Teaching Young Children Programming and Word Processing Skills: The Effects of Three Preparatory Conditions

Abstract

Ninety-two students from kindergarten, first, and second grades participated in the study. Students were randomly assigned to one of three preparatory groups: Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), Keyboard Instruction (KEY), and Robot Instruction (ROB). Students were regrouped for instruction in LOGO and word processing, which continued until children met ending criteria. New LOGO and writing tasks were presented and the students' performances compared across preparatory conditions. Results indicated that students in the KEY groups obtained the highest scores on the LOGO and writing tasks, followed closely by students in the ROB groups. Students in the CAI groups showed no significant gains in their ability to program in LOGO or to write using a word processor.