Thinking in Pieces: Computational Thinking for Infants and Toddlers 

This familiar routine has two steps: (1) put the clay in the jar and (2) snap on the lid. When completed correctly, the intended outcome is to secure the clay inside the jar. If asked about the steps or the outcome, JoJo’s little brow would furrow, and she would quietly walk away from the person asking such inane questions. Is JoJo a computational thinker? How can we tell? What even is computational thinking? More importantly, why should early childhood practitioners care? 

Let’s unpack this in reverse.  

What is computational thinking?  

Computational thinking is a method used for problem solving that draws from computer science and engineering. Like all science, there is a need for questions, hypotheses, tests, and observations. Like all engineering, there is a process of design, evaluation, and iteration. One main difference between these other aspects of STEM is that the roots of computational thinking are in programming computers, or coding. Coding computers to perform the miracles of today’s innovations starts with an idea for an outcome and ends with a set of steps that lead to that outcome. So, a major focus of computational thinking is directions – sequences of steps. These sequences can be broken down, rearranged, and followed in various orders. If the order of the steps does not lead to the intended outcome, then there is an error, or bug, in the directions, and the directions, or codes, need to be fixed. 

What does computational thinking look like for infants and toddlers? Is JoJo a computational thinker?  

The toddler teacher demonstrated an error in the sequence of steps to put away the clay. JoJo not only noticed the error, but she was also able to fix the error by following the correct order of steps. These sequencing and debugging skills are part of JoJo’s toolbox as a computational thinker.  

What might have led to this, and what more does JoJo have to learn? Consider two experiences that JoJo had in infancy and early toddlerhood – predictability and autonomy. When JoJo was a baby, uncomfortable feelings, such as a wet diaper or desire for comfort, might lead her to cry. This led to being picked up by a caregiver. When JoJo repeated this behavior, she learned to expect that she could rely on caregivers for comfort. Later, this applied to meeting her own needs or interacting with others. She learned that repetition could be fun and useful! Playing peekaboo, banging objects together, or bringing a spoon to her mouth led to expected outcomes – meeting goals such as social interaction, interesting noise, or feeding herself independently.  

Wait – isn’t this just normal child development? Why are we calling it computational thinking? 

These are common experiences, but that doesn’t make them any less profound. Infants have an innate sense of number and can respond to cause and effect before one year of age. We connect these foundational abilities with math and science because we can see their connection to what these skills can become. We connect children’s abilities to sequence steps and identify outcomes with computational thinking because of where they can lead.  

As JoJo grows, her ability to understand sequences means that she can be challenged to represent those sequences or use representations of sequences to answer questions such as “What’s next?” Similarly, her ability to notice and fix errors can be paired with abstract representations of steps to look at, and if the code isn’t working correctly, she can find the mistake or inefficiency and fix it. This may entail breaking down the steps within the code and rearranging the order. It could also mean removing steps that are not leading to the goal or solving the problem. Later in JoJo’s potential life as a computer coder, she may notice that repeated steps could be more effectively represented by adding a condition – “repeat steps (clay in jar, snap on lid) until all clay is where it belongs.” Today’s clay clean-up problem may be the foundation of tomorrow’s environmental clean-up solution.