• What do Children Learn from the Basics of Coding?

    Development of problem-solving competence and resilience

    The ability to solve problems is a competence useful in everyday life. It is desirable that children become excellent problem solvers. In addition to solving problems, children can develop the ability to recover quickly after failures. They learn that failure is not necessarily a bad thing. And indeed, it can be something positive because learning progress is also achieved because of mistakes. Coding gives children the opportunity to try something again until they have achieved the desired result. At the same time, their patience and ability to concentrate are exercised at an early stage. Learning coding gives children the opportunity to acquire problem-solving skills and resilience while they are still young. These are important qualities that can help children through life.

    Development of mathematical skills as well as orientation and structuring competence

    Coding is not only about learning how to write lines of code. To be able to programme effectively later, you have to be able to think logically. The basics for this can already be laid in ECEC. Children must be able to recognise a problem and then divide it into small parts. Only this way can it be solved effectively. This is also called "decomposition" and is one of the most important mathematical abilities.

    Encouraging linguistic and communicative competence

    When children learn the basics of coding in ECEC, they not only expand their vocabulary, but they also learn how communication works. Children learn that

    • you have to express yourself very concretely,
    • how to deal with misunderstandings and
    • that someone else may understand something differently from what you meant.

    When coding, very clear instructions must be given about what to do, otherwise the computer does not understand you or it does something else. This ability to think carefully about how to express oneself and describe something precisely with one's words is a skill that is very helpful in all areas of life.

    Promotion of creativity

    While coding, children learn to experiment and this gives them the confidence to be creative. They have the opportunity to create something of their own. Just like learning a musical instrument or a new language, children need motivation. They love to get feedback on something they like to do. Since coding is easy to learn, children become confident in creating something new in a playful and creative way.

    Support of social competence

    Because children do not yet sit in front of the computer alone and write codes, they usually learn the basics of coding without a computer in their group. This can help promote social skills such as the ability to collaborate in a team, and the ability to accept constructive criticism.

    Skills Acquired Through Learning Coding



    Comprehension Questions

    1. What benefits do young children gain from Coding?

    2. How can their social skills be enhanced by using coding in ECEC?

    3. Explain how problem-solving skills can be acquired by using Coding.