Coding in Kindergarten With Screen-Free Tangible Robot Coding Toys

• In Event: Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: The State of Our Burgeoning Field

Abstract

Coding provides a playful context for young children to engage in computational thinking (Bers, 2020). By nature, computational thinking (CT) is situative, and many frameworks developed to explain CT are situated in particular contexts. For example, Brennan and Resnick’s (2012) framework is situated in Scratch and Weintrop et al.’s (2016) is situated in STEM. In this paper, we discuss how CT operationalized for early childhood is situated in both the context of the coding environment as well as the developmental level of the children. While there are many coding options available for kindergarten classrooms, this paper focuses on the context of screen-free tangible robot coding toys. Specifically, Botley, Cubetto, Robot Mouse, Bee Bot and Code-a-pilar (see table 1).

Algorithmic thinking, debugging, and decomposition are recognized as important CT skills in early childhood (see figure 1). In addition to these CT skills, tangible coding toys involve spatial skills as children program an agent to navigate a physical space with directional arrows as the primary codes (forward, back, rotate left, rotate right). Further, kindergarten is often a period of rapid developmental and cognitive growth, where numeracy and literacy skills are emergent and involve making meaning of symbols (i.e., numerals and letters). The coding context of the toys in combination with children’s developing skills necessitate a broader view of CT that accounts for symbolic-type contextual proficiencies that kindergarten-aged children must have to operate the toys: knowledge of 1-to-1 code-to-movement correspondence; semantic knowledge of what the codes mean; knowledge that the orientation of the robot determines which code to choose; and knowledge of coordinating the path with the program. Similarly, we found that mathematical knowledge influences their performance on CT tasks, including: counting-on; rotation on a point; dynamic linear units of measure; sequencing; and spatial reasoning (Authors, under review). Context proficiencies and mathematical knowledge develop in parallel with their knowledge of the CT skills while also influencing their performance on CT tasks. These CT skills, contextual proficiencies, and mathematical knowledge are similar across these toys and could also apply to some boardgames designed to teach young children CT (see Authors, 2021).
It is important to note that other coding contexts and toys have the potential to foster a wider range of CT skills such as repeat loops and math skills such as patterning, unitizing, and more advanced iterating. Similarly, using tangible coding toys with children in first grade who have a better understanding of unitizing would also require an adjustment of the contextual proficiencies and mathematical knowledge. In conclusion, coding with tangible coding toys in early childhood provide a context for children to develop CT, explore math concepts more deeply, and build connections to emergent literacy and mathematical skills. Some potential areas to explore are: Is there a hypothetical learning trajectory of CT? How would the model change across age spans (preK – second grade)? How do we expand our CT model to integrate equity and critical theories?

Authors

• Jody E. Clarke-Midura, Utah State University

• Jessica F. Shumway, Utah State University

• Deborah Silvis, Utah State University

• Victor R. Lee, Stanford University