Coding for kids

Coding: Why is it essential for kids?

Many people and teachers associate coding with a complex mixture of math and science, as a result, it"s been drawn to the conclusion that coding is tough and shouldn"t be taught to young learners. However, many educationists are challenging that notion and proclaim that coding can be taught to kids as young as kindergartners. 

Now, we do understand that coding is used by IT professionals and software engineers, so why should the education system consider introducing coding to young learners? 

Teaching coding doesn"t have to be complicated and teachers don"t have to introduce the topic of a complex subject at all. Teachers can use references that are available today which simplifies coding to the point that they need not get overwhelmed by the subject and learn with ease. 

Here are some of the strong reasons why modern educationists suggest coding for students.

Strengthen computational and critical thinking:

Coding helps honing the computational prowess among children. The process of coding involves breaking the problem and finding the root cause of the issue. This enables the students to figure out the mistake and determine to solve the issue. When a mistake is made, the teachers must encourage the students to find a solution and also provide guidance to the students which will motivate them to become better at coding. 

Nurture future skills:

As stated earlier, coding enhances computational and critical thinking among children. This is well done in garnering the essential future skills that will help the students excel. Coding enables the students with content creation which is a must-have skill for the tech-driven world. When coding is introduced at an early age, their understanding will get better with time and their skills get better as time goes by. 

Encourage Creativity: 

Critical thinking and logical reasoning may be essential but it directly fosters creativity. Coding encourages them to think outside the box and enables them to come up with solutions on their own rather than depending on a procedure. Coding is not a rigid subject, the learning process is continual, therefore the students are encouraged to learn from their mistakes and come up with innovative solutions. 

Enables to think outside the box:

Young learners have a fixed thinking pattern and depend on reference materials to understand a subject and follow the directions. Coding enables the kids to think differently. With the step-by-step approach, the kids learn to create on various platforms like Scratch, the teachers can assess their code and help them analyse errors in the code and help rectify the errors by asking reflective questions. 

Motivate active participation: 

Coding enables the students to create something new and come up with innovative solutions for existing problems. When students learn to code, they are motivated to create something and offer solutions to real-world problems. Students can share their code with their peers and experienced coders who can provide them with constructive feedback and help them get better at coding. 

Research and Psychology suggest that children are far more receptive in their younger days. Considering the breakneck speed that the world is moving in terms of technological advancements, children must be introduced to esoteric subjects which help them understand complex issues and resolve them with ease in the future. 

There has been a lot of criticism and concerns about introducing a complex subject like coding to young kids. Educationists prioritise the need for such subjects to be introduced and are working towards simplifying the topic in such a way that the kids can comprehend and take a liking to the subject at a very young age. 

We must understand that the education system must mould and change the curriculum based on the current scenario. Only then will the kids be updated about the latest developments and are encouraged to learn the right set of skills and knowledge according to their generation.