Marina Bedny, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at John Hopkins University asks whether "It could be that our education system is wrong, and we should be teaching kids to code in middle school or else they're missing an opportunity to be the best they can."

Brain activity during computer programming - John Hopkins University

The link to the paper published on the eLife Neuroscience Journal can be found here. This study uses fMRI imaging to compare brain activation on subjects as they are reading Python code, solving logical puzzles and language tasks. Below is a simplified summary of their findings.

Consistent pattern of brain activation for coding that are similar to that of logical reasoning

The study found that regardless of how the individual had learnt to code, whether through university courses or do-it-yourself online courses, all showed similar brain activation activity. This pattern of activation was most similar to the fronto-parietal system involved in formal logical reasoning and to a lesser degree math.

Coding brain activation strong favors the left hemisphere which correlates to language

Interestingly, though the act of logical reasoning has no brain hemisphere preference, coding strongly favored the left hemisphere, the area that correlates with language. This raises the question whether learning to code exhibits similar characteristics as learning a language, where it is easier learn languages as a child rather than an adult.

"It's true that adults can learn to code but are kids even better at it? Or maybe coding doesn't have a critical learning period and that's what makes it special," said senior Marina Bedny, "It could be that our education system is wrong, and we should be teaching kids to code in middle school or else they're missing an opportunity to be the best they can."

Is there a benefit in exposing children to coding early?

While research only suggests the possibility that it is easier to learn to code as a child rather than provide any conclusive evidence, the mere possibility that children can pick up coding skills more easily than adults together with the importance of coding as a life skill that will be essential in the workforce to us provides a compelling argument for exposing children to coding early.