CONTEXT An algorithm is a set of actions involving the understanding of objectives of further activities and undertaking a series of steps to solve practical and educational problems (Veronina, Sergeeva & Utyumova, 2016). Algorithm comprehension makes it possible to transfer the method of solving a problem to similar tasks since algorithmic thinking is a way of reaching a solution by defining the steps clearly (Yıldız, Çiftçi & Karal, 2017). Algorithmic thinking is the base to understand and learn to code, but above all, this skill is necessary for every moment of our lives since by using this skill we can create and follow simple sequences to perform a task. Hereby, the good acquisition of algorithmic thinking skills will provide future generations to take the most appropriate steps to reach the desired goal. As computational thinking, coding and educational robotics are entering European schools as tools for thought, teachers and curriculum developers offer to foster algorithmic thinking skills starting from the preschool period (Strnad, 2018), in so providing children with these skills they will be able to interpret data more easily, and develop thinking strategies for understanding and solving problems. OBJECTIVES Therefore the main goal of the project practice is to prepare a course programme and teaching materials to teach preschool teaching undergraduates how to reflect the algorithmic thinking skill in all areas of preschool education and integrate it into the teaching of music, art, mathematics, drama, science, behaviour development and language development, which are addressed in early childhood. Hereby, the project will also refer to the objectives below - Closing skills gaps in ICT oriented teaching/learning activities for immediate impact on contemporary teaching skills of preschool teaching undergraduates - Increasing the acquisition of knowledge and skills of preschool teaching undergraduates related to employing algorithmic thinking skills through play-based learning as an innovative teaching approach - Upskilling the lecturers of the partner universities related to the integration of algorithmic thinking skills into all subject areas focused, in preschool education. TARGET GROUPS Target groups of the project practice consist of 80 preschool teaching undergraduates who will participate in the piloting process and 9 lecturers who will take training to gain insight into the application of the developed learning/teaching activities to integrate algorithmic thinking skills into all subject areas addressed in preschool education and monitor the teaching practices through in-classroom observations. METHODOLOGY & ACTIVITIES Intellectual Output Preparation Process Two research methods used in social sciences will be used for the preparation of intellectual outputs and for testing their compliance with the project objectives. a- Descriptive (Preparation, Curriculum Development, Interactive Animated Presentations as teaching material) Through literature reviews, workshops, individual works, teamwork and joint-work of the project team members b- Experimental (Piloting process taking place after the preparation of the curriculum and teaching materials) Through giving training during the spring semester of 2022, summative and formative assessments will take place to measure the effectiveness of the piloting. RESULT & IMPACT a- The project will provide a new research area for academia. The project ALGO-LITTLE will be a reliable step for academia, to study on the project topic from different aspects specifically for preschool teaching. b- Project partners will be able to carry the proposed teaching approach to a step further by conducting further studies on the subject matter. The project outputs will be available for them to use in their courses. Besides, all interested preschool teaching departments will be able to use the developed teaching materials under the license of Creative Commons (CC BY-SA). c- The project practice will directly impact on the preschool teaching undergraduates' upskilling in the teaching of different subject areas. They will learn how to support children to see the happenings from different angles, to create algorithms, to apply them and see if they can reach the objective or not and also to check their steps, to see the problematic ones and correct them.
The main goal of the project practice was to prepare a course programme and teaching materials to teach preschool teaching undergraduates how to reflect the algorithmic thinking skill in all areas of preschool education and integrate them into the teaching of music, art, mathematics, drama, science, behaviour development and language development, which are addressed in early childhood. With this, the project would also refer to the achievements below. - Closing skills gaps in ICT-oriented teaching/learning activities for immediate impact on contemporary teaching skills of preschool teaching undergraduates - Increasing the acquisition of knowledge and skills of preschool teaching undergraduates related to employing algorithmic thinking skills through play-based learning as an innovative teaching approach - Upskilling the lecturers of the partner universities related to integrating algorithmic thinking skills into all subject areas focused, on preschool education.
In Türkiye, preschool education is quite equipped and there are serious national studies related to permanent learning, especially in the behavioural development of preschool children. The main point focused on the learning of children was to provide them to think freely and analyse situations from different perspectives, developing creative ideas which were the best solutions for the target status. To achieve this, preschool teaching undergraduates needed to learn how to foster children's algorithmic thinking skills in an elective course. The lecturers involved in the project needed a higher education curriculum for the elective course "Algorithmic Skills in Early Childhood" and also needed teaching materials which were suitable for the flipped learning approach. Therefore, the teaching materials were planned as interactive animated presentations that allow users to pause on some decision stages to take notes, participate in question-answer sections, listen to audio records, watch video footage, do quizzes, etc. The course planned to be prepared would meet the need of the preschool teaching department of Democracy University as well as the same departments of the partner universities.