At Musicworks Canada, we’re proud to partner with parents and children to provide personalized learning opportunities, including music, coding, and language instruction, as well as supplementary tutoring to encourage academic achievement and foster long-lasting growth and fulfilment. Below, we’ll take a look at a few of the many ways coding lessons can enhance your child’s academic performance and personal development. Read on to learn more!
More Than Just Numbers and Data
For those who haven’t looked extensively into the field of coding and programming, it’s easy to assume that it’s all “numbers and data” that don’t have any real applications outside of the activity. While coding does involve a fair amount of formulas and numbers (which, coincidentally, makes it a great way to hone mathematical skills), it’s far more than just that.
Coding, in the simplest of terms, is a way of “communicating” with machines in “their” language to get a computer to perform specific tasks or functions. Coding is used in a wide variety of applications from software creating, developing websites, creating apps, and even developing assets like video games or electronic toys. In short, coding opens up a new world of possibilities for those who learn its specific “language” (note: there are several) and are able to apply it for their own purposes. Thanks to the unique complexity of coding, children who learn how to understand and wield programming languages early on gain the following:
Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities
Coding is all about input/output, and to get a machine to behave as desire and create your finished product, kids have to learn how to problem solve and constantly adapt their learned skills and resources creatively. In order to accomplish a larger task, children must learn how to break it down into each sub-component and analyze how different details or tools will affect the outcome. With each new task comes a new set of problems to overcome. As a child advances in their coding ability, so does their ability to think on the fly and problem-solve confidently.
Learning About Challenges and Rewards
Coding is an approachable skill to learn (with the right instructors), but it’s not without its share of challenges. Finding errors in a code and ‘debugging’ mistakes can be a frustrating process at first, but with enough practice and persistence, kids can learn to overcome their barriers and how to succeed in future attempts. Computational thinking, which is the process of breaking a problem down into steps and translating it into the language of the machine, equips children with confidence and resilience by giving them a tangible reward for each obstacle overcome.
These lessons are valuable for other academic endeavours (particularly math and sciences) but also offer an important guide for how to handle personal and social challenges they may encounter later on in life. By learning how to break things down step by step, the fear of being overwhelmed is significantly reduced, and students are able to focus on the task (or issue) at hand effectively.
Creativity
While coding may involve a fair amount of scientific thinking, it also offers a wonderful conduit for creativity. Learning to speak programming languages allows students to create and play within a world entirely of their own design. Programming encourages experimentation, iteration, and patience as they bring their desired product to life, one step (or code) at a time!
Technical Skills and Future Prospects
Finally, coding gives students of all ages access to valuable technical knowledge and familiarity with a variety of machines that give them a leg up in today’s digital world. These skills help to encourage critical thinking across a wide range of other disciplines but also help prepare children for the workforce with skills that are in high demand and often, short supply.
Coding Lessons with Musicworks Canada
At Musicworks, we believe that every child deserves the chance to excel and explore the world around them with confidence and support. We’re proud to offer online coding lessons to help expand minds, foster creativity, and provide further opportunities for growth with in-house and online music lessons and more. Learn more about our coding lessons and how you can get started here!
