Technology is a big part of almost every industry now and has changed the way we live, learn, and think. Most students are taught how to consume technological products in their education and daily lives, rather than creating ways for them to use computational thinking skills and computer programming - coding to solve complex problems.
To support students in developing these 21st century competencies and controlling (not just consuming) technology, introducing computer programing (coding) in K-12 education is an essential approach.
Computational Thinking
An essential skill and systematic approach to solving complex problems are not just in computer science, but many other subject areas, careers, and daily lives (Miller, 2019).
Computational thinking involves 6 stages: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, generalization, algorithms, and evaluation. The infographic below is created with the definition of computational thinking by Liane O'Kane (2016).
Coding teaches many skills beyond computer science and it touches on most of the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards for Students and British Columbia’s Core Competencies to support students in their growth as:
“Empowered Learners, Digital Citizens, Knowledge Constructors, Innovative Designers, Global Collaborators, Computational Thinkers, and Creative Communicators” (ISTE, 2021).
The skills that students can acquire when learning coding are: Logical thinking, Reasoning skills, Creativity, Perseverance, Problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, Mathematical skills (Alexiou-Ray, Raulston, Fenton & Johnston, 2020).
Mitch Resnick (2013), MIT Scratch developer, argues that these computational skills that students learn through programming activities will be useful and beneficial in their lives regardless of what they are going to be in their work lives in the future.
“The ability to code, like the ability to read and write, is becoming essential for full participation in today's society” (Resnick, 2013).
“Coding is a new literacy. To thrive in tomorrow’s society, young people must learn to design, create, and express themselves with digital technologies" (Berkman Klein Center, 2014).
The learning by coding is underpinned by constructionism by Papert and Harel (1991) as they define learning as “building knowledge structures through progressive internalization of actions”. Students work and represent their knowledge and understanding through the use of computer coding programs. Individuals construct their understanding by trialing and re-trialing, share their coding products with their peers to refine their understanding of the problem and deepen their knowledge further.
If coding is to gain ubiquity with the K-12 curriculum, it is important to understand the perspectives of teachers from all subject areas, especially in non-STEM disciplines on coding as a teaching and learning tool.
In the research by Ray, Rogers & Hocutt (2020), they explored the change in perspectives of K-12 non-STEM discipline teachers regarding coding as an instructional tool and they found that participants’ perspectives improved after participating in coding activities. The results indicate that 69% of the participants agree that coding is a critical skill to learn but 51% identify themselves lack confidence in their ability to integrate coding in their teaching practice.
The report also identifies that some other challenges and barriers that educators may face when integrating coding in their teaching, such as “not enough time, lack of administrative support and/or awareness of the value of coding, potential monetary costs, alignment to standards, and how to assess the complex skills when honed while coding” (Ray, Rogers & Hocutt, 2020, p. 27).
Ray et al. make suggestions to increase teachers’ self-efficacy and positive attitudes towards coding as an effective learning and teaching tool, such as providing professional development opportunities to experience coding for in-service teachers and integrating coding into the preservice teacher training program.
While the idea of teaching coding may seem overwhelming and complex, basic coding lessons do not even need to start with a computer. Coding lessons can then progress from simple to complex.
1) Unplugged Coding: does not require computer technology
Ex) teaching the vocabulary and basic concepts (algorithm, sequencing, loop, decomposition, branching, debugging) of coding, writing an algorithm of daily routine, reading books encouraging coding, etc.
2) Plugged Coding: simple, visual block programing tools, games, web-based software
These are examples of coding programs that can give you a start in teaching coding in your classes.
Alexiou-Ray, J., Raulston, C., Fenton, D., & Johnston, S. (2020). Coding: Coding in the K-12 Classroom. In A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich & R. Kimmons (Eds.), The K-12 Educational Technology Handbook. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/k12handbook/coding_in_k-12
Aspinall, B. (2015). 10 Reasons to Teach Coding. Retrieved from http://brianaspinall.com/10-reasons-to-teach-coding-sketchnote-by-sylviaduckworth/
Berkman Klein Center. (2014). 21st century literacy: New initiative makes the case that learning to code is for everyone [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://cyber.harvard.edu/node/95731
Miller, J. (2019). STEM education in the primary years to support mathematical thinking: using coding to identify mathematical structures and patterns. ZDM Mathematics Education, p. 915–927.
O'Kane, L. (2016). ICOMPUTE. Retrieved from http://www.icompute-uk.com/news/computational-thinking-2/
Papert, S., & Harel, I. (1991). Constructionism. New York: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Ray, B., Rogers, R., & Hocutt, M. (2020). Perceptions of non-STEM discipline teachers on coding as a teaching and learning tool: what are the possibilities?. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 36(1), p. 19-31.
Resnick, M. (2013). Reading, Writing, and Programming: Mitch Resnick at TEDxBeaconStreet. TEDx Talks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42_30Rgf6F0&feature=emb_logo