Now available in english: Early Computer Science Education - Haus der kleinen Forscher - Volume 9
In cooperation with Prof. Dr. Ulrik Schroeder and Prof. Dr. Nadine Bergner, the 9th volume of the series "Haus der kleinen Forscher" concerning early childhood informatics education has been published. From now on the version is also available in english.
Whether it's the traffic light system, the navigation device in the car, the parents' smartphone, a tablet in the nursery or the PC in the classroom - today's children grow up in a world that is strongly influenced by digital technology and is developing rapidly. Girls and boys want to explore and shape them and have many questions: How does a robot work? What happens when I turn on the computer? And what is actually behind all the pictures and information?
For many years, the "House of Little Researchers" Foundation has been successfully developing and evaluating MINT concepts and materials for research-based learning in early childhood education. After the natural sciences, technology and mathematics, the Foundation is now daring to approach the "I" in MINT with the ninth volume of the scientific series on the Foundation's work. We have thus broken new ground, as there are hardly any research approaches and educational concepts on this topic in German-speaking countries. At the same time, the importance of computer science and related skills is growing steadily.
For children, the fascination of the world is at the forefront: they want to try out, explore, help shape and know what is connected and how it works. In doing so, they deal with computers and the like no differently than with other exciting things: They want to discover them, explore them and know what lies behind them. How does all this information get into the small mobile phone? Why can my computer calculate so quickly? How does the traffic light know when who should drive, who should walk and who should stand?
The task as an early education initiative is to enable educators to search for answers together with girls and boys.
That is why the "House of Little Researchers" - based on the recommendations of experts from science and research - focuses on the technological perspective of the digital in its educational offerings. There are well-developed training concepts, pedagogical materials and online offers for pedagogical specialists and teachers as well as for children to discover computer science - with and without computers.
This is because the aim is not to increase the use of digital media, but to understand the underlying concepts. Girls and boys can get to know algorithmic thinking in a playful approach to IT systems and thus build up an important basis for a reflective and competent approach to these systems.