A guiding hand: the journey to confidence, competence and an engaging curriculum

In the world of ICT and computing teaching, the last ten years have been characterised by changes and challenges for teachers. Curriculum updates, inadequate teacher support and a global pandemic have made the teaching and learning of computing and communication skills difficult, but also created many opportunities.

We originally created Purple Mash to support ICT teaching over 17 years ago when we were still using CD-ROMs, and we have adapted and modified it continuously since then to address our customers’ needs. In 2017, we released a new Computing Scheme of Work to further support teachers in providing successful, fun and impactful computing education.

Now, five years later, we are embarking on an independent research programme to see what difference the Scheme is making. As part of that programme, we have commissioned a review of the state of computing education, looking at research from the last ten years, and a series of case studies with schools currently using Purple Mash. The remaining research activities, including surveying over 80,000 Purple Mash users, will be conducted over the course of 2022.

Each contributor has given their individual opinions and experiences, exploring a range of different ways of using Purple Mash. This report focuses on the ways in which Purple Mash addresses the challenges from the last decade, first reviewing the existing research around the teaching of computing.