Multiple studies confirm that teaching current students how to code is a must in 2023. According to research, early exposure to programming can boost youth’s cognitive development, communication, problem-solving, and many other crucial skills. All in all, teaching younger generations to code is a way to empower them to succeed in the future and make a significant contribution to our world.
Modern students need to learn to program regardless of their majors because that’s what the workforce of tomorrow requires from them in nearly every niche. Knowing this, many students are striving to gain this skill on their own. In fact, over 45% of students already program or are learning to do it now. But what holds modern schools and colleges back from making such courses accessible to everyone? In this article, an expert writer from a reliable essay writer online will answer this question.
3 Major Challenges in Teaching Students to Code
Lack of Human Resources
First and foremost, making programming education accessible for everyone is challenging due to a banal lack of teachers. There are plenty of educators who can teach students history, math, literature, essay writing, and many other things. But there is a notable shortage of programming teachers. According to YouGov and BJSS research, almost 70% of teachers think they don’t have the skills needed to teach students coding.
Solution: There are several time-tested strategies that can be used to address the teacher shortage. First of all, it’s mentorship for new educators. Another strategy is to make careers in education more accessible to empower future professionals with the necessary training.
Difficulties With Getting Students Engaged
Another major challenge is getting students engaged in learning programming. Adding more load into already busy students’ schedules is always uneasy. Even without programming courses, students in schools and colleges already have a lot on their plates. To cope with the existing load, students often have to resort to paper writing service reviews to find professionals who could take some of the essay writing assignments off their shoulders.
That being said, not all students will be happy to get an additional course in their curricula, which will significantly affect their engagement. On top of that, there are significant difficulties with engaging younger students and those who aren’t keen on math and technology.
Solution: Engaging students becomes easier with different fun elements integrated into the classroom. Namely, adding gamified learning elements works well in keeping students engaged and motivated. The “flipped classroom” model is also a common method for boosting engagement.
Technology Gap
Finally, even in 2023, the technology gap still remains a big problem, especially in teaching technology-related subjects like programming. According to UNICEF, as many as 1.3 billion school students still don’t have access to a stable internet connection at home. Moreover, many students still lack the necessary gadgets in their households. Needless to say, this can hold young people back from learning programming, whether following a formal curriculum or on their own.
Solution: When it comes to bridging the technology gap, that’s where governments should step up by reducing the costs of technological gadgets, electricity, taxes, and internet services. Schools can also help. And, in fact, they are already helping. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2022-23 academic year, 45% of schools reported that they are delivering internet access for pupils who need it in their households. And 94% said they are providing the needed digital devices.
Can Programming Become More Accessible for All Students?
It sure can! Despite all the challenges, the need to learn programming skills becomes more tangible. So we can see governments and educational facilities embrace early programming exposure. They are actively tackling technology gaps and teacher shortages.
On top of that, the computer programming industry is also changing rapidly. Now, programming languages are becoming much more intuitive, which encourages more people to try learning them.
Finally, we can’t avoid mentioning the growing number of online resources that offer coding education to students. Thanks to platforms like Code.org, Coursera, Khan Academy, and others, modern students can already access programming education on their own. All they need is the support of the best research paper writing service to balance their coding courses and formal education. And more and more students are already doing it.
The Bottom Line
The benefits of learning programming early on are crystal clear. So is the obvious push that advancing technology gives to schools and colleges to promote programming courses in their facilities. Nevertheless, teaching students how to code isn’t easy. As you now know, there are a number of challenges that still keep programming education inaccessible to some students. However, the situation is changing rapidly. We believe that computer programming can soon become accessible to everyone.
