Activity-based unplugged coding during the preschool period

Abstract

The aim of this pilot study is to support the activity-based unplugged coding and robotic coding skills of children during their preschool period. A significant sample was chosen for this quantitative research. The study group consisted of 24 5-year-old children being educated in a State kindergarten under the Gaziantep Provincial Directorate of National Education. The children had never received any coding or robotic coding lessons before. Eight basic coding and robotic coding activities were organized for preschoolers. The activities provided 60–90 min of daily training over the course of 8 days. The goal of these activities was to develop basic coding and robotic coding skills. The activities were integrated with the current preschool education curriculum. A Basic Coding Skills Observation Form and a Robotic Coding Basic Skills Observation Form were used in order to evaluate the coding and robotic coding skills of the children before and after training. The validity of these forms was assessed by a professional coder. The forms were initially applied to a small group. The data were recorded by the trainer and an observer. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using the kappa statistic, and X2 was calculated as.73. For the analysis of the study, a McNemar test was used for dependent groups in order to test the significance between two connected percentages. The results showed that activity-based unplugged coding and robotic coding training, integrated with the preschool education curriculum, enhanced the basic coding and robotic coding skills of this group of preschoolers. © 2020, Springer Nature B.V.