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Evaluating the Impact of a Learn to Code Program on Children’s Cognitive Development
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Technology rapidly became a part of our lives. Young children use and observe technological devices in their daily lives. Most of the time, children are at the user position in this technological environment (such as playing with tablets). There is recently an increasing effort to put children at the developer position of technology. In some countries, programming is now even part of the school curriculum. However, there is not much information about how children are affected by coding courses.
The ongoing scientific study aims to look at the effects of learn to code programs on children’s cognitive development. Using an experimental design, we assess the impact of a 10-week coding program implemented by a large-scale education NGO in Turkey (funded by Google.org). Using a randomized controlled design, we test whether children participating in the coding program has improved scores on spatial temporal reasoning, problem-solving, and planning skills as compared to a control group. We employ developmental batteries and tasks used in the scientific literature to measure the targeted outcome variables in the most reliable and valid way. Reference: Ozcan, S.M.*, Cetinkaya, E., Goksun, T., & Kisbu-Sakarya, Y. (2021). Does learning to code influence cognitive skills of elementary school children? Findings from a randomized experiment. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Link |