Why Learning to Code Is More Important Than Ever in the Age of AI
Recently, TeachAI and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) released guidance on the future of computer science education in the age of AI. They emphasized a principle we at The Coding Space know to be true: while AI can enhance learning, it cannot replace the skills and attitudes we gain when we learn to code ourselves. Moreover, understanding code is more important than ever so that we are able to evaluate and modify what AI tools produce.
Just as learning to make sense of numbers is important to understanding math or being able to read is essential for literacy, making sense of code is crucial to understanding the logic and structure that underpin the digital tools we use every day. This foundational knowledge helps us navigate and understand the increasingly tech-driven world around us.
AI technologies, such as LLMs and chatbots, are built on complex algorithms and vast amounts of data. By learning to code, we gain insight into how these systems operate. By understanding code, we also learn to integrate AI tools effectively, learning to evaluate, modify, and position what they produce into a larger infrastructure.
Furthermore, learning to code isn't just about producing a game or an app, and mastering the syntax of a programming language is almost beside the point. More importantly, learning to code requires developing problem-solving and critical thinking muscles that will set the stage for a deeper understanding of computer science, enhance knowledge of other disciplines, and shape attitudes, mindsets, and thought processes that can impact many different facets of life.
Coding requires us to approach complex problems logically and to break them down into steps. It requires the use of mental modeling (designing thinking, systems thinking, symbolic thinking, functional thinking), helps us build grit and analytical skills when we can't get our code to work, and allows us to express ourselves through our own unique creations. Coding is a creative process as much as it is a technical one.
While aspects of coding have changed significantly (consider its evolution from assembly language to building block-based games in Scratch) and will continue to change, this essential point remains the same: learning to code is a means to many powerful ends.