Kindergartners learn computer coding

In Kelly Thatcher’s kindergarten class, students as young as 5 years old sit at desks and on the floor holding small tablet devices. They fidget with the touch screens and watch as small, clear balls light up and skim across the classroom floor. The STEM School and Academy kindergarteners are learning how to code — a computer language that that tells a device what to do and where to go. “It’s the best age to teach it to because they don’t set any limitations for themselves,” said Thatcher, who started teaching at STEM last year. “It’s like a game for them.” Thatcher moved to Highlands Ranch from southern California, where she taught kindergarten and eighth-grade science and robotics for 12 years. Another kindergarten teacher who is teaching coding is Cassandra Burkard. She taught at Jefferson County School District for 10 years prior to moving to STEM School and Academy last year. “It’s so much better than worksheets,” Burkhard said. “They are digital learners — they crave it.” STEM School and Academy’s kindergarten teachers are using coding in basic subjects, such as science, math and art, to integrate technology and enhance problem solving. Students plug measurements, directions and numbers into an app on a tablet device to make different devices, such as a Sphero — a small, clear ball that is wirelessly connected to a tablet device — trace shapes and patterns and travel specific distances. If the Sphero doesn’t do what the student wants, he or she adjusts the information in the app. “It’s like instantaneous problem solving,” Thatcher said. Burkhard said the coding technology helps students communicate better when they are frustrated. “These guys hit so many problems every day that it’s not a roadblock, it’s a speed bump,” she said. “We identify what happened and we find a different way.” The kindergartners are busy. Some sit on the floor watching the Spheros light up and travel in all directions. Others sit at a table and plug numbers and letters into their tablet devices. Victoria James tries to make her Sphero travel 50 inches alongside a ruler. The first time, her Sphero goes too far. The second time, it goes the wrong direction. When Thatcher asks her what she is going to do next, the 5-year-old responds: “Try again.”