Collaborative Research: ScratchJr: Computer Programming in Early Childhood Education as a Pathway to Academic Readiness and Success

塔夫茨大学和麻省理工学院之间的这个合作项目正在研究和开发Scratch编程语言的新版本，名为ScratchJr，专门为幼儿教育（K-2）设计。目前版本的Scratch被广泛使用，它的目标受众是8-16岁的孩子，不适合年幼的孩子。这项工作将为幼儿使用面向对象编程语言的能力提供基于研究的证据，并研究这对儿童学习科学概念和程序的影响。该团队将以迭代周期开发ScratchJr，在塔夫茨大学的Devtech实验室和艾略特皮尔逊实验室学校以及更广泛的早期儿童合作伙伴网络中进行测试。在这个为期三年的项目结束时，ScratchJr将在大约350名K-2学生、40名家长和58名早期儿童教育工作者中进行测试。ScratchJr将有三个组成部分：1)一个适合开发的界面，触摸屏和键盘/鼠标选项；2)一个包含STEM内容的嵌入式课程模块库，以满足联邦和州在幼儿教育方面的要求；3)为幼儿教育工作者和家长提供在线资源和社区。研究问题集中在ScratchJr是否可以帮助这些幼儿学习基本知识结构，如排序、因果关系、分类、组成、符号、模式、估计和预测；具体内容知识；以及解决问题的能力。这一跨学科的建议对学习技术、幼儿教育和人机交互领域做出了贡献。ScratchJr具有在正式和非正式环境中广泛实施的潜力。

This collaborative project between Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is researching and developing a new version of the Scratch programming language to be called ScratchJr, designed specifically for early childhood education (K-2). The current version of Scratch, which is widely implemented, is intended for ages 8-16 and is not developmentally appropriate for young children. This work will provide research-based evidence regarding young children's abilities to use an object-oriented programming language and to study the impact this has on the children's learning of scientific concepts and procedures. The team will develop ScratchJr in an iterative cycle, testing it in both in the Devtech lab at Tufts and the Eliot Pearson lab school and with a wider network of early childhood partners. At the end of the three-year project, ScratchJr will have been tested with approximately 350 students in K-2, 40 parents, and 58 early childhood educators. ScratchJr will have three components: 1) a developmentally appropriate interface, with both touch screen and keyboard/mouse options; 2) an embedded library of curricular modules with STEM content to meet federal and state mandates in early childhood education; and 3) an on-line resource and community for early childhood educators and parents. The research questions focus on whether ScratchJr can help these young children learn foundational knowledge structures such as sequencing, causality, classification, composition, symbols, patterns, estimation, and prediction; specific content knowledge; and problem solving skills. This interdisciplinary proposal makes contributions to the fields of learning technologies, early childhood education and human computer interaction. ScratchJr has the potential for broad implementation in both formal and informal settings.