Hour of Code is an online teaching plan that provides a diverse set of learning tutorials for various coding activities, that should last up to an hour an introduce learners of different ages to computing principles. The tools used vary greatly from Scratch to JavaScript depending on pupil age and skillset.

I investigated one of Hour of Code’s tutorials to understand what learning approach is used. I decided to look at the block-based Create a T-Rex game tutorial to get an idea of how younger learners are introduced to coding. Firstly, it should be clarified that the learner takes an active role here, while the teacher passively supports students by moving around the classroom offering guidance; the introductory video suggests however, that teachers require no background experience, suggesting a highly constructivist approach where learning in left in the hands of pupils engaging with content independently and building their own knowledge. However, initiating the tutorial indicates that there is no element of discovery in this learning process. A video explains what the learner aims to achieve in this step, then immediately provides guidance on which code blocks to use and where to place them, essentially giving away the solution right away. This appears to in fact show a more instructivist method of learning, albeit independently through video instruction as opposed to teacher guidance. The pupil is not challenged to find the solution themselves, nor to attempt to understand the logic underlying each code block – they simply place the blocks as instructed by the video. I would argue this is a very limited approach. Creativity is stifled, and pupils are likely to rush through the instructions to be able to play the game; there is no intrigue in simply following pre-provided instructions that don’t encourage any further exploration. For younger learners, I’ve personally observed that when asked to copy code, they can comply pretty easily (though they often find it very boring). However, when prompted with follow-up questions about what each line does, and why they have done this, it can be a complete uphill struggle for them to actually comprehend what is it they are achieving. It’s known that re-reading and copying are poor methods of retaining knowledge, and it’s argued through the constructivist approach that ideas must be naturally cultivated in a pupil’s mind and cannot simply be transmitted. I would concede with this based on anecdotal experience and my reading. I argue it’s unlikely that a pupil will acquire a significant amount of knowledge from following these instructions.

An instructivist approach may argue that pupils need this instruction to be able to reach a solution, and will not be able to acquire adequate solutions without it. I would argue that this has some logic when using written (non-block based) languages. Certainly, it feels impossible for a student to be able to write appropriate syntax without at least some level of instruction (though this could absolutely still be incorporated under a constructivist approach). However, the entire purpose of block-based coding is to abstract the messiness and temperamentality of standard code, reducing it to a handful of simple blocks that won’t throw incomprehensible errors. To then provide instructions for the order of blocks feels completely unnecessary. There’s no reason a child couldn’t drag these blocks of their own volition and understand based on experimentation what blocks do what, and perhaps understand simple effects of sequence. The blocks are already designed as a simple playground – why then add a further layer of simplicity on top of that? I have some hesitance about Hour of Code’s promise that teachers do not require further knowledge. At least in the case of this tutorial (perhaps others are more fleshed out) I think knowledge acquisition is greatly limited. By having a more interactive approach – such as attempting these tasks independently, while the teacher has access to the solution – knowledge could be more activity acquired through discovery and thus be better retained for future experiences.

Educational theories of Hour of Code / Trinity Gulland / Computing in the Classroom (2023-2024)[YR] by is licensed under a