Rohini is eight years old. She has always been a curious child, always eager to find out more about her world. Her best friend is her grandfather, Mr. Desai, a noted violinist in his youth. A couple of years ago, he introduced Rohini to musical puzzles.
Musical puzzles combine music with puzzle solving. These can be jigsaws, pattern identifications, sequence recognitions, and many others. Rohini, always an eager learner and a fan of her grandfather’s violin sessions, is quite engrossed in solving her daily dose of musical puzzles.
She also uses her knowledge of coding to solve the puzzles. Implementing her coding knowledge to solve the puzzles has been a great learning experience. She has been able to develop her skill sets to the extent that the benefits are already visible in her schoolwork, where her teachers are quite pleased with the progress that she has been making across the board.
Rohini now ranks near the very top of her class, much to the pride of her parents and her proud grandfather.
The 5 Coding Enablers for Rohini’s Success
Just in case you are wondering how coding helped Rohini, here are the five enablers that define her success:1
- Run-length Encoding: Run-length encoding (or RLE) is a form of lossless data compression. Under RLE, different runs of data are stored as a single data value and counted rather than as the original run. A data run refers to a sequence in which the same data value occurs in many consecutive data elements.2
RLE is most efficient when we have data that contains many such runs. This includes simple graphic images such as icons, line drawings, and music files. For files that do not have many runs, RLE can also help increase the file size for easy analysis.
RLE is particularly useful for solving puzzles that require comparing different musical notes.
- Pattern Recognition: Pattern recognition is a fun activity consisting of identifying trends across diverse data sets. It not only stimulates the mind but is also a great place for applying coding principles. This is Rohini’s favorite type of musical puzzle, and she relies on her coding expertise to zoom through.
Pattern recognition has also had a significant effect on Rohini’s learning abilities. It has helped groom her as someone who is quickly able to grasp terminologies and connections.
- Image Processing: Image processing is another coding enabler. It has helped Rohini learn about the different musical notes and their placements in the notation table. Also, you can expect your child to develop capabilities around sequencing and loop recognition, having learned enhanced image processing through coding.
- Musical Notes: Musical notes are another key coding/learning area that involves listening to and remembering the notes played. These are then matched to the notations on the screen, driving the young learner’s recall capabilities.
This directly affects the results during schoolwork since most traditional learning comprises correct memorization and recall.
- Algorithm Building: Your child can learn how to build algorithms and sequences while solving musical puzzles using code. This is possible since music is created in sequence, and solving these puzzles using coding can help develop recognition capabilities. This, in turn, helps your child build algorithms in other functional areas by using the experience gained while solving these puzzles.
How Coding Helps Prepare Your Child for Future Success?3
Apart from solving music puzzles by writing code, it contributes in many more aspects. It helps promote creativity, often starting with nothing and finishing with something. Similar to cooking or painting, coding can help your child derive satisfaction from having gone through the process. And since the resources for coding, being virtual, are essentially limitless, your child, just like Rohini, can give full wings to their wishes while writing code. Let’s have a look at some more coding benefits.
- Coding has been found to have significant positive effects on developing problem-solving, mathematical, and analytical skills.
- While coding, your child needs to apply themselves to address the problem at hand. This structured approach helps build their confidence in using mathematical formulae and principles while enhancing their ability to analyze and solve the problem correctly.
- Computational thinking represents a proven and structured methodology for identifying problems, regardless of age or computer literacy. It can help in the development of critical thinking and concentrates on helping students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems. Computational thinking is cross-disciplinary in nature, and efforts are underway to start teaching it in elementary schools or even preschool. Coding has been found to be a great vehicle for promoting computational thinking in children.
- And finally, it has been observed that children learn best by doing and exploring. Learning by doing3 refers to a theory of education discussed by John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist, and educationist. It refers to a hands-on approach to learning where students interact with their environment to adapt and learn. Studies4 have found this to be among the most effective means of learning for youngsters.
Conclusion
Learning by doing is, therefore, about the idea that we learn more when we actually “do” the activity. For instance, imagine a child who is learning to play a game for the first time. Through the learning by doing approach, your child will develop an understanding of the application they are using to play the game. Later, they would begin to discover more about the movement of objects, points to be earned, and so on. This results in direct and active engagement instead of a passive practice. The results are evident, with active engagement driving better overall recall and deeper learning.
Coding is a fine example of learning by doing, helping prepare your child for the future. And so, the earlier we introduce our youngsters to coding, the better the results will be.
Follow BYJU’S FutureSchool blog to learn more about how coding can make a difference to your child’s future.
References:
1Focus on a Puzzle: Music Scores. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.codingame.com/blog/puzzle-image-processing/
2Run Length Encoding (RLE) Data Compression Algorithm | Techie Delight. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.techiedelight.com/run-length-encoding-rle-data-compression-algorithm/
3How Coding Can Equip Your Child for the Future. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.byjusfutureschool.com/blog/how-coding-can-equip-your-child-for-the-future/
4John Dewey · Learning by Doing · Pedagogy for Change. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.pedagogy4change.org/john-dewey/
5Reese, H. W. (2014). The learning-by-doing principle. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 17(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1037/H0100597
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