The national computing curriculum in Czechia was revised in 2021 to incorporate various topics, including fundamental principles of the internet and computer networks at the ISCED level 2 (age \sim11-15). However, schools face a shortage of age-appropriate teaching materials on this subject. To address this gap, we developed four model lessons and corresponding materials tailored for ISCED 2 students and teachers at two levels of difficulty. The primary objective of these lessons is to elucidate the structure and fundamental principles of the internet, building on prevalent student preconceptions. This work is grounded in the constructivist instructional framework known as Evocation - Realisation of Meaning - Reflection (ERR). The lessons were created and validated through design-based research conducted across six schools, involving 13 classes and a total of approximately 270 students. Pre-post-delayed testing revealed very large immediate improvements following the intervention ( d = 1.72, p < 0.001, n = 204) as well as large, sustained effects months later ( d = 1.10, p < 0.001, n = 59). This paper details the development, implementation, and evaluation of these lessons, providing a valuable resource for educators in various contexts.

Teaching the principles of how digital technologies work at the K-5 level is underexplored. We created six model lessons for children covering this topic as part of the newly updated Czech national computing curriculum. Here, we introduce these lessons. They can be viewed through the lenses of a constructivist educational framework, Evocation - Realization of Meaning - Reflection. Four lessons target younger learners (Grades ~2-4) and include topics such as storing and deleting data, data size and computer viruses, among others. Two lessons target older children (Grade ~4-5) and focus on the structure and functioning of the internet and digital footprints. The lessons are organized around probing child preconceptions about the lesson topics, showing brief animated videos, and introducing new concepts through instructional analogies, discussions and unplugged activities. The paper describes how the lessons were created and evaluated; discusses their structure along with sample activities and analogies; and presents lessons learnt and how our approach can be used by others. Altogether, the paper contributes by complementing existing reports on primary computing education.

Computer science education in the Czech Republic's primary school curriculum (ISCED 1) is now, similar to other countries, undergoing a transformation to respond current needs. This includes principles of how the Internet functions. Little is known about how prepared novice primary school teachers are for teaching this topic. Here, we have taken one step in addressing this issue by examining what preconceptions novice Czech primary school teachers have about how the Internet functions (N = 62; semi-structured interviews). Data are analysed using thematic and frequency analyses. Preliminary results suggest that teachers have many misconceptions about how the Internet works.

The revised Czech national computing curriculum for grades 6-9 entails the topic of how digital devices work. Up to date materials for teaching this topic are lacking in the Czech context. Our goal is to create such materials. As a first step, we mapped preconceptions of children from grades 6-9 about how a digital devices work and what hardware parts they comprise of (N = 53, semi-structured interviews). Preliminary analysis uncovered some preconceptions not discovered by existing literature. This poster presents these preconceptions.