FAQ

Explore, Create, Share, Reflect

What is Getting Unstuck?

Getting Unstuck is a 10-module intermediate Scratch curriculum to help your students develop greater creative and conceptual fluency with code. Each of the 10 modules offers a prompt for student-directed Scratch projects using a particular computational concept. You can learn more about how Getting Unstuck works in the orientation guide.

What grades is Getting Unstuck for?

We designed the Getting Unstuck curriculum for upper elementary grades, but the curriculum has also been successfully tested with younger and older learners.

What is an "intermediate" curriculum?

There are many wonderful introductory Scratch curricula available. We wanted the Getting Unstuck curriculum to be a next step—an opportunity for students to deepen their creative and conceptual fluency with programming through more self-directed Scratch projects.

What if I don't know anything about Scratch?

No problem! As an introductory Scratch experience, we recommend beginning with our Creative Computing Curriculum.

How much does Getting Unstuck cost?

The Getting Unstuck curriculum is free! This curriculum has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, which means that you are free to use, change, and share the curriculum, as long as you provide appropriate attribution and give others access to any derivative works. The curriculum is available as Google Slides. You can preview the slides, edit the slides by making a copy, or download the slides as a PDF.

Can I translate Getting Unstuck?

Yes! Under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, you are free to translate the curriculum, as long as you provide appropriate attribution and give others access to any derivative works. If you develop a translation of the curriculum and would like to make your work available to others, please email us. We would be delighted to add your extensions to the Getting Unstuck website, with appropriate credit.

How do I cite the Getting Unstuck curriculum?

The recommended APA citation is:

Brennan, K., Haduong, P., Williamson, M. A., Peters, L., Smolevitz, S., & Yu, B. (2021). Getting unstuck: An intermediate Scratch curriculum to support design studio culture in the classroom. Creative Computing Lab. Retrieved from https://gettingunstuck.gse.harvard.edu

Who created Getting Unstuck?

The Getting Unstuck curriculum was developed through a research-practice partnership. The curriculum was designed by members of the Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education: Paulina Haduong, Mary Adelaide Williamson, Laura Peters, Sara Smolevitz, Brian Yu, and Dr. Karen Brennan. The curriculum was co-designed and classroom-tested by practitioners: Kimberly Boyce-Quentin, Jenn DesAutels, Jennifer Ham, Kate Keogh, Bonnie Knecht, Susan Leifer, Bill Marsland, Lilli Meloche, Mindy Pastuszak, Jill Osborne, Laurel Pollard, Aaron Reuland, and Bradley Quentin. The work was also supported by the members of the Getting Unstuck research advisory board: Dr. Elizabeth A. Davis, Dr. Colleen Lewis, Dr. Renée McCauley, and Dr. Mitchel Resnick.

Who funded Getting Unstuck?

Getting Unstuck was made possible with support from the National Science Foundation through grant #1908110. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

What if I have other questions about Getting Unstuck?

Connect with our team and with other educators on Twitter at @HGSE_CCL, in the Getting Unstuck Facebook group, or via email at gettingunstuck@gse.harvard.edu.