There’s one sentence that tells you exactly how your lesson is going.
If students keep asking:
“Is this right?”
It feels like a lesson.
If students start asking:
“Why is it doing that?”
It feels like Computer Science.
And that tiny difference changes everything in the room.
“Is this right?” is a school question
That question really means:
- Am I about to be wrong?
- Is the teacher going to come over?
- Should I stop touching the keyboard?
The student is watching you.
They’re trying to avoid mistakes, not understand what’s happening.
They’re in performance mode.
“Why is it doing that?” is a computing question
That question means:
- Something interesting just happened
- I want to poke it and see more
- This is actually quite fun
Now they’re watching the screen, not you.
They’ve forgotten you’re even there.
This is where the real learning happens.
The quiet mistake we all make
We often structure CS lessons like this:
Explain → show → worksheet → answers.
Which quietly tells students:
“Your job is to get this correct.”
But CS works best when students feel:
“Your job is to see what happens.”
One feels like school.
The other feels like experimenting.
What makes students switch off
The moment they feel judged.
They become cautious.
They stop trying things.
They ask “Is this right?” before they even press run.
Because being wrong feels risky.
What makes students switch on
The moment they feel safe to press run and just see.
They stop worrying about being wrong.
They start changing things out of curiosity.
They break the code on purpose just to see the effect.
That’s when you know they’re learning.
This is where the classroom feel matters
A busy slide, cramped sheet, loud wall display all quietly say:
“Be careful.”
A calm layout, clear steps, and space say:
“Try it.”
And students respond to that without you saying a word.
Try this small change
Instead of saying:
“Complete the task.”
Say:
“Run it and see what happens.”
You’ll hear fewer “Is this right?”
And more “Why did it do that?”
The real sign of a great CS lesson
Not perfect silence.
Not perfect answers.
But students leaning into their screens saying:
“Wait… why did it do that?”
Because that’s when it stops feeling like a lesson.
And starts feeling like Computer Science.