Coding Learning to Stimulate Early Childhood Computational Thinking
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22399/ijcesen.1824Keywords:
Early Childhood, Coding Learning, Computational Thinking, STEM Education, Education TechnologyAbstract
This study aims to explore how coding activities can stimulate computational thinking in early childhood. Specifically, it investigates the effects of coding learning on computational thinking skills in young children and identifies the most effective coding activities for this purpose. An experimental design was employed, involving 100 children aged 4-6 years. Participants engaged in coding activities using platforms such as ScratchJr and Code.org over 12 weeks. Pre and post-intervention assessments measured changes in computational thinking skills, supplemented by qualitative observations and feedback from educators. The findings indicate a significant improvement in computational thinking skills among participants following the coding intervention. Descriptive statistics revealed notable advancements in pattern recognition, algorithmic thinking, and problem-solving abilities. Qualitative data provided insights into the engagement levels and learning experiences of the children. Coding learning has a positive impact on the development of computational thinking in early childhood
References
E. Relkin, L. de Ruiter, and M. U. Bers, “TechCheck: Development and Validation of an Unplugged Assessment of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education,” J Sci Educ Technol, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 482–498, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s10956-020-09831-x.
K. Larkin and T. Lowrie, STEM Education in the Early Years: Thinking About Tomorrow. Springer Nature, 2022. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-2810-9.
L. Wang, D. Shi, F. Geng, X. Hao, F. Chanjuan, and Y. Li, “Effects of cognitive control strategies on coding learning outcomes in early childhood,” Journal of Educational Research, vol. 115, no. 2, pp. 133–145, 2022, doi: 10.1080/00220671.2022.2074946.
J. F. Patiño, A. L. Calixto, A. Chiappe, and F. T. Almenarez, “Ict-driven writing and motor skills: A review,” International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 489–498, 2020, doi: 10.26822/iejee.2020562139.
J. Sarama and D. H. Clements, “Technology in early childhood education,” in Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children, Taylor and Francis, 2019, pp. 183–198. doi: 10.4324/9780429442827-14.
F. Mayne and B. Bath, “Scaffolding engagement with educational technologies to develop computational thinking in year 1 girls,” in Teaching Coding in K-12 Schools: Research and Application, Springer International Publishing, 2023, pp. 81–96. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-21970-2_6.
K. Demetriou and Z. Nikiforidou, “The relational space of educational technology: Early childhood students’ views,” Global Studies of Childhood, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 290–305, 2019, doi: 10.1177/2043610619881458.
N. S. Díaz, E. A. Mendizábal, and Y. D. Á. Ríos, “Students’ perception of the value of emerging 3D technology and creativity for their professional future in early childhood education,” Bordon, Revista de Pedagogia, vol. 70, no. 4, pp. 137–152, 2018, doi: 10.13042/Bordon.2018.62819.
W. M. V. Leung, “STEM Education in Early Years: Challenges and Opportunities in Changing Teachers’ Pedagogical Strategies,” Educ Sci (Basel), vol. 13, no. 5, May 2023, doi: 10.3390/educsci13050490.
B. Haas, Z. Lavicza, T. Houghton, and Y. Kreis, “Evaluating Technology-Enhanced, STEAM-Based Remote Teaching With Parental Support in Luxembourgish Early Childhood Education,” Front Educ (Lausanne), vol. 7, 2022, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.872479.
I. M. Revák et al., “A systematic review of STEM teaching-learning methods and activities in early childhood,” Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 20, no. 8, p. em2481, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.29333/ejmste/14779.
H. J. Lavigne, A. Lewis-Presser, and D. Rosenfeld, “An exploratory approach for investigating the integration of computational thinking and mathematics for preschool children,” Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 63–77, 2020, doi: 10.1080/21532974.2019.1693940.
A. Alam, “Educational Robotics and Computer Programming in Early Childhood Education: A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Elementary School Students’ Computational Thinking for Designing Powerful Educational Scenarios,” in 1st IEEE International Conference on Smart Technologies and Systems for Next Generation Computing, ICSTSN 2022, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2022. doi: 10.1109/ICSTSN53084.2022.9761354.
F. K. Anggoro, M. Dubosarsky, and S. Kabourek, “Developing an observation tool to measure preschool children’s problem-solving skills,” Educ Sci (Basel), vol. 11, no. 12, Dec. 2021, doi: 10.3390/educsci11120779.
K. I. McCormick and J. A. Hall, “Computational thinking learning experiences, outcomes, and research in preschool settings: a scoping review of literature,” Educ Inf Technol (Dordr), vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 3777–3812, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10639-021-10765-z.
N. Drljević, I. Botički, and L.-H. Wong, “Investigating the different facets of student engagement during augmented reality use in primary school,” British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1361–1388, 2022, doi: 10.1111/bjet.13197.
C. Tofel-Grehl, B. L. Macdonald, and K. A. Searle, “The Silent Path towards Medical Apartheid within STEM Education: An Evolving National Pedagogy of Poverty through the Absenting of STEM-Based Play in Early Childhood,” May 01, 2022, MDPI. doi: 10.3390/educsci12050342.
S. Akbar, N. Eva, I. A. Farida, F. K. Fitriyah, and S. Nurjanah, “Development of social skill training design for preschool in social distancing pandemic COVID-19,” Bali Medical Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 652–659, 2023, doi: 10.15562/bmj.v12i1.4159.
S. Sangngam, “The development of early childhood students’ creative thinking problem solving abilities through STEM Education learning activities,” in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing Ltd, Apr. 2021. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1835/1/012008.
X. Hu and N. Yelland, “Changing Learning Ecologies in Early Childhood Teacher Education: From Technology to stem Learning,” Beijing International Review of Education, vol. 1, no. 2–3, pp. 488–506, 2019, doi: 10.1163/25902539-00102005.
T. E. Ho and V. Pang, “Outcomes of an integrated STEM with design thinking module on preschoolers’ engineering practices,” Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 20, no. 4, 2024, doi: 10.29333/ejmste/14433.
A. Gegenfurtner, A. Zitt, and C. Ebner, “Evaluating webinar-based training: a mixed methods study of trainee reactions toward digital web conferencing,” Int J Train Dev, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 5–21, 2020, doi: 10.1111/ijtd.12167.
K. D. Leidl, M. Umaschi-Bers, and C. Mihm, “Programming with scratchjr: A review of the first year of user analytics,” in Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education, K. S.-C., J. SHELDON, and L. I. R.K.-Y., Eds., The Education University of Hong Kong, 2017, pp. 116–121. [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85064540756&partnerID=40&md5=38c9367686bf089a66f50b79e85ec6db
Y. Kim and H. I. Jeong, “Adopting Coding in Early Childhood Education: Teachers’ Perspectives,” IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 473–483, 2023, doi: 10.1109/TLT.2023.3264681.
S. U. Kim, “A Comparative Study on the Effects of Hands-on Robot and EPL Programming Activities on Creative Problem-Solving Ability in Children,” in ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, Association for Computing Machinery, 2020, pp. 49–53. doi: 10.1145/3401861.3401866.
S. Papadakis, J. Vaiopoulou, E. Sifaki, D. Stamovlasis, and M. Kalogiannakis, “Attitudes towards the use of educational robotics: Exploring pre-service and in-service early childhood teacher profiles,” Educ Sci (Basel), vol. 11, no. 5, 2021, doi: 10.3390/educsci11050204.
J. Palazón-Herrera and A. Soria-Vílchez, “Students’ perception and academic performance in a flipped classroom model within Early Childhood Education Degree,” Heliyon, vol. 7, no. 4, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06702.
F. Uğur-Erdoğmuş, “How do elementary childhood education teachers perceive robotic education in kindergarten? A qualitative study,” Apr. 01, 2021, Ozgen Korkmaz. doi: 10.17275/PER.21.47.8.2.
S. E. Jung and E. S. Won, “Systematic review of research trends in robotics education for young children,” Mar. 21, 2018, MDPI. doi: 10.3390/su10040905.
A. Erol, “Failure analysis and continual improvement in the engineering design process: Teacher roles in children’s problem-solving processes,” Educ Inf Technol (Dordr), 2024, doi: 10.1007/s10639-024-12489-2.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
