Impact Report 2023/24: Encouraging independent learning

Independent learning is important. In fact, it’s vital. Learning to learn independently is a pathway to becoming a high-level problem solver and informed decision maker - skills which will serve young people well when they enter the digital economy.

Independent learning is intrinsically linked to a student’s motivation to learn computing because it offers the freedom to put computing in a context. That’s why learning digital and essential skills through Apps for Good empowers young people to take action on the issues they care about most - in their own lives and communities. We see this every year in our Showcase.

But, there still aren’t enough skilled people entering the digital economy to meet the demands of rapid growth fuelled by continuous tech innovation. According to technology recruiter Morgan McKinley, writing for We Are Tech Women, “The hot new trends and demand for talent are around Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, where most companies continue to struggle with a shortage of skilled talent.” In addition to technology skills, the article highlights “problem solving and a strong self-learning ability’ as necessary to ‘boost your technology abilities”

It’s not just about the number of people coming through the ranks. Diversity continues to be a huge challenge in the digital economy. The Tech Talent Charter’s Diversity in Tech Report 2024 states:

• Just 29% of UK tech employees are women or non-binary.
• Amongst senior UK tech role holders, just 21% are women and just 14% are from ethnic minorities.
• 25% of UK tech employees are from ethnic minorities and just 5% are black.
• 6% of UK tech employees are disabled, compared to 23% of the wider working age population.

In a recent UK Tech News podcast, Dr. Claire Thorne, co-CEO of Tech She Can, discussed how many girls have two major career drivers - one is for doing social good and the other is to do something creative, but they don’t associate those two things with tech roles. This is in addition to a general lack of confidence in STEM subjects and a lack of access to relatable role models.

Joysy John MBE writes that the current approach to teaching computing in the English curriculum, “risks leaving girls and pupils from poorer backgrounds and ethnic minorities behind, as evidenced by the number and diversity of students studying the subject”. She believes the answer lies in “making the subject come alive and making it more project-based”, as well as linking it to the interests of young people, “particularly relevant when it comes to girls or people from disadvantaged backgrounds studying computing”. Apps for Good partners agree that it’s particularly important to target young people from less advantaged backgrounds; Jack McMahon, Head of Communities at The PA Foundation, says, “We need to do everything we can to equip young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the digital skills that are needed in the future so that they can take advantage of these new opportunities and not get left behind.”

There are ways to encourage more people from underrepresented groups, including girls, into technology careers - if we make computing relatable, engaging and accessible.

We believe it’s vital to embrace learning approaches in education that foster a culture of inclusion and diversity - that give students from all backgrounds the opportunity to change their world for the better.

Regardless of their attainment level, students on Apps for Good courses work in pairs and teams to support each other’s learning, nurturing a sense of inclusion. By collaborating with peers - sometimes those they wouldn’t usually choose to work with - they develop and practise their essential skills, specifically speaking, teamwork and leadership and in turn, confidence.

Passive learning does not lend itself well to computing. Instead, we promote a dynamic classroom filled with active (often noisy!) learners, which is more reflective of working life. Our eWorkbook and other course materials provide structured, yet flexible sessions, and students and teachers work through them together. Teachers often tell us this means they are able to circulate around the classroom and support students, rather than ‘teach from the front’.

To attract a broad range of learners to computing, our courses are student-driven, enabling them to build an app prototype to tackle a social challenge that they care about - something impacting their own life or community. This means they are motivated and engaged, while learning and practising new digital and essential skills in a real-world context.

We gather insights through student surveys, interviews and focus groups, in order to understand whether independent learning and a social action focus - both core components of our courses - work to engage a range of learners with computing. Our 2023/24 data shows that it does.

Firstly, our surveys confirm that in practice, students taking Apps for Good courses do have more opportunities to learn independently in computing lessons (70% of respondents agreed) and they work on issues that are important to them (73% agreed). Interestingly, the latter figure was 77% for respondents identifying as female, compared to 67% for students identifying as male, suggesting that girls in particular connect with the social action focus of our courses. Our qualitative data goes a step further, helping us to understand the impact of that independent learning on students’ experience during the course, and their skills and aspirations.

Fraser Christie, a teacher at St Paul’s RC Academy in Dundee, has been delivering Apps for Good courses for a number of years. Engaging more female students in computing is a key priority, and Fraser told us that the social action angle, and the emphasis on essential skills, means that the content really resonates with the girls he teaches. One of his student teams on the App for Social Action course designed an app to help people with dyslexia, inspired by the lived experience of one of their team members. Fraser commented, “I think the fact that it was a real, very relevant issue to them, it just gave them a bit more drive to push on with it and produce a really nice prototype.” Fraser also piloted our new AI for Good course in 2023/24, and said that all the courses suit the agenda around getting more girls into tech “because the teams that seem to be successful were the teams of girls with better soft skills [...] it's a good opportunity for them to shine.”

Fraser’s students told us that choosing to build an app around a cause that meant something to them helped make the course enjoyable and empowering. Ania, an S4 student on the AI for Good course, said, “It does feel good, knowing that you're able to address what you actually care about. It feels like you're actually able to change something in the world, you're actually able to be part of solving problems.” Ania’s experience also highlights that for many students, a social action approach makes a technology career more appealing; she has chosen to study computing further and said that the AI for Good course influenced the decision by “putting technology in a more positive light.” This sentiment was echoed in feedback from students at other schools, with Emily from Daubeney Academy saying, “Before the Apps for Good course I wasn't really thinking about [studying computer science]. But now I think I will most likely choose computer science as one of my subjects because you can help save the world or change the world, just by using technology.”