Methodological Process for the Teaching of Computer Programming based on Computational Thinking: Case Study

In academia, it is common to identify the problem solving process based on computational thinking, as the traditional method of programming teaching. However, students would first have to develop the four types of thinking involved in this process, in order to develop successfully the programming skills. Therefore is required from the beginning of the learning process a method that provides students with a contextualization, allowing the configuration of their own language, which propitiates the development of analytical thinking for the construction of solutions for increasingly complex problems. This paper describes a methodological process of computer programming teaching based on the computational thinking process, by integrating components that promote the development of analytical thinking. Finally, we present a case study with STEM undergraduate students as participants

The Analysis of Implementation Project-Based Learning Model of Teaching Integrated with Computer Programming in Improving Computational Thinking Skills in a Classical Mechanics Course

This research aims to explore student computational thinking skills in implementing a project-based learning model of teaching integrated with computer programming in classical mechanics course in projectile motion topic. The research design uses one group pretest and post-test design. The computational thinking skills have five indicators: abstraction, generalization, decomposition, algorithm, and debugging. The computational thinking indicator was analyzed from the result of Pretest and post-test scores and a comparison between manual solution and numerical solution from computer programming. The instruments used in this study were tasks, rubrics, and questionnaires.  The result shows the average score of the Pretest is 53.05, and the post-test score is 80.22. The student computational thinking skills in algorithm and debugging in Pretest are 29.70% and 24.30% and 59.00%, and 54.00% in the post-test stage. This result indicates the implementation of PBL model of Teaching integrated with computer programming has a significant impact on student computational thinking skill

The Effect of Block Coding (Scratch) Activities Integrated into the 5E Learning Model in Science Teaching on Students’ Computational Thinking Skills and Programming Self-Efficacy

This study was carried out to determine the effect of Scratch-based coding applications integrated into the 5E learning model used in science teaching on students’ computational thinking skills and self-efficacy towards block-based programming. In addition, students’ perceptions of the activity were measured after each Scratch activity, which was applied at different stages of the course and with different difficulty. The study employed the pretest-posttest control group less design, one of the quasi-experimental methods. The study sample consist of 22 6th grade students attending a public school in Turkey located in a district center in the Eastern Black Sea region. The study was carried out in a five-week period in the 2022-2023 academic years. Computational thinking scale and robotics attitude scale, self-efficacy perception scale related to block-based programming and activity perception scale were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using the dependent samples t-test. The findings suggest that computational thinking skills level of students and their self-efficacy perception related to block-based programming increased significantly with the Scratch-based activities integrated into 5E learning model applied in science subjects. In addition, students have positive attitudes towards these activities. Thus, it is recommended to apply Scratch-based coding applications in teaching science subjects

Affordances of the 'branch and bound' paradigm for developing computational thinking

As technological advances in engineering and computer science happen more and more quickly, we must shift focus from teaching specific techniques or programming languages to teaching something more transcending: computational thinking (Wing, 2006). Wing explained this concept later as “the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer – human or machine – can effectively carry out”. It includes abstraction, heuristics, algorithm design, efficiency and complexity. While programming classes add to students’ competence in some of these topics, mathematics too may foster computational thinking (Weintrop et al., 2016). However, few resources are currently available to support teachers in meeting computational thinking learning goals. This design-based qualitative study explores which aspects of computational thinking can be addressed well through a mathematics project for secondary school students aged 16-17 in the Netherlands. As puzzle-like problems help students to think more algorithmically (Levitin & Papalaskari, 2002), we designed a three-hour project using such problems to familiarize students with the algorithm design paradigm ‘branch and bound’, which efficiently enumerates candidate solutions in discrete optimization. Allowing students to come up with heuristics, analyse the complexity of approaches, and do some calculations by hand, we aim to improve their computational thinking. We will present our design and an evaluation of the project carried out by 50 students, discussing findings from in-class observations and interviews with 5 case students. Data collection is currently underway, and the results will be available at the time of presentation. We expect to report on our experiences in teaching the branch and bound paradigm and its affordances and limitations for helping students learn to think computationally. We focus on skills helping them contribute to tomorrow’s society: algorithmic thinking, while still being able to reflect on efficiency and correctness

The Effect of Project Based Learning Approach on Computational Thinking Skills and Programming Self-Efficacy Beliefs

The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of project use on students' self-efficacy beliefs towards programming and their computational thinking skills. A one-group pretest-posttest experimental design was used in the study. The research was conducted in 2018 with 14 12th-grade students in a Vocational and Technical High School in Izmir. In the research, the application of project use in programming teaching lasted 18 weeks. The research data were collected with the Self-Efficacy Scale for Programming (SESP) developed by Altun and Mazman (2012) and the Computer Thinking Skill Levels Scale (CTSLS) developed by Korkmaz, Çakır, Özden, Oluk, Sarıoğlu (2015). Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, one of the nonparametric tests, was used to analyze the research data. As a result of the study, it was observed that the use of projects in programming instruction had a positive effect on students' self-efficacy in programming, while it did not have a significant effect on their computational thinking skills. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended to teach block-based programming before text-based programming, to include game-themed activities, to ensure active participation of students, and to use multidimensional and alternative measurement tools to measure computational thinking skills to comprehend algorithm stages in programming instruction

Diogene-CT: tools and methodologies for teaching and learning coding

Computational thinking is the capacity of undertaking a problem-solving process in various disciplines (including STEM, i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics) using distinctive techniques that are typical of computer science. It is nowadays considered a fundamental skill for students and citizens, that has the potential to affect future generations. At the roots of computational-thinking abilities stands the knowledge of computer programming, i.e. coding. With the goal of fostering computational thinking in young students, we address the challenging and open problem of using methods, tools and techniques to support teaching and learning of computer-programming skills in school curricula of the secondary grade and university courses. This problem is made complex by several factors. In fact, coding requires abstraction capabilities and complex cognitive skills such as procedural and conditional reasoning, planning, and analogical reasoning. In this paper, we introduce a new paradigm called ACME (“Code Animation by Evolved Metaphors”) that stands at the foundation of the Diogene-CT code visualization environment and methodology. We develop consistent visual metaphors for both procedural and object-oriented programming. Based on the metaphors, we introduce a playground architecture to support teaching and learning of the principles of coding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first scalable code visualization tool using consistent metaphors in the field of the Computing Education Research (CER). It might be considered as a new kind of tools named as code visualization environments

COEDU-IN Project: an inclusive co-educational project for teaching computational thinking and digital skills at early ages

Learning to program is the new literacy of the 21st century. Computational thinking, closely related to programming, requires thinking and solving problems with different levels of abstraction and is independent of hardware devices. The early childhood education stage provides teachers with the opportunity to lay the foundations for a comprehensive quality education using innovative tools and technologies. Educational robotics in early childhood education becomes a tool that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge to children, playfully, based on the principles of interactivity, social interrelationships, collaborative work, creativity, constructivist and constructionist learning, and a student-centered didactic approach, allowing in turn that student can acquire digital competencies and develop logical and computational thinking in an underlying way. This project explores the current state of teaching and learning computational thinking and programming in early childhood education in an inclusive manner. Moreover, the lack of diversity and inequality is particularly latent in science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Therefore, this work considers this problem and presents an inclusive coeducation approach to this new literacy, eliminating gender stereotypes and extending them to people with Down syndrome and hospitalized minors

Ohjelmointi ja ohjelmoinnillinen ajattelu yläkoulun matematiikan opetuksessa

Ohjelmointi ja ohjelmoinnillinen ajattelu liitettiin perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteisiin vuonna 2014. Valtaosa yläkoulun ohjelmoinnin opetuksesta tapahtuu matematiikan oppitunneilla. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia kuinka paljon, ja millä menetelmillä ohjelmointia ja ohjelmoinnillista ajattelua opetetaan matematiikan oppitunneilla yläkoulussa. Lisäksi selvitetään, mitä resursseja koulut tarjoavat opetuksen tukemiseen. Tutkimus toteutettiin määrällisenä tutkimuksena, mutta mukaan otettiin myös pieni laadullinen osio. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin sähköisen kyselylomakkeen avulla, joka suunnattiin yläkoulun matematiikan opettajille. Aineisto kerättiin vuoden 2022 lopussa ja kyselyyn vastasi kaiken kaikkiaan 48 opettajaa. Tutkimuksen tulokset paljastivat, että ohjelmointia ja ohjelmoinnillista ajattelua opetetaan matematiikan oppitunneilla kattavasti ja opettajien mukaan riittävä määrä. Tuloksista selvisi, että opetuksessa painotetaan yksilöllistä oppimista ja tekemällä oppimista sekä hyödynnetään laajasti eri oppimateriaaleja sekä ohjelmointisivustoja ja -ympäristöjä. Koulujen tarjoamia resursseja ja laitteita pidetään noin puolissa kouluista riittävinä. Kuitenkin huoli laitteiden toimimattomuudesta sekä opettajien omasta osaamisesta vaikuttavat heikentävästi ohjelmoinnin ja ohjelmoinnillisen ajattelun opetukseen. Tämän tutkimuksen pohjalta ohjelmoinnin ja ohjelmoinnillisen ajattelun opetukseen tarvitaan selkeyttä sekä konkreettisia neuvoja ja malleja opetuksen käytäntöihin. Opettajia on tuettava ohjelmoinnin ja ohjelmoinnillisen ajattelun opetuksessa. Muutoksia tulee tehdä opetussuunnitelmaan sekä opettajankoulutukseen ja samalla rahoitusta ohjelmoinnin ja ohjelmoinnillisen ajattelun opetuksen kehittämiseen ja tukemiseen tulee lisätä.Programming and computational thinking were included in the national core curriculum for basic education in 2014. The majority of middle school programming is taught in mathematics lessons. The purpose of this study is to investigate how much and with which methods of programming and computational thinking are taught in middle school mathematics lessons. It also explores the resources that schools provide to support this teaching. The study was conducted as a quantitative study, but a small qualitative component was also included. The data for the study was collected through an electronic questionnaire addressed to middle school mathematics teachers. The data was collected at the end of 2022 and a total of 48 teachers responded to the questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that programming and computational thinking are taught comprehensively in mathematics lessons and, according to the teachers, in a sufficient amount. The results showed that teaching emphasises individual learning and learning by doing and makes extensive use of different teaching materials and programming websites and environments. The resources and equipment provided by schools are considered adequate in about half of the schools. However, concerns about equipment malfunctioning and teachers' skills have a negative impact on the teaching of programming and computational thinking. Based on this study, there is a need for clarity for the teaching of programming and computational thinking, as well as concrete advice and models for teaching practices. Teachers need to be supported in teaching programming and computational thinking. Changes need to be made to the curriculum and teacher training while funding for the development and support of programming and computational thinking education needs to be increased

La robótica como una herramienta para facilitar el aprendizaje y desarrollo de las competencias STEM en los integrantes del equipo de robótica Pólux de la Institución Educativa Juan Nepomuceno Cadavid (Itagüí-Antioquia)

Lack of practical applications from secondary level contents in Colombian education causes research for an alternative teaching tool such as educational robotics, motivating students to get a meaningful learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts -- The present work aims to develop STEM competences (Computational Thinking, Collaboration and Computational Programming Practice) besides improving academic performance for a group of students belonging to the Robotics Group Polux on the IE Juan Nepomuceno Cadavid using 3 didactical units (Learning with LEGO MindStorms, Learning with Starlogo and Learning with Transmedia), the results were positive in Computational Programming Practice -- The interest of students for subjects that generate economic development occurs due to the creation of new learning environments and teaching methods as educational robotics -- Robotics generates a logical and mathematical thinking based on collaborative wor

Diogene-CT: tools and methodologies for teaching and learning coding

AbstractComputational thinking is the capacity of undertaking a problem-solving process in various disciplines (including STEM, i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics) using distinctive techniques that are typical of computer science. It is nowadays considered a fundamental skill for students and citizens, that has the potential to affect future generations. At the roots of computational-thinking abilities stands the knowledge of computer programming, i.e. coding. With the goal of fostering computational thinking in young students, we address the challenging and open problem of using methods, tools and techniques to support teaching and learning of computer-programming skills in school curricula of the secondary grade and university courses. This problem is made complex by several factors. In fact, coding requires abstraction capabilities and complex cognitive skills such as procedural and conditional reasoning, planning, and analogical reasoning. In this paper, we introduce a new paradigm called ACME ("Code Animation by Evolved Metaphors") that stands at the foundation of the Diogene-CT code visualization environment and methodology. We develop consistent visual metaphors for both procedural and object-oriented programming. Based on the metaphors, we introduce a playground architecture to support teaching and learning of the principles of coding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first scalable code visualization tool using consistent metaphors in the field of the Computing Education Research (CER). It might be considered as a new kind of tools named as code visualization environments