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Purpose Much remains unknown about how young children orient to computational objects and how we as learning scientists can orient to young children as computational thinkers. While some research exists on how children learn programming, very little has been written about how they learn the technical skills needed to operate technologies or to fix breakdowns that occur in the code or the machine. The purpose of this study is to explore how children perform technical knowledge in tangible programming environments. Design/methodology/approach The current study examines the organization of young children’s technical knowledge in the context of a design-based study of Kindergarteners learning to code using robot coding toys, where groups of children collaboratively debugged programs. The authors conducted iterative rounds of qualitative coding of video recordings in kindergarten classrooms and interaction analysis of children using coding robots. Findings The authors found that as children repaired bugs at the level of the program and at the level of the physical apparatus, they were performing essential technical knowledge; the authors focus on how demonstrating technical knowledge was organized pedagogically and collectively achieved. Originality/value Drawing broadly from studies of the social organization of technical work in professional settings, we argue that technical knowledge is easy to overlook but essential for learning to repair programs. The authors suggest how tangible programming environments represent pedagogically important contexts for dis-embedding young children’s essential technical knowledge from the more abstract knowledge of programming. 

Programming activities have the potential to provide a rich context for exploring measurement units in early elementary mathematics. This study examines how a small group of young children (ages 5–6) express their emergent conception of a dynamic linear unit and the measurement concepts they found challenging. Video of an introductory programming lesson was analyzed for evidence of preconceptions and conceptions of a dynamic linear unit. Using Artifact-Centric Activity Theory as a lens for the analysis, we found that social context, gesturing, and verbal descriptions influenced the children’s understanding of a dynamic linear unit. Challenges that students encountered included developing a constructed conception of a unit, reconciling preconceptions about the meaning of a code, and socially-influenced preconceptions. This study furthers the exploration of computational thinking and mathematics connections and provides a basis for future exploration of dynamic mathematics and programming learning in early elementary education. 

There is growing interest in how to better prepare K–12 students to work with data. In this article, we assert that these discussions of teaching and learning must attend to the human dimensions of data work. Specifically, we draw from several established lines of research to argue that practices involving the creation and manipulation of data are shaped by a combination of personal experiences, cultural tools and practices, and political concerns. We demonstrate through two examples how our proposed humanistic stance highlights ways that efforts to make data personally relevant for youth also necessarily implicate cultural and sociopolitical dimensions that affect the design and learning opportunities in data-rich learning environments. We offer an interdisciplinary framework based on literature from multiple bodies of educational research to inform design, teaching and research for more effective, responsible, and inclusive student learning experiences with and about data. 

Purpose This paper aims to introduce and explores the use of electrodermal activity (EDA) data as a tool for obtaining data about youth engagement during maker learning activities. Design/methodology/approach EDA and survey data were collected from a yearlong afterschool maker program for teens that met weekly and was hosted at a children’s museum. Data from four youth who were simultaneously present for eight weeks were examined to ascertain what experiences and activities were more or less engaging for them, based on psychophysiological measures. Findings Most of the focal youth appeared to show higher levels of engagement by survey measures throughout the program. However, when examined by smaller time intervals, certain activities appeared to be more engaging. Planning of maker activities was one space where engagement was higher. Completing sewing projects with minimal social interaction appeared to be less engaging. Specific activities involving common maker technologies yielded mixed levels of engagement. Originality/value Some research is emerging that uses EDA data as a basis for generating inferences about various states while participating in maker learning activities. This paper provides a novel analysis building on some techniques established in the still emergent body of prior research in this area.