Computational Thinking Education, or STEM-based education, teaches children much more than science and mathematics concepts. With hands-on learning and real-world applications, it can help develop important 21st-century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, decision making, leadership, entrepreneurship and more.
Learning Through Play is Sportz Village Foundation’s approach to making these skills more engaging, accessible and meaningful for children.
The National Education Policy 2020 highlights the importance of making mathematics and computational thinking more engaging through innovative methods, including the regular use of puzzles and games.
Children are naturally curious about the world around them. Many of their questions can be explored through STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. However, even though children show a natural interest in STEM at an early age, this enthusiasm often fades as they grow older.
Some key reasons include:
Computational Thinking Education can help children develop skills that are useful not only in academics, but also in life.
Through Learning Through Play, Sportz Village Foundation aims to:
Learning Through Play is not positioned as a substitute for classroom-based STEM learning. Instead, it works as a foundational, complementary and bridge module that supports formal learning.
The approach focuses on:
Learning Through Play works alongside classroom education by making foundational concepts easier to understand through practical activities.
Developmentally appropriate problem-solving content is integrated through play and activity-based modules as a supplemental input to the core curriculum.
The programme helps children at upper-primary and secondary education levels build fundamental computational thinking skills.
The programme also helps create a foundation for 21st-century cognitive and non-cognitive skills by strengthening structured thinking, regardless of a child’s eventual career path.
Problem solving as a learning outcome is native to sport.
Sport and play, as a medium of intervention, naturally create opportunities for children to face challenges, think through situations, act, learn and improve.
The Learning Through Play model focuses on three key stages:
Children are introduced to challenges through engaging activities that encourage them to frame and understand the problem.
Children evaluate the problem, identify patterns, abstract relevant information and initiate action.
Children reflect on their actions, measure results and learn from the outcomes of their problem-solving efforts.
Sportz Village Foundation conducted a pilot study to validate the role of sport, play and activity in Computational Thinking Education.
To validate the role of play, activity and sport in building computational thinking skills among children.
The pilot involved middle-grade students, with girls participating as part of the pilot.
The pilot focused on five key computational thinking competencies:
Qualitative inputs were gathered by the programme team to support the role of activity-based and play-based learning in improving computational thinking competencies among middle-grade children.
The pilot used four hypotheses and measurable indicators to assess whether play-based learning could support computational thinking education.
Hypothesis: Children find content related to different computational thinking competencies interesting.
Indicator: At least 50% of children complete every activity.
Hypothesis: Children can make direct learning through computational thinking-based activity.
Indicator: Quiz question accuracy of 50% at Level 1, the Direct Learning Quiz.
Hypothesis: Children can apply their direct learning to other aspects of life.
Indicator: Quiz question accuracy of 50% at Level 2, the Reinforcement Quiz.
Hypothesis: Children can improve their overall logical reasoning and problem-solving skills after the pilot module.
Indicator: At least 60% of children show positive movement in pre- and post-programme outcome assessments.
The programme was delivered through Sportz Village’s asynchronous digital platform, Play at Home Leaderboard.
The content included a series of structured, pre-recorded video-based activities, followed by quizzes at various stages of the pilot.
Each competency was assessed through a three-level quiz structure:
Quiz questions were presented immediately after a challenging activity.
A five-question quiz was conducted after the completion of each competency module.
A pre- and post-programme 10-question quiz assessed all five computational thinking competencies.
The pilot showed a positive impact on learning through play and activity-based interventions.
The results indicated that children responded positively to activities they found interesting, while also showing improved real-life application of learning gained through play and activity.
The pilot recommended conducting a larger study to collect wider evidence and validate all key outcomes and hypotheses.
It also highlighted the opportunity to develop well-tested, age-appropriate problem-solving content and activity-based modules that can support the core curriculum.
Learning Through Play can help create stronger engagement in schools through activity-based computational thinking modules.
The next steps include:
Sportz Village Foundation works to transform the lives of children from underprivileged communities through the magic of sport.
The foundation works with corporates and governments to integrate structured curriculum into public schools. Its Sport for Change programme uses physical activity and sport to drive improvement in children’s health, education and empowerment.
Explore the data, stories and evidence behind a year of impact through sport. Fill the form and get the report.
