Educational tools and apps designed to teach coding and computational thinking to children have risen in popularity in the last several years. However, there is little research that explores how families with young children code together in informal environments. This study explored how children ages 5-7 and their parents jointly program with the ScratchJr app. N = 58 families attended ScratchJr Family Days, single-day events for families to engage in an interactive ScratchJr session. Three additional parent-child dyads participated in a follow-up observational study, in which they were videotaped while working on an open-ended ScratchJr activity. Findings indicated that parents reported engaging as observers and coaches, whereas children engaged as planners. There were moderate, positive associations between children’s prior coding interest and their engagement in debugging, as well as between children’s role as playmates and their engagement in the design process. Implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.

This paper explores the integration of coding, CT and literacy by describing a study conducted with first and second grade classrooms in Norfolk, Virginia. A total of 667 students and 57 educators from eight elementary schools, as well as 181 students from two comparison schools participated in a curriculum called Coding as Another Language (CAL) that utilizes KIBO robotics, a developmentally appropriate kit which does not require keyboards or screens. CAL positions the teaching of programming as a symbolic system of representation, a tool for creative expression and communication. Thus, research questions regarding the relationship between students' coding and CT outcomes and their literacy skills were explored, as well as teachers' reactions to the experience, in particular regarding the integrating of teaching computer science and literacy in the early grades. Participation in the CAL-KIBO curriculum was associated with improvement in coding and unplugged CT skills. Baseline literacy skills were related to students' acquisition of CT skills. For example, students who had higher literacy scores at the beginning of the term were more successful in CT tasks. Furthermore, although teachers varied in their perceptions of integrating coding and CT with literacy, our findings suggest that these disciplines may share some cognitive and pedagogical overlap that has yet to be extensively explored in the early computing education field.

The domain of early childhood education has witnessed an increasing emphasis on developing coding and computational thinking (CT) abilities. Scholarly investigations have delved into appropriate approaches for enhancing these proficiencies within early childhood classrooms. The present study aims to investigate the impact of a digital story design program, or Design-Based Digital Story Program (DBDS), on the coding and CT skills of 5-year-old children. Specifically designed for children aged 3–6, the DBDS program aligns with constructivism principles, which promote experiential learning. Employing a case–control quasi-experimental design, the study employed pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments and a follow-up retest after one month. The intervention involved implementing the digital story design program over 11 weeks, with three sessions per week, each lasting between 60 to 90 min, targeting five-year-old participants. The findings reveal that the DBDS program significantly enhances CT and coding skills compared to a control group. Moreover, female participants exhibited more significant improvements in CT skills post-intervention than their male counterparts, while no significant gender-based effects were observed in coding skills. These findings suggest that the DBDS program effectively supports the cultivation of coding and CT abilities among young children, warranting further exploration in diverse educational settings and across various grade levels.