Teacher CPD · Secondary Schools

Teaching the Junior Cycle Coding Short Course

This CPD equips teachers to deliver the Junior Cycle Coding Short Course with confidence. It explores the three strands, effective programming pedagogy including PRIMM and computational thinking, physical computing, AI from assistants to agents, and associated ethics. Teachers learn to coach and assess the single CBA, design cross-curricular hooks, and build a recruitment pipeline into Leaving Certificate Computer Science that narrows the gender gap. Participants leave with a complete year plan and renewed self-efficacy.
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Enrol now — course content opens on 1 Jul 2026. We'll email you that morning with access details.
€39
Enrolment per teacher
What's included
  • Self paced
  • Online course
  • Step-by-step lessons
  • Certificate from Coding Ireland

Explore the Course

Two lessons that establish an honest map of where you are starting from, a working understanding of what the JC Coding Short Course requires, and a productive Lead Learner mindset for delivering it without pretending to be a CS expert.

Welcome, Confidence Audit and the Lead Learner Mindset
The JC Coding Short Course: Three Strands, One CBA, 100 Hours

Engagement is the highest-frequency challenge in JC Coding. This module addresses the two most reliable levers: making a deliberate language-pathway decision, and using physical computing and cross-curricular hooks to make coding tangible and relevant.

Choosing Your Language Pathway
Physical Computing and Cross-curricular Hooks

Two lessons covering the cross-strand pedagogy that makes JC Coding teachable: evidence-based programming pedagogy aligned to the spec's computational-thinking framing, and the AI, ethics, and society content threaded through all three strands.

Programming Pedagogy for Novices, PRIMM, Computational Thinking, and Debugging
AI in Coding, from Assistants to Agents, Ethics and Computers in Society

The JC Coding Short Course has one Classroom-Based Assessment, offering students a choice between a team software project and an individual portfolio. This is the longest module because the CBA is where good teaching most directly affects student outcomes. Participants interpret the Features of Quality, coach the choice, supervise the process, mark fairly, and prepare for the SLAR.

The CBA, Two Approaches and the Features of Quality
Coaching the CBA, Choosing the Approach and Supervising the Process
Marking the CBA and Preparing for the SLAR

JC Coding is, for many schools, the recruitment pipeline into Leaving Cert Computer Science, a progression the spec explicitly names. This module treats that pipeline deliberately, with attention to the persistent gender gap and the wide ability spread, then closes with the participant's year plan and final reflection.

From JC Coding to LC CS, the Recruitment Pipeline
Your Year Plan and Final Reflection

Two lessons that establish an honest map of where you are starting from, a working understanding of what the JC Coding Short Course requires, and a productive Lead Learner mindset for delivering it without pretending to be a CS expert.

Welcome, Confidence Audit and the Lead Learner Mindset
The JC Coding Short Course: Three Strands, One CBA, 100 Hours

Engagement is the highest-frequency challenge in JC Coding. This module addresses the two most reliable levers: making a deliberate language-pathway decision, and using physical computing and cross-curricular hooks to make coding tangible and relevant.

Choosing Your Language Pathway
Physical Computing and Cross-curricular Hooks

Two lessons covering the cross-strand pedagogy that makes JC Coding teachable: evidence-based programming pedagogy aligned to the spec's computational-thinking framing, and the AI, ethics, and society content threaded through all three strands.

Programming Pedagogy for Novices, PRIMM, Computational Thinking, and Debugging
AI in Coding, from Assistants to Agents, Ethics and Computers in Society

The JC Coding Short Course has one Classroom-Based Assessment, offering students a choice between a team software project and an individual portfolio. This is the longest module because the CBA is where good teaching most directly affects student outcomes. Participants interpret the Features of Quality, coach the choice, supervise the process, mark fairly, and prepare for the SLAR.

The CBA, Two Approaches and the Features of Quality
Coaching the CBA, Choosing the Approach and Supervising the Process
Marking the CBA and Preparing for the SLAR

JC Coding is, for many schools, the recruitment pipeline into Leaving Cert Computer Science, a progression the spec explicitly names. This module treats that pipeline deliberately, with attention to the persistent gender gap and the wide ability spread, then closes with the participant's year plan and final reflection.

From JC Coding to LC CS, the Recruitment Pipeline
Your Year Plan and Final Reflection

What You'll Learn

Learning Goals

  1. Adopt the Lead Learner mindset and accurately map the architecture of the Junior Cycle Coding Short Course including its three strands, sequencing rules and single CBA
  2. Design and deliver engaging learning pathways for 12-15 year-olds that combine an appropriate programming language choice, physical computing and cross-curricular links
  3. Apply evidence-based programming pedagogy including PRIMM, worked examples, computational thinking and debugging strategies when teaching the three strands
  4. Plan, coach and assess the Classroom-Based Assessment using the Features of Quality, distinguishing clearly between the two student-choice approaches and preparing effectively for SLAR meetings
  5. Build a recruitment pipeline from Junior Cycle Coding into Leaving Certificate Computer Science that addresses the gender gap and create a coherent year-long teaching plan

Learning Outcomes

  1. Adopt the Lead Learner mindset and complete a baseline confidence audit to identify personal growth areas in teaching Junior Cycle Coding
  2. Map the three strands, sequencing rules, and single CBA requirements of the Junior Cycle Coding Short Course specification
  3. Design a deliberate language pathway that meets specification requirements for pseudo-code, HTML/CSS, and student-chosen text-based languages
  4. Apply PRIMM pedagogy, the worked-example effect, and the specification’s four-step computational thinking model when planning novice programming lessons
  5. Plan teaching sequences for AI in coding from generative assistants to agentic systems, including associated ethics and computers-in-society learning outcomes
  6. Distinguish the two CBA approaches, apply Features of Quality consistently to diverse student submissions, and prepare for effective SLAR moderation
  7. Develop a recruitment pipeline from Junior Cycle Coding to Leaving Certificate Computer Science that includes targeted interventions to address the gender gap
  8. Synthesise course content into a concrete year plan and demonstrate improved self-efficacy through a final confidence audit

Ready to start this course?

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