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Beyond Coding

How Children Learn Human Values through Programming

Author Marina Umaschi Bers
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Paperback
$25.00 US
The MIT Press
6"W x 9"H x 0.52"D  
On sale Mar 22, 2022 | 232 Pages | 9780262543323
Grades 9-12
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Why children should be taught coding not as a technical skill but as a new literacy—a way to express themselves and engage with the world.
 

Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today’s children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial.
 
Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education: the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.
 
Marina Umaschi Bers is Professor and Chair of the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer Science. She directs the interdisciplinary DevTech Research Group.
 
Marina Umaschi Bers View titles by Marina Umaschi Bers
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xv
1 Coding, Robotics, and Values 1
2 The Coding Wars 23
3 The Rise of STEM 45
4 Coding as Another Language 63
5 From Theory to Practice 87
6 Coding Character 117
7 The Palette of Virtues 137
8 Coding Bridges 183
Further Readings 203
Resources 205
"Many people espouse the view that learning how to code will ensure career success; Bers takes a refreshingly different tack, arguing that learning how to code is a new kind of literacy, one that prepares young people to think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively, and play well with others—even if they don’t go into a tech-related profession… Fascinating reading for educators and educational researchers working in a variety of settings." —Library Journal

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Why children should be taught coding not as a technical skill but as a new literacy—a way to express themselves and engage with the world.
 

Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today’s children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial.
 
Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education: the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.
 

Author

Marina Umaschi Bers is Professor and Chair of the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer Science. She directs the interdisciplinary DevTech Research Group.
 
Marina Umaschi Bers View titles by Marina Umaschi Bers

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Preface xv
1 Coding, Robotics, and Values 1
2 The Coding Wars 23
3 The Rise of STEM 45
4 Coding as Another Language 63
5 From Theory to Practice 87
6 Coding Character 117
7 The Palette of Virtues 137
8 Coding Bridges 183
Further Readings 203
Resources 205

Praise

"Many people espouse the view that learning how to code will ensure career success; Bers takes a refreshingly different tack, arguing that learning how to code is a new kind of literacy, one that prepares young people to think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively, and play well with others—even if they don’t go into a tech-related profession… Fascinating reading for educators and educational researchers working in a variety of settings." —Library Journal

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