Learning & Development: Computational Thinking: Part 3 - It’s logical

The ‘enabling environment’ needs to provide opportunities for children to develop skills that will benefit them most immediately in Key Stage 1, but also later in life. An obvious example is computational thinking.

Conveniently, this involves a set of overlapping skills – from logical reasoning to problem-solving and evaluating – that mirror the Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL), in particular ‘Creating and thinking critically’ (see box). Cross-referencing the two can reinforce best practice by helping practitioners to develop an environment that enables these types of behaviours to take place more readily.

Like the CoEL, computational thinking skills can be promoted without the use of digital technology. However, adding technology to the mix of activities can not only enhance their thinking skills but also introduce them to basic coding (see box). This can be seen in some of the activities below, which explore the skills of ‘debugging’ and ‘logical reasoning’.

DEBUGGING

Debugging – where children take responsibility for identifying and fixing errors within a process – is an important part of learning to think like a coder. It is also central to any type of problem-solving activity.

When thinking through instructions they have been given, or code they have written, children should:

• predict what could happen
• test exactly what happens when the instructions are followed
• work out where something has gone wrong
• fix it.
  
  

In the kitchen

Baking is perfect for developing computational thinking skills such as pattern-spotting and decomposition (see part 2 in this series), as well as ‘debugging’.

Start by drawing up with the children the sequence of instructions, perhaps in an agreed symbol sequence (pseudocode). If and when a mistake occurs, identify where it could have gone wrong:

• Is the recipe broken down into enough manageable steps?
• Is each of the instructions clear?
• Is the sequence correct?
• Do steps need adding?

While you can identify the source of the problem with baking, it’s often impossible to correct. But sandwich-making is perfect for early experiences of debugging. Ask the children to:

• design their sandwich and the fillings they like
• make their own sequence of instructions
• develop symbol cards to arrange the sequence that they need to make their sandwich
• create their sandwiches following the instructions that they have written. Allow them plenty of time to tinker and to assess the results. Is there anything they need to add to the sequence to make it right?

A bug’s life

Sequencing stories is an excellent way to promote computational thinking; plots that don’t go according to plan lend themselves to ‘debugging’.

One example is Julia Donaldson’s What the Ladybird Heard. The ladybird hears two robbers plan a way to steal the prize cow. They map the location of each animal and assume they can follow their sounds to get them to the cow shed. In the dark, they follow the sounds. The ladybird tells the animals the plan and the animals make different sounds to guide the robbers on the wrong route. The robbers get lost, fall into the pond and so get caught.

Debug the robbers’ plan:

• Sequence the animals, and their real sounds, as they should occur.
• Now sequence the animals and the fake sounds they made.
• Use both maps to identify what went wrong for the robbers.

It’s a story that shows how the animals use sequencing to get their desired outcome. On the other hand, it’s a story of how the robbers encountered ‘bugs’ along the way. When the animals make the wrong sounds, this means the outputs are wrong for the robbers’ plan because there is a bug in the commands they predicted.

Animal sounds

An excellent extension activity involves Dash, a robot that connects to tablets and is controlled by Bluetooth. In the compatible Path app, there is a farm-themed activity where animal sounds are put into sequence. Dash follows the sequence and acts out the animal sounds, so providing a good opportunity for the children to use the sequence from the story to control a real robot. Children can use animal symbols as ‘pseudocode’ and observe Dash follow these commands.

LOGICAL REASONING

Logical reasoning – often seen as synonymous with critical thinking – explores cause and effect (‘if I do this, then that will happen’) and involves children in predicting, analysing and making connections to reach objective conclusions.

It is a process that children will apply to many aspects of their lives, not just curricular learning, and in these experiences children have their own ideas about what might happen. In social development, children learn that making a silly face could make someone laugh; sharing a toy could make someone smile. The more experiences they have, the more informed their decision-making becomes when developing relationships.

Floating and sinking

Floating and sinking is particularly effective in challenging children’s thinking because they will soon discover, for example, that not all small or light things float and not all large or heavy things sink.

Provide the children with a variety of objects – ask them to predict which will float and which will sink and sort the objects into two groups.

Test the objects in the water tray to see if their predictions were correct.

Introduce a second and similar group to test – for example, swap an apple for an orange, a wooden brick for a plastic one, and a wooden pencil with a wooden paintbrush.

Do the children use logical reasoning to predict what might happen with these objects based on what they learned of properties from the first experiment?

Ramps and cars

Also effective in challenging children’s reasoning skills is playing with ramps and toy cars. In this instance:

Provide planks and blocks for the children to create ramps of different lengths and angles.

Again start by asking the children to predict the outcomes – which ramp will let the cars travel faster/slower and the furthest/shortest distance? Then test the cars out on the ramps.

Swap the resources and encourage the children to make a new set of predictions based on the outcomes with the cars. Switch the cars for balls and the planks for drain pipes. How might the balls roll down the drain pipes this time?

Plug in with tracks and robots

Giving instructions to Dash robots or BeeBots is an effective way to take logical reasoning into coding. Children can design tracks for robots to move along using large building blocks. They have to make predictions on the instructions to give the robot to navigate the track (how far forwards? When to turn?). There will be lots of trial and error when inputting their code for the robot to move around the track successfully.

MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

Characteristic of Effective Learning: Creating and Thinking Critically

• Having their own ideas – and changing them according to how well their activities are going.
• Making links – grouping ideas, sequencing and understanding cause and effect.
• Choosing ways to do things – deciding how to approach a task.
  
  

Computational thinking skills

• Pattern spotting Identifying patterns that repeat in instructions and events.
• Decomposition The breaking down of a complex problem or idea into manageable parts.
• Debugging Errors in code are called ‘bugs’, and the process of fixing them is ‘debugging’.
• Logical reasoning Connects knowledge and the ability to make reliable predictions.

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING AND CODING

• Coding is writing step-by-step commands that software will follow.
• Computational thinking is the thinking skills needed to be a coder and relates to a skillset that can be applied to any problem-solving task. These skills also link with the Characteristics of Effective Learning and key elements of the EYFS curriculum, such as testing, predicting and identifying patterns.
• Today, good coders need to be fluent in both coding and computational thinking. They need to be able to write code effectively but also be effective in evaluating problems and finding solutions using technology.
• Pseudocode are symbols that represent actions, such as forwards, backwards. This becomes an agreed symbol system that your group can use to understand instructions.
• Plugged and unplugged Unplugged activities help to build language understanding and concepts for coding. There is no technology used: the resources don’t need plugging in. Plugged activities use technology: the resources get plugged in. They apply the skills of coding and computational thinking.
• There is a lack of continuity between the EYFS and the Primary curriculum when it comes to digital technology. In Primary, children are taught to be effective coders through Computing Programmes of Study.
  
  

MORE INFORMATION

Marc Faulder will be one of the leading early years experts speaking at the Nursery World Show in London on 2 and 3 February 2018. His seminar will look at how voice and image recording technology can empower children to extend, record and reflect on their learning.

To see the full seminar and masterclass programme, visit: www.nurseryworldshow.com/london

MORE INFORMATION

‘Path for Dash’ app, https://uk.makewonder.com/apps/path

Get Started with Code 1 teacher guide (including Sandwich-making activity): https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/get-started-with-code-1/id1226776727?mt=11

Marc Faulder is an early years teacher at Burton Joyce Primary School, Nottingham and an Apple distinguished educator.