Computer Programming With Pre-K Through First-Grade Students With Intellectual Disabilities

Researchers suggest students in early elementary grade levels are active learners and creators and need to be exposed to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum. The need for student understanding in STEM curriculum is well-documented, and positive results in robotics and computer programming are leading researchers and policy makers to introduce new standards in education. The purpose of this single-case design study is to research the potential for PreK-1st grade students with intellectual disabilities (ID) to learn skills in computer programming through explicit instruction, concrete manipulatives, and tangible interfaces. Students were assessed through baseline, treatment, and generalization phases. The students with ID were found to successfully program the robot, following explicit instruction, although they had difficulty generalizing skills to tablet application. Discussion of results, future research, and limitations is provided.