There has recently been a lot of
discussion about improving computer science education and the need to include
the elementary and middle school students in the process. As a K-8 technology teacher, this age group
is always on my mind. After attending a recent
Scratch Conference at MIT, I am convinced, more than ever, that 21st century technology
skills have an important place in even the earliest rungs of the K-8 ladder.
Kindergarten, and, in some cases,
pre-school, is the ideal time to expose young children to computer
science. According to the educational philososphy of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, young children are primed for learning. Her approach focuses on developing a child's independence, freedom within limits, and respect for child's natural pyschological development. She believed "Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the enviornment."
Montessori emphasized constructivism - the idea that children acquire
knowledge by acting on the world around them. This model is a perfect fit with
computer science and computational problem-solving. Constructivism stresses the importance of a
child’s active participation in the learning process Computer programming places the emphasis of learning on the child by allowing her to take on the active role of designer and builder. At the same time, the iterative nature of computer programming, (i.e, start with a clearly-stated idea, create a working prototype, experiement with it, debug it when things go wrong, get feedback from others, then revise and redesign it) teaches students to think reflectively about the problem-solving process itself. Hence, computer science is a practical and powerful way for teachers to implement constructivist learning in the elementary classroom.
In order for young children to develop competency in
computer science from a natural learning process, parents, teachers and
administrators should support this effort. Unfortunately, many adults, instead
of encouraging their children to explore computer science, share their
knowledge of computer technology in the form of “smart” devices and Apps. According to a 2012 study conducted by the
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop (iLearnII, An Analysis of the
Education Category of Apple’s App Store, Carly Shuler, 2012)
over 80% of the top selling apps in the Education category of the iTunes store
target children. In 2009, almost half
(47%) of the top selling apps targeted preschool or elementary-aged
children. By 2012 that number increased
to almost three-quarters (72%). While not
necessarily a bad thing, parents and teachers should focus their energy on
encouraging children to become developers, not consumers, of technology.
It has long been assumed that only
adults, including college and high school students, can understand the basics
of computer science. However, recent
studies have shown that even children as young as age four, can learn to
program.
The Tangible Kindergarten
(TangibleK) Project, a study conducted by the DevTech research group at Tufts
University, demonstrated the potential of integrating robotics and computer
programming into early childhood learning experiences. This research team found that children as
young as four and half were able to successfully program a robot to complete a
variety of challenges (Kazakoff & Bers, 2011)
According to their website, “The overarching goal of
the Tangible Kindergarten project was to explore how we can help young children
to develop computational thinking by engaging them in computer programming and
robotics in a developmentally appropriate way.”
Building on the philosophy of
Maria Montessori, where students are provided specifically designed “materials
for development”, the TangibleK curriculum provides ways for young children to engage
directly with the programming environment, thus helping preschoolers to take
charge of the learning process.
Because of the proliferation of Apps and other technologies, families and educators are looking for guidance. Now is the time to take charge of the conversation and steer it towards creating a generation of technology producers. According to Professor Marina Bers, Director of the DevTach Research Group, "Computers for most people are black boxes. I believe kids should understand objects are 'smart' not becuase they're just smart, but because someone programmed them to be smart.'
Students no longer have to wait until high school to experience the
learning benefits of computer science. I
am eager to share my love of computing with my K-8 students and thanks to the
research from Tufts University, I now have the resources to make that happen. Resources:
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