Aim/Purpose: This paper presents findings on a curricular intervention aimed at integrating computer programming with reading and writing in early elementary school. The purpose of this research was to explore the relation between students' varying literacy levels and their level of success in mastering an introductory programming language.…

Since the 1960s, a group of educators and researchers have championed the idea that learning coding and learning to read and write are, in some sense, part of the same skill set, but the grounds for asserting that similarity have continually shifted. Some have argued that as texts increasingly integrate digital components, expertise in coding will…

Project-based assessment has been used to evaluate coding projects created by students for a long time. Nevertheless, there is a lack of rigorously tested project-based coding rubrics that are developmentally appropriate for early childhood. This study presented the development and testing of a coding rubric to evaluate children's creations with…

Computer programming for young children has grown in popularity among both educators and product developers, but still relatively little is known about what skills children are developing when they code. This study investigated N = 57 Kindergarten through second grade children's performance on a programming assessment after engaging in a 6-week…

Computer programming and associated Computational Thinking (CT) skills are essential to thriving in today's academic and professional world. There has been a growing focus globally on fostering CT skills as well as on introducing computer programming concepts and languages beginning as early as kindergarten and pre-primary school. Tools,…

With a growing number of ScratchJr usage, over 19 million users worldwide, we examined the use in the United States of the free ScratchJr programming language, explicitly designed for young children ages 5-7, to learn how to code. Our objective was to explore children's usage of the ScratchJr tablet app at home and school settings. We analyzed…

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the missing "T" of technology and "E" of engineering in early childhood STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) curricula. Robotics offers a playful and tangible way for children to engage with both T and E concepts during their foundational early childhood…

Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In "Beyond Coding," Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children…

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to explore whether having state Computer Science standards in place will increase young children's exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Background: Computer science education in the K-2 educational segment is receiving a growing amount of attention as national and state…

Aim/Purpose: Educational robotics competitions are a popular way to increase students' interest in science and engineering during their K-12 years. However, female students are typically underrepresented in these competitions. The goal of this study is to determine differences in the experiences of male and female robotics competition students in…

In recent years, there has been an increased effort to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education. In accordance with the international trend, programming has become an increasingly growing focus in European education. With over 9.5 million iPhone Operating System (iOS) downloads, ScratchJr is the most popular freely…

In recent years, Singapore has increased its national emphasis on technology and engineering in early childhood education. Their newest initiative, the Playmaker Programme, has focused on teaching robotics and coding in preschool settings. Robotics offers a playful and collaborative way for children to engage with foundational technology and…

There is a need for developmentally appropriate Computational Thinking (CT) assessments that can be implemented in early childhood classrooms. We developed a new instrument called "TechCheck" for assessing CT skills in young children that does not require prior knowledge of computer programming. "TechCheck" is based on…

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on children and computer programming by focusing on a programming language for children in Kindergarten through second grade. Sixty-two students were exposed to a 6-week curriculum using ScartchJr. They learned foundational programming concepts and applied those concepts to create personally…

KIBO is a developmentally appropriate robotics kit for young children that is programmed using interlocking wooden blocks; no screens or keyboards are required. This study describes a pilot KIBO robotics curriculum at an urban public preschool in Rhode Island and presents data collected on children's knowledge of foundational programming concepts…