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TALES: an e-learning application to teach programming concepts to the early years foundation stage

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posted on 2023-06-09, 03:09 authored by Melenie Schatynski, Sharon Wood
As a pupil concludes Key Stage 11 they will have been taught to understand basic algorithms, typically in a recipe style, create and debug simple programs and understand why their programs behave the way they do, in addition gaining knowledge of common technologies. Introducing these concepts to children in their pre-school education will prepare them for the new changes to the curriculum. This study describes the development of an educational system called TALES which is designed to teach programming concepts through a series of mini games. It is aimed at children at the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), specifically children with a cognitive ability between three and six years of age, and therefore does not assume the user to be a fluent reader or writer. The application is evaluated through a small user evaluation study. Early results indicate that learners engage enthusiastically with the games, taking more time to follow instructions and greater care as they become increasingly motivated to succeed in advancing through progressively more challenging levels of the game.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Page range

117-129

Presentation Type

  • paper

Event name

27th Annual Workshop of the Psychology of Programming Interest Group - PPIG 2016

Event location

St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge, UK

Event type

workshop

Event date

7-10 September 2016

Department affiliated with

  • Informatics Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Centre for Cognitive Science Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-09-28

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-09-28

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-09-27

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