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Chapters

This textbook is organized into 35 chapters covering 657 concepts.

Chapter Overview

  1. What Is a Coding Club - Introduces coding clubs, their setting (school/library/community center), and the continuous-improvement mindset that keeps them sustainable across leadership changes.
  2. AI, Intelligent Textbooks, and Where Coding Clubs Meet - Explains how generative AI, intelligent textbooks, and learning graphs are reshaping coding clubs, and frames the club's mission, audience, and vision.
  3. Writing Your Club Charter and Safety Policies - Covers drafting a charter and values statement plus the safety, consent, and privacy policies that protect students and volunteers.
  4. Club Roles, Governance Structure, and Branding - Defines the roles of leaders, mentors, students, and parents, then covers governance structure, legal basics, and club branding.
  5. Gauging Interest and Holding Your First Meeting - Walks through surveying interest, founding the club, and running a well-planned first meeting that creates a strong walk-in experience.
  6. Growing, Branding, and Promoting Your Club - Covers scaling a club responsibly, crafting an elevator pitch, and promoting it through outreach, media, and milestone events.
  7. Telling Your Club's Story and Designing the Classroom - Combines success-story sharing and communication channels with the physical classroom layout that supports mentoring.
  8. Running a Session: Room Layout to Cleanup - Details the operational flow of a single session, from warm-up through safety zones to cleanup routines.
  9. Mentors, Students, and the 3:1 Ratio - Introduces mentors and students, the recommended 3:1 ratio, and the process of adding and matching both groups.
  10. Building Mentor-Student Relationships That Last - Covers check-in routines, feedback, attendance tracking, mentor recruitment sources, and the trust-building that sustains long-term mentoring pairs.
  11. Choosing a Schedule and Building Registration - Compares scheduling models (Saturday, weekday, drop-in) and builds a mentor-gated registration system with waiting lists.
  12. Running Events and Learning From Retrospectives - Covers check-in systems, attendance, post-event surveys, and the retrospective process that captures lessons learned.
  13. Special Events, Payments, and Term Wrap-Up - Covers workshops, camps, guest speakers, payment processing, and the policies that close out a term.
  14. Computational Thinking, Scratch, and Python Basics - Introduces the core computational thinking skills, then the Scratch and Python fundamentals used to build coding skill.
  15. Designing a Curriculum With Challenge Cards and Portfolios - Covers curriculum tracks and pacing, plus challenge cards, portfolios, and peer code review as engagement tools.
  16. Physical Computing and Electrical Safety Basics - Introduces breadboards, basic components, and the electrical safety rules that must precede any hands-on circuit work.
  17. Sensors, Displays, Motors, and Robot Chassis - Covers the sensor, display, and motor building blocks used across the club's physical computing projects and robots.
  18. Robots, USB Basics, and Electronics Workshop Skills - Covers robot assembly and control, USB connectors, and the workshop skills (troubleshooting, datasheets) mentors need.
  19. Raspberry Pi Pico, MicroPython, and the Moving Rainbow Kit - Introduces MicroPython on the Raspberry Pi Pico through the popular Moving Rainbow LED kit and its seasonal patterns.
  20. Sensor, Sound, and IoT Project Kits - Covers the gyroscope, motion, sound, and IoT kits students use to explore sensing and environmental monitoring.
  21. Managing Your Kit Inventory and Signal Processing Kits - Covers the operational side of kits (storage, loaner programs, documentation) plus signal processing and wearable kits.
  22. Purchasing and Configuring Club Devices - Covers laptop and Chromebook purchasing, account setup, and the security and content-filtering policies needed for a youth setting.
  23. Network, Peripherals, and the Device Lifecycle - Covers network setup, bookmarks, peripherals, and the full device lifecycle from donation through retirement.
  24. Tracking Student Data and Managing Club Communication - Covers student data tracking and privacy, plus the email, calendar, and feedback tools used to run the club.
  25. Analyzing Club Data and Choosing the Right Tools - Covers attendance and enrollment analytics, spreadsheet skills, and how to responsibly evaluate third-party data tools.
  26. Motivation, Badges, and Growth Mindset Coaching - Covers intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, challenge cards, badges, and coaching students through a growth mindset.
  27. Encouraging Persistence and Student Voice - Covers recognition, encouragement language, handling frustration, and giving students voice and choice in their projects.
  28. Reaching Underserved Communities and Removing Barriers - Covers recruiting a diverse membership and removing cost, transportation, and accessibility barriers to participation.
  29. Building Trust and Representation in Your Club - Covers culturally responsive teaching, representation, and the community partnerships that build lasting trust.
  30. Budgeting, Fundraising, and Grant Writing - Covers building a club budget and raising funds through grants, sponsorships, and crowdfunding.
  31. Tracking Expenses and Building Funding Partnerships - Covers expense tracking, reimbursement, and the school, library, and community partnerships that fund a club long-term.
  32. AI Agents for Registration, Scheduling, and Communication - Introduces AI agents for operational tasks like registration and scheduling, alongside the human oversight needed to use them responsibly.
  33. AI-Customized Curriculum and Rolling Out New Agents - Covers using AI to customize curriculum and mentor coaching, and the process for evaluating and rolling out new AI agents.
  34. Establishing an Oversight Board and Inventory System - Covers forming an oversight board and building the inventory system that tracks kits and equipment.
  35. Training Mentors and Building a Club That Outlasts You - Covers advanced mentor training and the succession planning, documentation, and strategic vision that make a club sustainable.

How to Use This Textbook

Chapters are ordered so that every concept appears after its prerequisites -- work through them in sequence for the smoothest path, though the taxonomy grouping means you can also treat each block of chapters (governance, curriculum, physical computing, kits, devices, funding, AI agents) as a semi-independent unit once its own prerequisite chapters are done.

Note: Each chapter includes a list of concepts covered. Make sure to complete prerequisites before moving to advanced chapters.