5 Reasons for your Child to Learn to Code
As many schools are moving away from more traditional subjects and developing a more future-focused outlook to education, the inclusion of subjects such as Robotics and Programming have become increasingly common place.
Are these learning opportunities only for future NASA engineers? Or can all children benefit from developing skills in digital fluency? We talk to the experts to find out the 5 big reasons your child should learn how to code…
Coding Builds Resilience and Persistence
Thomas Gayler, Head of Digital Innovation, Arcadia School
"When children begin programming, they come to learn that failure is transient, and doesn’t have to be frustrating or hinder their progress. The very nature of coding – trial and error - develops the habit of viewing errors and failures as part of the process to achieving success. Only when all problems are solved and all bugs fixed, can a piece of code be successful. Over time, this perseverance can serve as one of the most important indicators of their future educational and career success."
Coding Unleashes Creativity
Paola Trejo, Digital Learning Coordinator, GEMS World Academy – Abu Dhabi
"Coding encourages children to think outside the box. It provides a safe structure to experiment and try new approaches to solving problems. Children learn to take a different approach to tasks that may not have previously been explored.
In the digital age, learning coding languages also empowers children to create in a meaningful way. Children can become the brains behind an app prototype that they design to solve a problem in the community, or simply create something that they love and feel engaged in."
Coding Supports Self-esteem Development
Zunaira Siddiqi, Director of Learning – Design Technology, GEMS World Academy – Dubai
"As children develop skills in coding, they develop a sense of autonomy and accomplishment. Completing a task without an adult’s assistance, which could be as simple as writing a basic command on how to move a self-created worm in four different directions, allows a child to see an immediate result from their efforts, without solely relying on the praise or approval of an adult."
Coding for Future Jobs
Thomas Gayler, Head of Digital Innovation, Arcadia School
"Coding, in some form, is everywhere in the world we live in today: traffic lights; televisions; smart homes; cars; and payment machines are just some examples in our lives. In the US, there are currently 500,000 openings for computer science-based jobs yet only 69,000 computer science graduates come from universities each year. It has been found that a computer science graduate is expected to earn 40% more over their career than the university graduate average. So not only does coding build skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and resilience, but it is one of the fastest and most important growing industries in the world - with fantastic opportunities in the future."
Coding Develops Planning and Organising Skills
Paola Trejo, Digital Learning Coordinator, GEMS World Academy – Abu Dhabi
"As students begin to work on more complex programming projects, they must learn to plan in advance, sift through clutter and develop ‘efficient systems’. With the feelings of accomplishment and autonomy that can come with creating digital content such as apps, young people are often more inclined to push themselves in developing these skills and habits, all of which are critical in preparing for college and the world of work beyond."
