Publication 6048

Abstract: Crafting constructionist supplements to enrich curriculum is not easy; crafting a full set of constructionist-designed materials for day-to-day use by students and teachers is downright hard; both are possible. If one chooses to build in programming, decisions about what computer language has the “ideal” characteristics may depend on the specific subject matter or purpose to which that language will be applied. Mathematics, even for young children, imposes demands on that programming language - among them, the ability to create and compose functions - that other expressive purposes may not.