Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsTyler HansenTyler Hansen (tyler.hansen@ccsdut.org) is a PhD Student of Teacher Education and Leadership, Utah State University, Logan, UT.Deborah FieldsDeborah Fields (deborah.fields@usu.edu) is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technologies and Learning Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT.Amanda StrawhackerAmanda Strawhacker is Associate Director of the Early Childhood Technology at Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, Tufts University, Boston, MA.Yasmin KafaiYasmin Kafai (kafai@upenn.edu) is Lori and Michael Milken President’s Distinguished Professor at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

How did early childhood professionals transition to developmentally appropriate technology-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more importantly, how did they adapt and realize their learning and teaching goals for young children? In this study, we examine qualitative interview data from 11 early educators from a range of settings (e

Although Computer Science (CS) is gaining popularity in early education settings in the US and worldwide, there is a lack of agreement about how to assess learning in young children, particularly preschoolers. The current study presents the design and pilot of a developmentally appropriate assessment tool, the Coding Stages Assessment-KIBO (CSA-KIBO), to evaluate preschool children’s coding skills with a robot kit (KIBO) designed for young children. Using a design-based research framework we developed evidence-based design criteria to inform our iteratively-tested assessment tool. In this paper, we address the following research question: How does the mode of administration of the CSA-KIBO robotics assessment impact performance among preschool students? We administered CSA-KIBO to 151 coding naive preschool students ages 3-5 years, from ethnically, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Results showed that shorter administration formats were more suitable for our preschool sample and yielded similar assessment results to the lengthier format. Across all formats of administration, a possible floor effect was present in our coding-inexperienced sample. We consider the major contribution from this study to be a focused exploration of assessment administration as a critical aspect of assessment design for preschool-aged learners.

Life science and computer science share the educational goals of fostering students to engage in inquiry-based learning and solve problems through similar practices of discovery, design, and experimentation. This chapter outlines the pedagogical links among traditional life science and emerging computer science domains in early childhood education, and describes an educational intervention using the CRISPEE technological prototype. CRISPEE, designed by a research team of developmentalists, biologists, educators, and computer scientists, invites young children to use computational logic to model design processes with biological materials. Findings are discussed as they relate to new understandings about how young children leverage computational thinking when engaged in design-based life science, or biodesign.

In this paper, we share the design of a virtual epidemic with recognizable similarities to the real-life COVID-19 pandemic in order to engage children and youth in seeking information about the outbreak and practicing usage of personal protection equipment. In our research we sought to create a safe space in the virtual world, Whyville, for youth to "play" with serious topics of infection, asymptomatic disease transmission, prevention measures, and research and reporting of public health information. We examined the logfiles of 1,022 youth aged 10-18 years (mean = 13.7 years) who participated in an outbreak of a virtual virus, SPIKEY-20, in October and November 2020. Analyzing log files, we found that player engagement in productive infectious disease practices increased, including information seeking as well as purchases and usage of personal protective equipment during the virtual epidemic. In the discussion, we address the potential for virtual epidemics to provide a safe, playful space to practice and learn how to productively confront infectious disease and build promising connections between virtual and real-life epidemics.

This chapter explores perspectives on unplugged coding and computational thinking (CT) in early childhood. Concepts, definitions, and research on unplugged learning and its relationship to computer science are considered. Several examples illustrate how young children can encounter powerful ideas of CT in both formal educational settings and in the process of everyday life. Resources are provided that aid in the identification and integration of unplugged activities into early childhood settings. Finally, the authors advocate for further research on teaching CT concepts to children that includes both coding and unplugged approaches.

Makerspaces are technology-rich learning environments that can uniquely support children's development. In education communities, makerspaces have become sites to take up explorations of personally-motived problem solving, and have been tied to 21st century learning outcomes of perseverance, creativity, persistence, and computational thinking. Elsewhere in this book, Bers described computational thinking as the set of skills and cognitive processes required to give instructions for a specific task in such a way that a computer could carry it out. But Bers also argued that the purpose of computational thinking is to cultivate a fluency with technological tools as a medium of expression, not an end in itself. Computational making is part of this expression. This chapter explores the ways in which tools, facilitation, and the physical environment can support children's engagement with powerful ideas of computational thinking through making.

In the past two decades, STEM education has been slowly replaced by “STEAM,” which refers to learning that integrates science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The added “Arts” portion of this pedagogical approach, although an important step towards integrated 21st century learning, has long confused policymakers, with definitions ranging from visual arts to humanities to art education and more. The authors take the position that Arts can be broadly interpreted to mean any approach that brings interpretive and expressive perspectives to STEM activities. In this chapter, they present illustrative cases inspired by work in real learning settings that showcase how STEAM concepts and computational thinking skills can support children's engagement in cultural, performing, and fine arts, including painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, music, dance, and drama.

Biodesign, a speculative and creative offshoot from the field of bioengineering, is an area of STEM that is growing in popularity in education settings, primarily because of its unique interdisciplinary lens that connects STEM disciplinary knowledge and creative design practices. Although this trend is currently limited to middle school, high school, and higher education, prior research suggests that children 5 years and older, may yield long-term gains from exploring developmentally-appropriate concepts from novel STEM fields. Although there is little research on educational technologies or resources to support young children’s curiosity and learning in this novel domain, some research suggests that young children may already be forming preconceptions about genetics and biology (e.g., from popular media). Tangible technologies, which provide children qualitatively new, developmentally appropriate ways to engage with ideas and techniques, have been shown to support children’s engagement with foundational ideas relevant to biodesign, including the engineering design process. By applying developmentally appropriate constraints to our technology development (e.g., through frameworks such as the Positive Technological Development), the research team developed and evaluated a novel tangible technology called CRISPEE to introduce young children to concepts of biology and engineering. This article describes an experimental pilot study to investigate (1) how young children interact with the CRISPEE technological prototype, and (2) what prior knowledge the average child might bring to an educational biodesign activity. Implications for ongoing technology development and developmentally appropriate learning goals are discussed.

Bioengineering represents an interdisciplinary field with the potential to engage young learners in science inquiry and engineering design in the context of real-world challenges. Although children encounter bioengineered products and solutions in their everyday lives, they are not introduced to bioengineering until much later in school, after stereotype threats about STEM engagement have crystallized. The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental tangible tool called CRISPEE and evidence from an intervention with young children who explored CRISPEE in the context of an informal bioengineering curriculum. In this design study, 25 children aged 4–7 years engaged in a 9-h workshop designed to introduce them to foundational bioengineering concepts of gene editing, engineering design, and bioethics. Children’s attitudes and content knowledge about life science, engineering, and bioengineering were assessed pre- and post-interventions. Mixed quantitative and qualitative results show that most children entered the intervention with pre-existing ideas about genes and attitudes about engineering and science. Post intervention, children demonstrated increased positive STEM attitudes and content knowledge, especially in the area of science inquiry, and also demonstrated an emerging curiosity about the purpose and effectiveness of bioengineering work, including bioethics. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Computer programming for young children has grown in popularity among both educators and product developers, but still relatively little is known about what skills children are developing when they code. This study investigated N=57Kindergarten through second grade children's performance on a programming assessment after engaging in a 6-week curricular intervention. Children used the ScratchJr programming tool to create animated stories, collages, and games. At the end of the learning intervention, children were assessed on their knowledge of the ScratchJr language and underlying reasoning. Specifically, we explored children's errors on the assessment to determine evidence of domain-specific reasoning (e.g. mathematic, verbal, causal). Results show that while all students mastered foundational coding concepts, there were marked differences in performance and comprehension across the three grade levels. Interpretation of results suggests a developmental progression inherent in programming knowledge acquisition.; Implications for computer programming education and developmental research are discussed.

: We present BacToMars, a collaborative multiplayer educational video game that engages elementary school children in creative bio-design. We describe the design of the game, its learning goals, and findings from its preliminary evaluation when deployed in informal settings accompanied by a curricular intervention. Our findings shed light on how children play a collaborative multiplayer game while co-located, and on the potential of collaborative video games as a tool for teaching biological engineering to young children and for making a positive impact on their attitudes towards science.

As education communities grow more interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), schools have integrated more technology and engineering opportunities into their curricula. Makerspaces for all ages have emerged as a way to support STEM learning through creativity, community building, and hands-on learning. However, little research has evaluated the learning that happens in these spaces, especially in young children. One framework that has been used successfully as an evaluative tool in informal and technology-rich learning spaces is Positive Technological Development (PTD). PTD is an educational framework that describes positive behaviors children exhibit while engaging in digital learning experiences. In this exploratory case study, researchers observed children in a makerspace to determine whether the environment (the space and teachers) contributed to children’s Positive Technological Development. N = 20 children and teachers from a Kindergarten classroom were observed over 6 hours as they engaged in makerspace activities. The children’s activity, teacher’s facilitation, and the physical space were evaluated for alignment with the PTD framework. Results reveal that children showed high overall PTD engagement, and that teachers and the space supported children’s learning in complementary aspects of PTD. Recommendations for practitioners hoping to design and implement a young children’s makerspace are discussed.

Computer programming tools for young children are being created and used in early childhood classrooms more than ever. However, little is known about the relationship between a teacher’s unique instructional style and their students’ ability to explore and retain programming content. In this mixed-methods study, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from N = 6 teachers and N = 222 Kindergarten through second grade students at six schools across the United States. These teachers and students participated in an investigation of the relationship between teaching styles and student learning outcomes. All participants engaged in a minimum of two lessons and a maximum of seven lessons using the ScratchJr programming environment to introduce coding. Teachers reported on their classroom structure, lesson plan, teaching style and comfort with technology. They also administered ScratchJr Solve It assessments to capture various aspects of students’ programming comprehension, which were analyzed for trends in learning outcomes. Results from this descriptive, exploratory study show that all students were successful in attaining foundational ScratchJr programming comprehension. Statistically significant findings revealed higher programming achievement in students whose educators demonstrated flexibility in lesson planning, responsiveness to student needs, technological content expertise, and concern for developing students’ independent thinking. Implications for research in the development of computational thinking strategies are discussed, as well as suggestions for successfully implementing early childhood classroom interventions with ScratchJr.

Purpose - With the advent of the maker movement, there has been a new push to explore how spaces of learning ought to be designed. The purpose of this paper is to integrate three approaches for thinking about the role of design of the learning environment: the makerspace movement, Reggio Emilia's Third Teacher approach, and the positive technological development (PTD) framework. Design/methodology/approach - This paper describes two case studies that involved the design of two different early childhood makerspaces (ECMSs) through a co-participatory design experience: the Kindergarten Creator Space at the International School of Billund in Denmark; and the ECMS at (removed for blind review), a resource library in Medford, MA. Findings - Based on the foundational education framework of PTD, and ideas from the field of interior design, this paper describes the design principles of several successful makerspaces, and case examples of children who use them. Originality/value - By grounding the theoretical discussion in three approaches, the authors aim to suggest design elements of physical spaces in schools and libraries that can promote young children's learning through making. Recommendations are discussed for practitioners and researchers interested in ECMSs.

We present CRISPEE, a novel tangible user interface designed to engage young elementary school children in bioengineering concepts. Using CRISPEE, children assume the role of a bioengineer to create a genetic program that codes for a firefly's bioluminescent light. This is accomplished through sequencing tangible representations of BioBricks, which code for the primary colors of light (red, green, and blue) to be turned on or off. The interface and curricular supplement expose children in early elementary school to concepts traditionally taught much later in school curricula through playful interaction and exploration. We discuss CRISPEE's concept and design, and share findings from its preliminary evaluation with children and adults.

Aim/Purpose: Bioengineering is a burgeoning interdisciplinary learning domain that could inspire the imaginations of elementary aged children but is not traditionally taught to this age group for reasons unrelated to student ability. This pilot study presents the BacToMars videogame and accompanying curricular intervention, designed to introduce children (aged 7-11) to foundational concepts of bioengineering and to the interdisciplinary nature of scientific endeavors. Background: This pilot study explores the bioengineering-related learning outcomes and attitudes of children after engaging with the BacToMars game and curriculum intervention. Methodology: This study drew on prior findings in game-based learning and applied them to a videogame designed to connect microbiology with Constructionist microworlds. An experimental comparison showed the learning and engagement affordances of integrating this videogame into a mixed-media bioengineering curriculum. Elementary-aged children (N = 17) participated in a 9-hour learning intervention, with one group of n = 8 children receiving the BacToMars videogame and the other group (n = 9) receiving traditional learning activities on the same content. Pre- and post-surveys and interview data were collected from both groups. Contribution: This paper contributes to education research on children’s ability to meaningfully engage with abstract concepts at the intersection of science and engineering through bioengineering education, and to design research on developing educational technology for introducing bioengineering content to elementary school children. Findings: Children in both groups showed improved knowledge and attitudes related to bioengineering. Children who used BacToMars showed slightly stronger performance on game-specific concepts, while children in the control condition showed slightly higher generalized knowledge of bioengineering concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners should consider bioengineering as a domain for meaningful, interdisciplinary learning in elementary education.. Recommendation for Researchers: Design researchers should develop playful ways to introduce bioengineering concepts accurately and to engage children’s imaginations and problem-solving skills. Education researchers should further investigate developmentally appropriate ways to introduce bioengineering in elementary education. Impact on Society: BacToMars introduces a meaningful scenario to contextualize complex con-cepts at the intersection of science and engineering, and to engage children in real-world, interdisciplinary problem solving. Future Research: Future research should explore BacToMars and bioengineering curricula for elementary-aged children in larger samples, with longer intervention times.