The conventional belief has always been that kids interested in programming should develop strong math skills. But teachers and parents around the world are starting to talk about how computer programming can help children build math skills and make math learning more fun.
Michelle Lagos, a computer science teacher at the American school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, observes, “One of the most common cross curricular benefits of computer programming is that the kids have an easier time learning math skills.” She has started using Tynker in the elementary classes and adds, “When they have to work on long division, it is easier for them to visualize the numbers now instead of counting with their fingers. They visualize the equation and think of the best way to solve it. We have seen kids in many grades improve their math skills.”
Parents are also realizing that programming related activities can make math fun for kids. “My kids ask to program with Tynker because they enjoy it. I love watching them solve puzzles because of the mathematical thinking required,” says Jennifer Apy, parent of a 15 year old, 11 year old and 8 year old. “Without realizing it, my kids are identifying attributes and grouping variables, applying conditional logic, developing algorithmic functions, and calculating angles within geometric shapes. But most of all, they are patiently articulating hypotheses to solve problems, and boldly applying trial-and-error experimentation – strategies required by any field of study. And this is in addition to some of the coding that requires real math – to correctly calculate wait times, set score counters, calculate points, and time interactions between characters in their games.”
Sri Ramakrishnan of Tynker points out that kids develop stronger math skills when applying concepts in a real-world context. Creating spaceships or saving puppies with Tynker can be a great way for a child to see the application of math strategies. “The computational thinking involved in computer programming involves logic, organizing and analyzing data, and breaking a problem into smaller and more manageable parts. Much of this, if you really think about it, is also required when solving math problems!” she says.
Parents, teachers, and technology specialists are also using Tynker help children visualize abstract math concepts, which can be a hurdle to many kids and put them off the subject. Jesse Thorstad, Technology coordinator for the Fergus Falls Public Schools district in Minnesota states, “Tynker provides kids with a concrete example of the power of decimal places. When studying decimals in math, the students experience a heartwarming ‘Ah-ha!’ moment when they see how moving a decimal block of code can affect the objects on the screen tenfold.”
Tynkering kids also experience the creativity inherent in math. Here is an example of math art that kids can create with Tynker.
10-year-old Jacob Myers, who is a big math buff and regularly competes in math contests, uses Tynker to make math art with spirals and triangles. Can programming make kids perform better with math? Possibly. Math teachers think programming is a 
real-world way to teach mathematical thinking. When students create or debug a program, they practice problem solving, and they also find that Tynker’s beginning lessons are a great way to incorporate identification of patterns as well.
But the biggest benefit may be that programming makes learning math fun and exciting for kids. Says Jennifer, “If kids realize they are using math when programming Tynker games, it could actually build their confidence with math, and show them that mathematical thinking can be cool.”
Math becoming cool? What could be better than that?
Do you have other examples of how programming helps develop math skills? Share your stories with us below.