# Scratch Community Blocks: Supporting Children as Data Scientists

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.00112 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.00112/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 1 Feb 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Exploring Machine Teaching with Children](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.11434/) (2021)
- [ScratchEval: Are GPT-4o Smarter than My Child? Evaluating Large Multimodal Models with Visual Programming Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.18932/) (2024)
- [DRAFT-What you always wanted to know but could not find about block-based environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.03073/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In this paper, we present Scratch Community Blocks, a new system that enables children to programmatically access, analyze, and visualize data about their participation in Scratch, an online community for learning computer programming. At its core, our approach involves a shift in who analyzes data: from adult data scientists to young learners themselves. We first introduce the goals and design of the system and then demonstrate it by describing example projects that illustrate its functionality. Next, we show through a series of case studies how the system engages children in not only representing data and answering questions with data but also in self-reflection about their own learning and participation.