Just Enough Programming for Eight-years Olds (Abstract Only)
Karen H. Jin, Gavin Kearns · 2015
Programmable robots have become a very popular tool to introduce children to technology. However most curricula that emphasize on actual programming typically target kids 10 years and older. This summer, the University of New Hampshire organized an Elementary Program Introducing Computing (EPIC) camp. Children 7-9 years old, with no prior programming experience, were introduced to problem solving and creative program design using Lego EV3 Mindstorms robotics. The program followed a just enough principle, such that just barely enough contents were presented to the children in spite of a wider ranger of available materials. For example, a simple robot model was prebuilt to help children focus on programming rather than construction; program control flow and sensor data processing were introduced early on, but only using a very limited set of visual programming blocks and sensors. These basic structure blocks provide enough functionality to construct a moderately complex program, and help students stay focused on problem solving in a non-overwhelming setting. In order to gauge the learning outcome, a test was given before and after the camp. The comparison of the results showed that our method helped the children retain the programming skills and knowledge of general concepts of computing.