A 60-minute programming lesson, minute by minute

What happens in a programming lesson depends largely on the child's age and on the stage of the lesson itself. At Mars IT School a standard lesson lasts exactly 60 minutes. The core principle of our approach: 80% of the time goes to practice and only 20% to theory. Work on a project starts from the very first lesson.

What makes a good lesson

How can you tell a lesson is well designed? First, one lesson brings only one new idea. That avoids overload and helps the child absorb the material.

Second, during practice children do not get ready-made solutions. Teachers give hints only, so students find the right path themselves.

Third, every lesson ends with an artifact: something the child made on their own and can show you right after class.

The lesson skeleton: 60 minutes, minute by minute

Here is how the 60 minutes run, following our standards. The lesson opens with a 2-3 minute hook: a short introduction that grabs attention and sets children up to work.

Next comes review, 4-5 minutes. Children recall earlier material from memory rather than rereading notes. Then 7-8 minutes go to explaining one new idea.

After that comes the main part, Practice I, 18-22 minutes. Then a short mini-quiz of 3-5 minutes.

Practice II follows, 13-17 minutes. This stage may include a guided step that uses artificial intelligence. The last 4-5 minutes wrap up the lesson.

How the approach differs by age

Age strongly affects how long a child can concentrate. We accept students from age 9. For ages 9-11 in AI Kids, a continuous block of work is limited to 15 minutes,,.

Teenagers aged 12-17 in AI Pilot can focus for longer,. For them a continuous block of work can reach 25-30 minutes.

When not to rush

If your child has just joined, do not expect complex code in the first week. The first month is mandatory for all new students and is called "AI-Pilot",.

During this period children learn basic work with the PC and files, touch typing, and logic. They also meet artificial intelligence, how it works, and look at practical examples. This is the foundation for everything that follows.

How to check progress at home

Once a month the child creates a public artifact, and you get a link (URL) to their work.

You can also open the parent cabinet on the Space learning platform. It shows progress, homework and earned MAR$ coins. Children can spend the coins on real goods in our internal Coinshop.

One fact about Mars IT School

So that a mentor can give each student enough attention, our groups have from 8 to 12 children.

Frequently asked questions

How many lessons a week?

The standard plan includes 12 lessons a month.

What if my child misses a lesson?

The mentor goes over the missed topic with the child individually. Materials and recordings stay in the student's Space profile.

What if practice is too hard?

We do not do the work for the student. Mentors give hints that lead the child toward the solution so they grasp the logic themselves.

Book a trial lesson so your child can try our format.