Coding and computational thinking is more about just programming computers. Teaching children to code and solve computing problems helps them develop skills that can be used all across the curriculum and throughout life. Computational thinking is a way of taking problems, breaking them down into smaller, more solvable problems and then working out the detailed steps required to solve them.
Here are six reasons to incorporate coding and computational thinking into your lessons:
1. Children become better problem solvers
Children become better problem solvers. Being able to solve problems is a life-long skill that will help children throughout their school life and into adulthood and employment.
2. Coding improves numeracy and literacy
To be able to code you need to be good at breaking problems into smaller chunks and you need to be able to plan. Both of these skills can help improve children’s numeracy and literacy. Not to mention that coding helps… ??
3. Coding promotes creativity
Coding is an incredibly creative activity that not only requires children to think in different ways but can incorporate art, music and storytelling.
4. Coding teaches perseverance
The ability to stick with something until it works and not give up is a trait that everyone can benefit from. The process of coding is often about learning from failures; working out why it failed and then trying again. Yes, it can be frustrating but it’s also incredibly rewarding when that thing you’re trying to do finally works.
5. Coding opens up many career opportunities
Coding opens up many career opportunities. There is a significant shortage of people with computing skills in Scotland. Computing Science can offer people good job prospects and above-average salaries. Even if someone doesn’t pursue a career in computing, being able to program can be advantageous in any job and give you a unique skill.
6. Coding is fun
Making computers do things, creating games and controlling robots is just great fun.
Ways to teach Computing Science
“Coding isn’t about what you know, it’s about what you can figure out”
Chris Pine, author
There are many ways to teaching coding and computational thinking concepts to children, and only one of them actually involves doing ‘traditional’ programming.
Coding
Edinburgh’s Empowered Learning iPads include several coding apps that can support whole class teaching as well as individual self-paced learning. These include Swift Playgrounds,
Have a look at our pages on coding apps and lesson resources to get started.
Unplugged
Unplugged activities allow children to learn about the concepts without necessarily being near any technology. Activities can include:
- Dancing
- Cooking
- Drawing
Physical
Children love being able to program and move physical objects. The Empowered Learning iPads support a number to devices such as Sphero, Micro:bit and Marty the Robot.
Head over to our physical computing page for more information and lesson ideas.
App Design
Apps have revolutionised computing and they are something that people use everyday to connect to others, have fun and get work done.
Having children design apps that a have real-world context, such as designing an app for their local community, is a great way to have them think about how we interact with technology in a creative way.
Our app design page includes some ideas for getting started as well as tools and templates you can use.
Edinburgh Learns Digital 