Kris Coolsaet

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About

Kris Coolsaet is a leading researcher in computational thinking and programming education for young learners. His work centers on understanding how primary school students engage with graphical programming environments, with a particular focus on comparing different pedagogical approaches. His most cited study, "Comparing learning ecologies of primary graphical programming: create or fix?" (2021), investigates whether children learn more effectively by creating programs from scratch or by debugging and fixing existing code. This research has garnered significant attention, accumulating 6 citations and providing crucial insights into the design of elementary computing curricula. Coolsaet’s contributions are vital for educators and curriculum developers seeking evidence-based methods to integrate programming and robotics into early education. By systematically evaluating teaching strategies, he helps clarify which instructional approaches best foster computational thinking skills in young students. His work stands out for its practical relevance, directly addressing the pressing question of how to teach programming effectively in primary schools. Coolsaet’s research continues to shape the conversation around age-appropriate computing education, making him a key voice in this rapidly evolving field.