked in industry and many have committed significant amounts of their own time to upskilling, ready to support the...

22Mar2017

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

Do you sometimes feel that you’re only a page or two ahead of your computing students? Worried that you can’t answer the tricky questions? Struggle to communicate the bigger picture, linking up fundamental computing concepts?Without extended training and deep subject knowledge, usually gained through a computer science degree, these can be...

08Feb2017

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

This is a page on the World Wide Web, within one of the 1.1 billion websites that exist today.Young people take the web for granted but do they know how a page actually arrived on their screen? To be successful in GCSE and A level computer science they’ll need to!The old ICT curriculum touched only very lightly on network hardware – students...

12Dec2016

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

Internet of things, IoT, smart homes and cities, machine-to-machine communications… whatever you call it, it’s big and growing fast.It is estimated that by 2020, more than 30 billion devices will connect to the internet, integrating with the physical world and sharing data.If you have a smart TV or thermostat, use a fitness monitor, touch your...

01Aug2016

Cross curricular

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

It is again the time of year that I really miss being a teacher. The well-earned summer break is a chance to relax, stock up on vitamin D and maybe spend some time thinking of the next academic year.So why not combine a little forward planning with a lot of fun, and try out some BBC micro:bit projects?The BBC Make it Digital team have done a great...

19Jul2016

Cross curricular, Computing

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

Our previous articles (part 1 and part 2) have looked at how problem solving is used in STEM subjects and the skills that can be transferred to other subjects to improve learning.In part 3 we learn how debugging can be utilised in other lessons as well as posing questions we as teachers should all be thinking about…Debugging – evaluation and...

07Jun2016

Computing, Cross curricular

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

In part 1 we discovered that STEM subjects have common practices that can be shared and taught in the same way to reinforce and improve students’ learning. In part 2 we look at a possible approach to problem solving in computing and how this touches other STEM subjects.Solving problems in computing – a possible approachComputers process data....

31May2016

Computing, Cross curricular

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

UK students are good problem solvers. PISA tests reveal that they are better than most international peers, including those from countries with better performance in mathematics and reading. Can this help their achievement in computing and other STEM subjects?This series of articles explores problem solving in computing and across STEM, asking ‘...

20May2016

Computing, Cross curricular

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

Python is the most popular ‘industrial strength’ programming language in UK schools. Beyond education it is widely used by data scientists and web application developers, and pops up everywhere as a scripting language.Its popularity has led to the development of lots of tools and add-ons, some of which are useful in schools. A couple of freebies...

03May2016

Posted by Dave GibbsConsultant/adviser

“A victim of its own success…”“Be careful what you ask for…”“I couldn’t pass the exam myself…” I have heard all these statements from practising teachers recently, revealing the state of panic that can be found in many computing departments across the country. The creation of a brand new subject was pretty unique, and when Michael Gove...

15Mar2016

Pages