W6- What are the compelling arguments both for and against computer coding in schools?
For this week's essential question, I reflected upon my own children’s learning journeys matriculating through school in Alaska. My daughter attended a Waldorf school until 8th grade, and my son has attended a Montessori based school K-5, each school having different academic philosophies and neither has placed great emphasis on coding in particular. From a development perspective I have seen amazing results in reading, creativity and arts from focusing on outdoor play, story telling, singing and crafting. When I think about coding, it’s from a perspective of building something purposeful for humans, but the way you get to building something cool or useful is not to sit down with a bunch of tools and hope something comes together. I believe it starts with the contextual elements and must be felt, heard and experienced before one can synthesize meaning and organize code into beautiful things for people. With that said learning coding is really no different than learning a language, studies have shown us that starting language learning at an early age and retaining the subtle nuances is much easier similar to Mitch Resnick of MIT referencing “new technology fluency” in his Ted Talk. In my work I tend to do a lot of fancy footwork to mitigate lack of tech skill in learning new applications with tenured employees. For many adult learners they see themselves as too old to “code”. Creating relevance in the need to learn something new is even more prescient when doing employee development but also key at the student level as well. Practical application can be a huge motivator, as evidenced in the Iowa BIG program that gives students real problems like organizing a middle school summer class about coding. I was impressed with the breadth of reach and impact that “Hour of Code” has had across the globe. Of course coding may not be for everyone but the benefits of introduction can lead anywhere vs no where if not made possible. During my tenure at Apple they put a lot of development into providing resources for both educators and students to ignite interest in coding for kids. The “fun” element of coding can be a great introduction through puzzles and games which gives way to practical applications as confidence and skill grows. In conclusion the argument for introduction of coding in schools is...absolutely however it should follow a growth mindset approach layering in complexity based on real world application solving problems the students can taste the outcome of their intellectual investment. Again I really do believe high level coding is not for everyone however what’s possible must not be limited by a venture into coding not taken.
20 Best Programming Languages for Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2020, from https://www.codecamp.com.au/blog/20-best-programming-languages-kids
Smith, D. G. (2018, May 4). At What Age Does Our Ability to Learn a New Language Like a Native Speaker Disappear? Retrieved February 23, 2020, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/at-what-age-does-our-ability-to-learn-a-new-language-like-a-native-speaker-disappear/
Resnick, M. (n.d.). Let's teach kids to code. Retrieved February 23, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code?language=en
Here is a previous Blog I wrote on this topic: https://edet637.tumblr.com/
