ABSTRACT
When coding is taught with a playful approach, children are not afraid to make mistakes. After all, playing is just that: playing. Classic child development theorists have tackled the subject of play. Traditional Piagetian theory holds that play, in and of itself, does not necessarily result in the formation of new cognitive structures. Coding environments that use screens, such as ScratchJr, offers limited possibilities for physical play. The surge of new tangible interfaces and smart objects provide new opportunities for coding that welcome the body back into the learning experience. Furthermore, they can support gross motor skills development by engaging children in locomotor play that promotes neural and muscular coordination for healthy growth. Coding experiences can be more like games than challenges or more like pretend stories than problems to solve. The playfulness of the approach can open doors to those who are marginalized from initiatives that teach programming integrated with traditional STEM subjects.
