Child Led Learning: The Power of Choice
Here at The Code Zone we pride ourselves in the fact that we give our members the choice of what they want to work on and it turns out, lots of people out there agree!
In this week's blog we’re here to talk about some of the findings and benefits of letting children choose what they want to learn!
Here at The Code Zone we pride ourselves in the fact that we give our members the choice of what they want to work on and it turns out, lots of people out there agree! Today we’re gonna talk about some of the findings and benefits of letting children choose what they want to learn!
Providing options
In the 2016 book Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn by Mike Anderson, Anderson discusses many different ways in which giving choice and options allows students to work on projects and ideas in a way that is more mentally stimulating for them.
An example given is providing the task of creating a cell diagram using any artform the students could want.
This provides a very similar feel to our game jams, where we give our members the task of making something to the theme we set.
Reducing stress
A 1993 paper by Alfie Kohn posits that allowing for choice of what to do can lead to reduced burnout and an increase in respect amongst both parties. When a child has less stress and monotony in their day to day it gives them a more relaxed approach to what they are trying to do!
For an example from us, our code card has multiple options for members to choose from, but if they feel they would rather work on something else that would be more relaxing and enjoyable, every member has the ability to do so and still be supported by our mentors!
Finding new interests
There’s also plenty of studies and articles out there, including those listed above that giving choices provides a greater level of enjoyment for subjects, even if they aren’t normally topics they’d be interested in!
Our STEM certified mentors agree too! They note that it makes it easier for kids to be creative and passionate about what they do!
If you want to take part in one of these sessions and see where child led sessions can take you? Sign up for a free taster session!
About The Code Zone
The Code Zone teaches children aged 6 to 16 to code by building their own games. Outside the UK that is the Game Dev Academy: self-paced, so a child works at whatever hour suits them in any time zone, with a background-checked, STEM-certified mentor answering by text and video message.
It started in Britain, where in 2026 it was the highest-placed coding club in Club Hub UK's Top 100 Children's Activity Providers, and in 2025 received the Autism Inclusion Award from the National Autistic Society, the UK's leading autism charity. More than a third of members are autistic or have ADHD, based on what parents tell us when they join.
More like this
The blog is in two halves. Guides are the evergreen explainers written by the mentors who teach the clubs, covering the questions parents actually ask: what comes after Scratch, how to support a coding-mad child when you cannot code yourself, and what works for autistic and ADHD children.
Club news is the other half, and it is where posts like this one live: game jams, Minecraft builds and weekly roundups, written up by whoever ran the session. Neither is marketing. If you want to know what the work actually looks like before you sign up to anything, club news is the more honest read of the two.
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