It’s National Coding Week — why it’s important to teach children coding

Today (September 13) marks the beginning of National Coding Week when schools are encouraged to participate in events and set new challenges for their students, to prepare them for an increasingly digitalised world.

But coding is about so much more than just a technical skill.

Learners who are engaged in activities and tasks involving coding also pick up and develop a range of other skills that help with their learning and studies, support them in navigating life’s challenges and are sought after by future employers.

So, what ‘soft skills’ does coding help to develop?

Communication

It might seem counter-intuitive to think of a coder as a communicator, but that’s exactly what they are. Despite the image of the coder sitting alone, beavering away in front of a computer screen they do actually have to communicate with their colleagues and clients — to manage expectations, to interpret needs and to get across what can and cannot be achieved. Coding is a universal language that transcends international borders.

Creativity

Digital skills often go hand in hand with artistic abilities and learning to code is no different. Coders are constantly learning how to read and write in a new medium, producing opportunities for creativity, to be expressive and to innovate.

Logic

Students of coding are constantly learning logic by dissecting processes and achieving solutions to problems. This, in turn, promotes analytical thinking. Being able to break down challenges into small, separate parts and to work out how each is affecting the other will help students to think in an objective way, rather than relying on more emotional methods of problem-solving.

Problem-solving

Coding encourages problem-solving and thinking ‘outside the box’. In encountering a problem, a coder needs to go back a step or two to see how to fix it. Trying again and again until a solution is found teaches perseverance, persistence and promotes problem-solving, setting young people up for tackling life’s challenges.

Confidence (to try something new)

Most students will know from their earliest school days which subjects they like and are good at, and this is often rooted in their home life and the input of their parents. Coding is a relatively new academic discipline that most students will be trying for the first time with little or no prior experience. Some will love it, others less so, but it gives them all an opportunity to leave their comfort zones and try something new.

You never know what you are going to be good at until you try it!

Overcoming gender barriers

Men tend to hold most of the jobs in coding and the tech industry generally is male-dominated, but there is no reason why this should be the case. Organisations such as Code First Girls and Girls Who Code are working hard to break down these barriers to young women. Coding is not limited just to boys, and girls should be given equal opportunities to excel.