New toddler coding classes are reportedly proving successful

UK firm MAMA.codes has reported remarkable success in introducing coding to toddlers in nursery schools using visual programming tool ScratchJR.

We tend to think of programming as something that takes years of university education and professional experience to become good at, but the past few years have seen coding classes introduced to younger and younger students across the world. Northern Ireland's young tech community includes hundreds of kids developing impressive technical solutions, with local efforts such as CoderDojo Banbridge winning international awards for their work in early STEM education.

But how young is too young to learn to code? An interesting article over at Wired UK this week delved into the phenomenon of toddler coding classes taking place in the UK in a limited capacity, and which show the potential for extremely early STEM education. Children at nursery-level education are intuitively picking up programming concepts and problem solving skills at these classes run by UK firm MAMA.codes.

The classes use ScratchJR, a simplified version of the Scratch visual programming tool currently being used in primary schools across the UK to teach programming from as early as five or six years old. The tool lets students build programs using drag and drop code blocks, and they quickly learn how to design a program to do what they want and solve problems.

The scheme takes advantage of the fact that very young people pick up language and problem solving skills much faster than adults if the information is presented in an understandable and engaging way. "The girls have grasped it faster than the adults," the head of one nursery told Wired UK, adding "They understand that the code must go from left to right, how to slot in a new block, structure their thinking and problem solve if they slot in the wrong block."

Source: Wired UK