Objects to Learn about and Objects for Learning 1

8Professional Testimony: A Programmable Object for Learning Computer Science at Elementary School

8.1. Introduction

As of 2016, teaching computer science has been included in elementary education teaching syllabuses (Vandevelde and Fluckiger 2020). The purpose of teaching this subject, which has become a societal issue, is to educate citizens by equipping them to understand the processing carried out by the systems they use, to initiate everyone into the fundamentals of computer science in order to meet growing demand from businesses and to support the development of “computational thinking” from a very early age (Baron and Drot-Delange 2016).

Since the early work of Papert (1980) on Logo the turtle robot, the value of programmable objects in introducing young children to the basics of computer science has been firmly established. However, as Komis and Misirli (2015) point out, the implementation of experimental devices in the classroom was not always easy in the past due to the complexity of computer hardware. Nowadays, the miniaturization of electronic components makes it possible for designers to provide robots whose usage seems more suited to classroom learning amongst very young pupils.

With robots such as these, learners develop their thinking abilities (observation, appraisal and handling abilities), learn to implement an investigative process (science process skills) and develop problem-solving strategies and mathematical skills, as well as social skills (Benitti 2012). ...