Children’s mathematical engagement based on their awareness of coding toy design features

ABSTRACT

Tangible coding toys are designed to make coding accessible to young children, and because of their tangible and spatial nature, they are also viewed as tools for engaging children in mathematics. Research is needed to understand children’s awareness of toys’ design features and how they afford mathematical engagement. We conducted a qualitative study of 106 5-to-6-year-old children completing coding tasks (42 hours of video). Our research questions focused on children’s perceptions of design features, mathematical engagement, and how different design features afforded mathematics engagement. Results indicated (a) children perceived a variety of design features across coding toys; (b) children engaged in mathematics while perceiving features; and (c) distinct design features afforded engagement in specific mathematical concepts and skills, importantly, unit construction/coordination and spatial thinking. Implications include instructional strategies for eliciting mathematical engagement; product design suggestions; and theory development about the relationship between coding toy design features and mathematics.

KEYWORDS:

• Elementary mathematics
• early childhood
• coding toys
• teachnology
• spatial thinking
• unit construction
• coordination

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation [DRL-1842116]. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, Utah State University, or Stanford University.

Notes on contributors

Joseph Kozlowski

Joseph Kozlowski is a teacher and researcher at Utah State University’s Edith Bowen Laboratory School. His research focuses on the learning and teaching of mathematics, and he is specifically interested in how children think about mathematics creatively, and how rich experiences can support rich mathematical connections.

Jessica Shumway

Jessica Shumway is Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at Utah State University where she studies instructional practices and technologies that foster mathematics learning in elementary school.

Patricia Moyer-Packenham

Patricia Moyer-Packenham is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Education with a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her career in academia, she directed and taught in mathematics education programs at Utah State University, George Mason University, and the University of Alabama. Her publications include three books and over 100 scholarly journal articles, book chapters, refereed proceedings, and contributions to mathematics methods textbooks. Moyer-Packenham served as Co-PI on the NSF-funded Math and Science Partnership Program Evaluation and was principal investigator and evaluator on numerous grants totaling over $18 million dollars in funding for mathematics education. Moyer-Packenham’s research focused on uses of mathematics representations and tools (including virtual, physical, pictorial, and symbolic). She is often referenced for her definition of virtual manipulatives (appearing in Teaching Children Mathematics, 2002), and her expertise in teaching and research using physical and virtual manipulatives.

Jody Clarke-Midura

Jody Clarke-Midura is Associate Professor of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University where she studies digital media, games, and toys for learning and assessment.

Victor Lee

Victor Lee is an Associate Professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Education. His research involves the study and design of STEM learning experiences with an emphasis on supporting teaching and learning with data, AI literacy, elementary computer science education, and science teaching and learning. Lee completed his doctorate at Northwestern University.