ABSTRACT
56What is learned when a child is taught to issue navigational commands in a LOGO turtle graphics environment? First, the child acquires syntactic knowledge, including knowing the legal command elements (such as RT or LT), rules for combining the elements into commands (such as knowing that RT must be followed by a number), and rules for combining commands into programs. Second, the child acquires semantic knowledge specific to LOGO, such as a mental model of the locations, objects, and actions carried out in the computer. Third, the child acquires semantic knowledge that can be mapped onto domains beyond programming, such as comprehending and issuing commands for spatial navigation using maps. This chapter examines the chain of cognitive changes—including changes in syntactic, semantic, and mapping knowledge—that occur as children learn to use LOGO turtle graphics commands.
