Electronics, computing, and applied mathematics are gateway subjects to modern technology.
For young learners, we believe that electronics provides an ideal entry point. It is practical, with manipulables. It is easy to see cause and effect. With the right equipment and approach, exploring electronics can begin for children as early as 3 years old.
There are many tangible benefits for young learners getting started in electronics:
- fine motor skill development,
- an intuition for how technological things work at a component level,
- the integration of technology into the palette for imagination and creativity,
- improved self-confidence,
- strengthening a growth mindset,
- building resilience,
- raising the threshold of frustration,
- better dexterity,
- stronger focus.
A three year old wiring his first circuit and the joy at seeing the LED, which he selected, light up!
How to make electronics accessible to young learners? Working with young learners on these topics should be an exploration between parent (or older mentor) and child, with the older mentor essentially the team’s sherpa (guide) to avoid pitfalls, carry the load, smooth the trek, and point out the wonders. Without such a partnership, a young child’s natural curiousity will quickly turn to frustration and abandonment as their basic dexterity and analytical comprehension are (not surprisingly) insufficient for them to be independent. However, with help at hand to keep the momentum going, they can and do comprehend a surprising amount. Sharing the wonder of electronics and the joy of the “maker culture” is of priceless benefit to young children.
How much are young children able to achieve?
This will obviously depend on the child and the adult partner accompanying them on their learning journey (co-journeyer – for programming, for electronics). With an enthusiastic parent and child, the following are possible:
In Electronics:
- A three year-old with adequate motor skills can do basic electronics with supervision (battery, cables, switch, resistor, led/buzzer/dc motor).
- A five year-old can start to use bread-boards for electronics and independently create their own simple circuits.
- A seven year-old can read a simple circuit diagram and wire it up correctly. She/he can use pliers, wire strippers and other electric/hobbyist tools safely.
- An eight-year old can wire up a complex circuit with guidance, using components and a breadboard
In Computing:
- A three year-old can direct a turtle logo using 5 keys (four movement, change color), recognizing and pressing keys to perform desired actions
- A four year-old can independently guide the turtle to draw a pre-described simple object on screen (box, staircase)
- A six year-old can solve harder challenges with the turtle-logo and begin to program the turtle (record/playback)
- A seven year-old can start learning programming with Forth (reading, keyboard use).
- An eight year old can use a computer independently
- A ten year old can work their way through “Starting Forth” relatively independently, and learn Forth using GForth, Notepad++, and Total Commander.
The journey through electronics moves through seven stages: (1) electricity basics, (2) wiring & circuits (batteries, light, and sound) (3) interfacing with the external environment (sensors & motors), (4) using IC chips, (5) soldering (teenagers only), (6) interfacing between hardware & software (embedded systems), and (7)designing smart technology (robotics, autonomous systems, learning systems). The first two stages are accessible to three & four year olds; stage 3 to seven year olds; stages 4 & 5 to 13-year olds; and the last two certainly by 15 years old and continuing on into university (where the material becomes highly mathematical).
Ready to get started with Electronics?
Join us on the journey: check out our new venture: MathSciTech Education – Empowering Young Innovators.
Computing in the Early-Years Mix
In 2016, I developed Turtle Logo software in Forth to introduce algorithmic thinking to 3+ year olds. By 6 years old they are able use the learn/replay feature of the software to explore the essentials of programming, all before they can type. (To download the published software, see here!)
Jasmine working with an early version of Turtle Logo Forth.
Photo Gallery
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Tiny flashlights… for little personalities (L-R: (a) ultra-bright reading light, 4 LEDs in parallel; (b) Xmas light, 3 colored LEDs; (c) white light flashlight, narrow beam; (d) “Batman light” – an Adam favourite – casts an orange bat shadow on the wall.
Jasmine & Adam with their flashlights over porridge breakfast before school.
Batman light – incredibly, this went through the wash, but apart from replacing the push-button switch (which fell out), everything else, including battery, worked fine. Shines a bright light & smells super sudsy 🙂
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Ultra-bright reading light (4 LEDs in parallel): Each LED has its own loop with 330-ohm resistance (220R+110R), all feeding back into the push-button switch.
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Jasmine working on a series LED circuit (3 LEDs, 1 resistor)
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Police Car with LED powered by Lemon Juice Battery, 5-cell, Zinc-Copper electrodes with Lemon Juice as the electrolyte
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Gear mechanics to control a demonstration drawbridge. The gears on the left bring the bridge forward; the gears on the right can continue the pull, or return the bridge into place.
Share your experiences, observations, and links to your projects in the comments.
Hello Assad. I am in Botswana and I want to open an electronic and engineering school for students to attend during the weekend. Specifically for junior secondary school. My wish is how can I adopt your course curriculum? What is the procedure and the costs?
Hello Shanganani, Good objective.
You are free to use what you wish from my work to build a program to suit. If you use/copy material, just give credit to the site and post a positive comment in the comments section of the article you used.
You can give credit appropriately in one line: “Material used with Permission from MathSciTech.org, URL: http://www.mathscitech.org/articles/ [article-name.html]”
I wish you success!
Assad
PS. You may want to look at these resources:
1) Make Electronics 3rd edition – Learning by Discovery: A Hands-On Primer for the New Electronics Enthusiast, by Charles Platt.
This is an outstanding book, by a gifted inventor and teacher. I know Charles personally (we collaborated on a few chapters in the 3rd edition), so if you decide you want to adopt this book as a textbook, drop a note by email.
2) Capstone Musical Project: Digital Programmable Keyboard & Synth
This is an example of a capstone project that combines prototyping and musical theory with something quite appealing for most students — building a mini synth that can be connected to an amplifier and that has the possibility of playing ethnic music with ethnic scales and automated arpeggiators, etc. I designed a PCB version of this on a kit with a tethered Forth code version for the Atmel 328P AVR Arduino microcontroller to allow on-the-fly experimentation.
Thank you will keep in touch