START THEM YOUNG: THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF TEACHING CODING SKILLS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

AuthorMcNulty, Abby
PositionSILICON SLOPES

Looking up from her computer at Trailside Elementary School in Park City, third-grader Abi smiles and says, "I like Extra Math first thing in the morning. It wakes up your brain. And I like Mileage Club 'cause I like running. And my other favorite thing is Coding Class."

Abi is one of over 350 third-grade students who participated in the 2015-2016 pilot of the now fully integrated K-4 elementary school Coding Program within the Park City School District. Park City's elementary school coding program, which currently serves over 1,600 children, is the only one of its kind in Utah and one of a handful nationally.

THE VALUE OF LEARNING CODING

The Park City elementary coding curriculum, which is derived from online platforms, coding applications and robotics, is teaching students visual block-based programming languages such as Scratch and Scratch Jr. By integrating coding into the K-12 curriculum, Park City School District hopes to play an active role in addressing the growing demand within Utah for technology and computer science talent.

Approximately 90 percent of U.S. students are enrolled in public school, making the public school system the primary talent source for both public and private employers.

Meeting the demand for STEM-related jobs both locally and nationally is an ongoing challenge, particularly because so few women and minorities seek careers in the field. A 2014 study published by Accenture and Girls Who Code reported that only 18 percent of computer science majors in the United States are women. Similarly, the National Science Foundation recently reported that 18 percent of bachelor degrees in computer science are granted to non-white students.

Developing coding skills early can help reduce the troubling attrition rates in STEM-related majors and careers for women and minorities. In short, by making coding accessible and fun for elementary students, we are not only driving engagement and confidence in school, but also increasing the likelihood that girls and minorities will buck the trend of "self-selecting" out of coding and STEM classes in high school.

It is not just improved career opportunities that can be gained through coding. Educators point to the process of learning to code as particularly useful in building critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

At the elementary level, our coding teachers are...

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