Abstract
Data that shows that young children can learn and acquire Computational Thinking (CT) skills has led governments and policymakers internationally to integrate CT into the curriculum, starting in the earliest grades. Researchers support the idea that this introduction must not solely focus on a problem-solving process skill (CT) but instead provide children with new ways to express themselves, supporting their cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development (Computational Fluency-CF). Coupled with the media and government’s rhetoric and an increasing number of apps offering various programming lessons, puzzles, and challenges, educators have been responsible for introducing young children to CT and CF using touchscreen technology. This paper presents a literature review (N= 21) of empirical studies on applying four coding apps to support young children’s learning of CT and CF. The main conclusion is that all apps positively affect the development of children’s CT skills. None of the apps can ultimately support the development of CF, although ScratchJr, with a “sandbox” approach, can better help students express themselves.
Highlights
Research shows that quality and intensive early childhood education positively affects children’s learning later in life (Bers, 2019; Yu and Roque, 2018)
The present study focuses on how young children can engage in Computational Thinking and Computational Fluency (CF) using new programming interfaces such as mobile applications
The results presented in this study should serve as a benchmark and challenge for teachers, researchers, and software developers to be mindful of what demands and expectations we are placing on young children as they learn to code (Clarke-Midura et al, 2019)
Summary
Research shows that quality and intensive early childhood education positively affects children’s learning later in life (Bers, 2019; Yu and Roque, 2018). The development of Computational Thinking skills for young children attract increasing attention (Strawhacker et al, 2018) as a new literacy for the twenty-first century (Bers, 2020). As Bers (2020) highlights, coding can be studied as a domain-general problem-solving mechanism and a process that allows users to create shareable products. In a world where Moore’s law is picking up its pace, skills in coding would no longer make sense (Byrd, 2020) as computational thinking and coding are problem-solving process skills. It is skill sets that provide children with new ways to express themselves, supporting their cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development (Sullivan et al, 2017; Strawhacker et al, 2018; Sheehan et al, 2019). What is needed more than ever are not just code wizards, but
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