Launching a Coding Program in K-12 Classrooms

By Bonnie L.

Coding programs and coding camps have been becoming more popular across the nation, and perhaps even internationally.  With everything we can do online nowadays, it is perhaps no surprise that this is the case!

When to code?

One thing to consider is when students should be introduced to coding.  Some argue that it should be introduced in early years.  Part of the argument for this is that learning coding will also introduce students to digital literacy skills (Campbell & Walsh, 2017).  Campbell and Walsh argue that children benefit from hands-on and playful learning experiences.  

 The answer to when to code during K-12 is that there really is no bad time.  Some studies show that younger students may not necessarily experience learning curve accelerations while learning to code (specifically students as young as those in the second grade), but students in the 6th grade do begin to experience an acceleration in learning curves (Moreno-Leon, Robles & Roman-Gonzalez, 2016).  The younger students don't experience a deceleration, either, so there is no reason younger students can't begin to learn coding.

"DNA Sequence Bracelets from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute / European Bioinformatics Institute" by dullhunk is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

Where to code?

But where does coding, programming, or computational thinking belong in the curriculum? It can help students understand so many different subjects differently that this can be hard to answer!  Since students experience an improved understanding in sciences and math (Saez-Lopez, Sevillano-Garcia & Vasquez-Cano, 2019), and computational thinking can also help students with writing and research literacy skills, this is not easy to answer.  Unless, of course, the answer is that a coding program could be introduced across the board.  Teachers can design tasks or programs that help students explore relevant skills to both the teacher's subject area and skills such as computational thinking. 

Starting point

The starting point is getting all your ducks in a row.  

 

Figure out if you have the manpower for a larger scale program, such as including it as part of the curriculum in multiple subjects, or if you only have the manpower for a smaller project, such as starting a lunch-time coding club.  

Brainstorm with other educators, and also students, to come up with projects that will be exciting and interesting for the students while providing the foundation they need to grow and experience the different facets of coding.  I found this Edutopia post on teaching coding to be a good starting point to get ideas: https://www.edutopia.org/article/want-teach-coding-heres-where-begin.

Conclusion

There isn't really a wrong place or time to launch a coding program in K-12 classrooms.  Younger students may benefit from creative, hands-on experience and as students age up they will also benefit from digital literacy skills, collaborative skills, and creative problem-solving skills.  Coding programs are being introduced around the world and can be tailored to the needs of your students, your classroom, and your school.

References

Campbell, C., & Walsh, C. (2017). Introducing the “new” digital literacy of coding in the early years. Practical Literacy: The Early & Primary Years, 22(3), 10–12. 

Moreno-León, J., Robles, G., & Román-González, M. (2016). Code to learn: Where does it belong in the K-12 curriculum? Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 15, 283–303.  

Sáez-López, J.-M., Sevillano-García, M.-L., & Vazquez-Cano, E. (2019). The effect of programming on primary school students’ mathematical and scientific understanding: educational use of mBot. Educational Technology Research & Development, 67(6), 1405–1425. https://doi.org.n/10.1007/s11423-019-09648-5