We’ve all heard of “The Magic of Disney” – the intangible, overwhelming feeling of childlike joy that encapsulates those who venture into the parks each year. There is an immediate flood of memories for returners, and a sense of wonder and curiosity for the beloved first-timers. As soon as you walk in, you’re met with smells, sounds, colors, and music all designed to make you smile and think creatively. Disney and Universal Studios thrive off of joy, embedding it into their roller coasters, incredible performances, food, art, and even the entire structural layout of these magical worlds. At Coding Education, we harnesh this joy and excitement to create an invaluable learning opportunity for our students. 

Over the last few weeks, we’ve finished our summer programs in Orlando, Florida and Vancouver, Canada. In these programs, we bring together students from over 10 different countries for a 9-day long adventure of educational workshops, cultural immersion, and fun － all culminating into an intensive project and presentation. Students learn from experts in the fields of art animation, engineering, physics, coding, entrepreneurship, leadership, science, and more during this immersive experience. Throughout the week, students work on their projects with hands-on support from our staff and incredible speakers to build out their confidence, comprehension of challenging academic topics, and public speaking capabilities.

Programs such as this are invaluable to students’ learning potential and long-term academic outcomes. Evidence shows that participation in summer educational programs results in improved test scores, completion of higher education, and specifically STEM‐related educational outcomes (1). Experiences such as our STEAM League Orlando Program foster skill acquisition, including academic, social, emotional, and life skills. Additionally, being in peer groups of diverse students in an engaging, fun environment helps develop positive relationships which are crucial for effective learning. Throughout the program, our team has the joy of witnessing students form friend groups, develop new international communities, and learn an immense amount throughout the process. 

The development of peer connections often result in collaborative learning and the exchange of academic ideas. These consequences have scientifically proven to improve comprehension and retention of course materials, ultimately leading to higher GPAs (2). Friendships play a pivotal role in academic settings, acting as crucial support systems for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and motivation among students. These networks decrease stress, adding to the benefits in their long-term academic progress. There may be no better way for students to develop life-long friendships than immersive programs in foreign countries, especially when set in “The Happiest Place on Earth”. 

Finally, our programs have the outstanding potential to increase student’s self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a personal belief in one’s capability to accomplish something, whether this be a short term or long term goal (3). An important note about self-efficacy is that the most useful personal judgments are those that slightly exceed one’s actual capabilities. This modest overestimation is proven to increase effort and persistence during difficult times, reinforcing skills such as resilience and determination in students. Over 30 years of self-efficacy research has clearly shown that simply possessing knowledge and skills does not ensure that learners will be motivated to apply them (3). Rather, students need both the content or skill, and the internal belief that they can accomplish this task well. 

Increasing a student’s self-efficacy has a profound impact on their motivation and achievement in academic settings, making it an invaluable goal for any educator. While there are many ways to instill this sense of confidence in our learners, research shows that clear and specific goals, encouragement to pursue challenging ideas, honest feedback, and peer modeling are imperative pieces of the puzzle (3). Throughout our programs, we emphasize all of these factors and create a safe, engaging, and collaborative learning environment for students to dream big and execute those dreams before returning home on their flights. This intense, immersive experience provides our students with lasting positive memories associated with learning complicated STEAM-based concepts. At Coded, we truly believe if you can dream it, you can code it. We combine this mentality with the inherent spirit of Disney, creating a transformative experience for all of those that have joined the magic of Coded. 

1. Muir D, Orlando C, Newton B. Impact of summer programmes on the outcomes of disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ young people: A systematic review. Campbell Syst Rev. 2024 Jun 13;20(2):e1406. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1406. PMID: 38873396; PMCID: PMC11170337.

2. Alotaibi TA, Alkhalifah KM, Alhumaidan NI, Almutiri WA, Alsaleh SK, AlRashdan FM, Almutairi HR, Sabi AY, Almawash AN, Alfaifi MY, Al-Mourgi M. The Benefits of Friendships in Academic Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus. 2023 Dec 22;15(12):e50946. doi: 10.7759/cureus.50946. PMID: 38249290; PMCID: PMC10800095.

3. Artino AR Jr. Academic self-efficacy: from educational theory to instructional practice. Perspect Med Educ. 2012 May;1(2):76-85. doi: 10.1007/s40037-012

Photo: Credits to Group Leader Laura Cecilia INSTITUO ASUNCION DE MEXICO