From Computational Thinking to Computational Doing

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Marina Umaschi Bers
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Computer Programming ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Broad Definition ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Computational Literacy

Computer programming is becoming an essential skill in the 21st century, and in order to best prepare future generations, the promotion of computational thinking and literacy must begin in early childhood education. Computational thinking can be defined in many ways. The broad definition offered in this chapter is that computational thinking practices refer to techniques applied by humans to express themselves by designing and constructing computation. This chapter claims that one of the fundamental ways in which computational thinking can be supported and augmented is by providing children with opportunities to code and to create their own interactive computational media. Thus, computational literacy will allow children to become producers and not only consumers of digital artifacts and systems.

scholarly journals The role of federal and state policy in addressing early childhood achievement gaps: parent perceptions and student outcomes related to 21st Century Learning Centers programming in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather P. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
21St Century ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Learning Centers ◽  
Community Learning Centers ◽  
Community Learning ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractAs policymakers and school communities work to address underlying causes of achievement gaps and access to quality early childhood education, this study considers the use of 21st Century Community Learning Centers to address early childhood education needs on western U.S. state, Idaho. The study sought to understand the relationship between federal and state policies related to out-of-school opportunities to enhance early childhood education. Utilizing data from a statewide evaluation of Idaho’s 21st Century Learning Centers, the study examined 92 centers providing after school, before school, or summer programs in grades preschool through the third grade to predominately at-risk children. Data collection included quantitative data from a survey given to parents (n = 183), as well as qualitative data collected through site-based interviews, focus groups and observations. Data included a review of historical and current data on participation rates; attendance rates; standardized test scores for program participants in grades PK-3 (n = 3258). Data were analyzed for themes and transfer. The study findings provide further insight into understanding possible relationships between U.S. federal and state policy regarding 21st Century Community Learning Centers on both students’ outcomes and parent satisfaction. The findings further support the role of out-of-school time (OST) experiences in the larger ecosystem of learning and provides insight into understanding how the OST activities are carried over into family life.

Why Teach Coding to Early Elementary Learners

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Mihm
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Early Elementary ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Way Of Thinking

As coding and computer science become established domains in K-2 education, researchers and educators understand that children are learning more than skills when they learn to code – they are learning a new way of thinking and organizing thought. While these new skills are beneficial to future programming tasks, they also support the development of other crucial skills in early childhood education. This chapter explores the ways that coding supports computational thinking in young children and connects the core concepts of computational thinking to the broader K-2 context.

Belonging and language

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-182
Author(s):  
Chris Peers
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Existentialist Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Debates

This article contributes to a growing debate within the field of early childhood education about the concept of ‘belonging’. It continues from earlier discussions that commented on the adoption of Belonging as a key term in the development of a national curriculum for the early years in Australia in 2009, as well as increasingly common references to belonging in various aspects of debate within the field. The article focuses specifically on the idea of belonging as it has emerged within existentialist philosophy in the 20th century, and more recent post-structuralist theories, especially the work of Jacques Derrida. The article ties belonging to language as a means of redefining approaches in early childhood education to the notions of place and context, so as to more rigorously connect ‘belonging’ to the philosophical debates of the 21st century.

Being professional in New Zealand early childhood education: A genealogy

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-609
Author(s):  
Margaret Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Professional Code ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Democratic Practices

An academic, Peter Dinniss, discussed the then emerging issue of professionalism in the early childhood education sector in 1974. “There has been much debate over the term ['professional'] together with discussion as to whether teaching is a profession” (1974: 11). On the cusp of the 21st century, the Education Council (now renamed Teaching Council) of New Zealand consulted with teachers on their register about a professional code. This article follows the emergence of the professionalism discourse. I examine traces of the ‘strategies, tactics and procedures’ in a genealogy of the managerial technicist process of education. My interest lies in emergent ‘responsibilization’ of teachers over the period. I examine the power/knowledge of the ‘profession’ in Aotearoa, New Zealand, as teachers invent and govern themselves. I ask if the Council’s discourse of professionalism through registration of individuals can be re-envisioned through the collective and democratic practices evident in parent-led services.

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