Programming in preschool – with a focus on learning mathematics

The overall purpose of this study is to examine what happens when programming is implemented as part of the everyday activities in preschool. The research question focuses on how 3-5-year-old children's mathematical learning focusing specifically on spatial thinking can be developed through systematic participation in programming activities in preschools.

The researcher points out that the results focus on the regularities between the activities in the intervention and the children's participation in the post-test. First and foremost, the results show that the children are happy to participate in the programming activities, and that the children intuitively examine and figure out the meaning of their robot's commando buttons. As regards the children's spatial thinking, the results show that the intervention enabled the children to explore symbols and counting. In the post-test, the children use words such as "forward", "back", "rotate" and "turn". They also use their hands and body to show how the robot would move on the basis of the various symbols. Moreover, the children show that they are able to compare paper maps and gridded maps as well as symbols and movements. The children also show that they are able to visualise the results and conceptualise actions and relationships between paper maps, gridded maps and symbols.

This study is based on an intervention carried out over a period of four months in two preschools. The aim of the intervention was to examine the potential in teaching mathematics through programmable robots especially designed for young children. The robots were programmed by the children using command buttons. In short, the children had to program the robots’ movements on two different gridded maps. This means that when the robot had been programmed, it moved on the map. The intervention consisted of four steps, in which the children each had their own robot to carry out two to three activities. The content of the activities varied, but common to them all was that the children themselves had to explore mathematical ideas such as counting the number of commands, measuring distances on the map and how the robot was to move and where. During the activities, the children had to try to predict the result before they programmed their robots, and subsequently reflect on the results.

Before the intervention began, the researcher conducted a pre-test with eight children in order to be able to evaluate the intervention's effect and to better plan the intervention. Through practical exercises, the researcher examined the children's perceptions of direction instructions (forward, back, turn, right, left), their ability to coordinate verbal number words with actions and their spatial thinking. After the intervention, the researcher conducted a post-test with the same eight children, where the children's perceptions as well as use of direction instructions and their ability to coordinate symbols, maps and number words with actions were examined through practical exercises. For example, the children were given a piece of paper with arrows on describing how to program the robot. The children then had to program the robot using instructions and predict the results. Finally, the children had to draw the movements of the robot on a piece of paper.

Palmér, H. (2017). Programming in preschool – with a focus on learning mathematics. International Research in Early Childhood Education, 8(1), 75-87.