Your child is working on a project they're really excited about, maybe a game or an animation. Then they suddenly lose all interest. When you ask what happened, they say they got stuck and don't know what to do.
Getting stuck is annoying, and your child may want to give up. But it's where a lot of the learning happens.
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash
Every coder gets stuck
Every coder gets stuck at some point, even professionals. Maybe the computer gives an error message, or the code doesn't do what they wanted, and they have to work out why. They read the code, work out what it's really doing, or look something up, and do that enough times and they stop panicking.
A few things that help, even if you don't know any code:
1. Ask, don't tell
"What does it say?" "What did you expect it to do?" "What happens if you change this?" These send them back to look at what they've actually written.
2. Let them read it out loud, or try a rubber duck
Let them read the error out loud, or try a rubber duck. Professional coders do this too. Explain the code to a rubber duck (or a toy, or you), one line at a time, saying what each line should do. The mistake often shows itself halfway through. You just listen, and ask "what's this line meant to do?"
3. Leave it a minute
If they really can't get it, suggest getting up and doing something else for a bit. Ideas often turn up on a walk.
How we handle it in lessons
In our lessons this happens every session. I try to let students solve it themselves first. If they need a nudge, I ask a question, or sometimes point to where the problem is, and then let them fix it. The reading, spelling and typing practice in the core skills hiding in a coding lesson is there too, with a puzzle on top.
Next time your child says they're stuck, try asking what the error says.
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