The building blocks of coding: a comparison of early childhood coding toys
| Pages | 505-518 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-06-2019-0059 |
| Date | 08 July 2019 |
| Published date | 08 July 2019 |
| Author | Jody Clarke-Midura,Victor R. Lee,Jessica F. Shumway,Megan M. Hamilton |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
VIEWPOINT
The building blocks of coding: a
comparison of early childhood
coding toys
Jody Clarke-Midura
Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences,
Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
Victor R. Lee
Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
Jessica F. Shumway
School of Teacher Education and Leadership, Utah State University,
Logan, Utah, USA, and
Megan M. Hamilton
Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences,
Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to be a think piece that promotes discussion around the design of coding
toys for children. In particular, the authors examine three different toys that have some sort of block-
based coding interface. The authors juxtapose three different design features and the demands they
place on young children learning to code. To examine the toys, the authors apply a framework
developed based on Gibson’s theory of affordances and Palmer’s external representations. The authors
look specifically at the toys: interface design, intended play scenario and representational conventions
for computational ideas.
Design/methodology/approach –As a research team, the authors have been playing with toys,
observing theirown children play with the toys and using them in kindergarten classrooms.In this paper, the
authors reflectspecifically on the design of the toys and the demands they place on children.
Findings –The authors make no claims about whether one toy/design approach is superior to another.
However, the differences that the authors articulate should serve as a provocation for researchers and
designers to be mindful aboutwhat demands and expectations they place on young children as they learn to
code and use code to learnin any given system.
Research limitations/implications –As mentioned above, the authors want to start a discussion
about designof these toys and how they shape children’sexperience with coding.
Originality/value –There is a push to get coding and computationalthinking into K-12, but there is not
enough research on what this lookslike in early childhood. Further, while research is starting to emergeon
block-based programming vs text-based for older children and adults,little research has been done on the
This work was supported by a grant (#1842116) from the National Science Foundation. Any
opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Utah State
University.
Early
childhood
coding toys
505
Received27 June 2019
Revised7 July 2019
Accepted8 July 2019
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.120 No. 7/8, 2019
pp. 505-518
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-06-2019-0059
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