Logo Mastery and Spatial Problem-Solving by Young Children: Effects of Logo Language Training, Route-Strategy Training, and Learning Styles on Immediate Learning and Transfer

This study examines children's abilities 1) to learn to program with a single keystroke, ten command Logo system enabling them to produce multiple command sequences to solve on-screen problems, 2) to learn two new strategies (direct and indirect route strategies) requiring the use of two levels of programming difficulty measured via average times, keystrokes, and errors, 3) to transfer screen-based Logo training to the solution of spatial problems in another learning setting, and 4) to demonstrate whether there are any individual differences in the effectiveness of Logo learning for children who have different learning orientations (field independent versus field dependent and/or reflective versus impulsive). Twenty-four four- and five-year-old children served as subjects in the study. Data from the study showed: 1) that mastery of the Logo language is not a necessary condition for young children to think and problem-solve within a Logo environment, 2) that successful problem-solving within a Logo environment is predicated on a child's use of an age-appropriate Logo programming system, 3) that even very young children can be taught spatial-conceptual strategies with which to operate within a Logo environment, 4) that young children can transfer Logo-environment knowledge to other problem-solving settings, and 5) that field independent children seem to have a slight advantage both in their initial learning of Logo and in their transfer of Logo learning to another problem-solving setting. Some of the present results are interpreted according to Watson and Busch's model of the development of Logo programming and problem-solving skills in children [1].