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Designing Logo-like Environments for Young Children: The Interaction between Theory and Practice

Recent Logo research documents young children's difficulties in learning Logo programming. This article describes a systematic approach to designing a series of increasingly complex Logo-like environments tailored to primary children. The approach involves a combination of theoretical principles related to cognitive development and practical considerations based on Logo research and classroom observations. The article first examines reports on difficulties encountered by young school children in learning the standard Logo language. A brief review of the psychological-cognitive literature on the development of spatial concepts is presented, shedding light on cognitive prerequisites of various Logo concepts and tasks. Based on these analyses, a methodology for the design of a graduated series of Pre-Logo Microworlds for young children is presented. These microworlds include cognitive scaffolding features such as graphic utilities and measurement tools designed to facilitate the acquisition of mathematical-spatial and programming concepts. The article concludes with a description of findings related to a) field-testing of the series in elementary classrooms and subsequent revisions of the series, and b) experimental results pertaining to children's acquisition of programming and mathematical-spatial concepts and transfer effects.