Can computational thinking be improved by using a methodology based on metaphors and scratch to teach computer programming to children?

Abstract Computational thinking (CT) is a key skill in the 21st century. However, it is not clear which is the most effective way to acquire and improve CT. Big research efforts are made to determine which pedagogical means should be used. One research trend is based on the idea that teaching programming since Primary Education suffices to improve CT. In our previous work, we proposed and validated a methodology based on metaphors and used of Scratch (MECOPROG) to teach basic programming concepts to children. It is our hypothesis H that by applying MECOPROG, students will develop their CT. To check H, we carried out an experiment with 132 Primary Education Students (9–12 years in age). At the beginning of the experiment, all students were asked to fill in a programming concepts test and two tests to measure their CT. During the sessions, all students were taught according to MECOPROG. Finally, they took the three tests again. A significant increase in the results on all the tests has been measured, supporting the use of metaphors and Scratch to teach computer programming concepts to Primary Education students to develop their CT .

[1]  Aman Yadav,et al.  Expanding computer science education in schools: understanding teacher experiences and challenges , 2016, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[2]  Ishbel Duncan,et al.  Emergent Requirements for Supporting Introductory Programming , 2011 .

[3]  Eric Rosenbaum,et al.  Scratch: programming for all , 2009, Commun. ACM.

[4]  R. Benjamin Shapiro,et al.  Metaphors we teach by , 2014, SIGCSE.

[5]  Joyce Malyn-Smith,et al.  Computational thinking for youth in practice , 2011, INROADS.

[6]  Filiz Kalelioglu,et al.  A new way of teaching programming skills to K-12 students: Code.org , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  Soufiane Lahmine,et al.  Learning Basic Programming Concepts by Creating Games with Scratch Programming Environment , 2015 .

[8]  Seymour Papert,et al.  Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas , 1981 .

[9]  Marina Umaschi Bers,et al.  Teachers as Designers: Integrating Robotics in Early Childhood Education. , 2002 .

[10]  Peter J. Denning,et al.  The profession of ITComputing's paradigm , 2009, Commun. ACM.

[11]  Sasko Ristov,et al.  Computing as a new compulsory subject in the Macedonian primary schools curriculum , 2016, 2016 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[12]  Lauri Malmi,et al.  Observations on student misconceptions—A case study of the Build – Heap Algorithm , 2006, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[13]  Alfred V. Aho,et al.  Computation and Computational Thinking , 2012, Comput. J..

[14]  Campbell J. McRobbie,et al.  Using a Metaphor for Learning to Improve Students' Metacognition in the Chemistry Classroom , 2001 .

[15]  Derek H. Sleeman,et al.  A Summary of Misconceptions of High School Basic Programmers , 1984 .

[16]  G. Lakoff,et al.  Metaphors We Live By , 1980 .

[17]  Özgen Korkmaz,et al.  A validity and reliability study of the computational thinking scales (CTS) , 2017, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[18]  Ana Casali,et al.  Computational thinking: Panorama of the Americas , 2016, 2016 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE).

[19]  Kirsti Ala-Mutka,et al.  A study of the difficulties of novice programmers , 2005, ITiCSE '05.

[20]  Marina Umaschi Bers,et al.  Innovative session: early childhood robotics for learning , 2006 .

[21]  M. Bers.  The TangibleK Robotics Program: Applied Computational Thinking for Young Children. , 2010 .

[22]  Mark Guzdial,et al.  Employing subgoals in computer programming education , 2016, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[23]  Damir Sersic,et al.  How to teach basic university-level programming concepts to first graders? , 2014, 2014 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference.

[24]  Walter William Milner,et al.  A broken metaphor in Java , 2010, SGCS.

[25]  M. Román González,et al.  COMPUTATIONAL THINKING TEST: DESIGN GUIDELINES AND CONTENT VALIDATION , 2015 .

[26]  Susanne E. Hambrusch,et al.  Introducing computational thinking in education courses , 2011, SIGCSE.

[27]  George H. L. Fletcher,et al.  Thinking about computational thinking , 2009, SIGCSE '09.

[28]  Marcos Romn-Gonzlez,et al.  Which cognitive abilities underlie computational thinking? Criterion validity of the Computational Thinking Test , 2017, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[29]  R. Rosenthal.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1984 .

[30]  Francisco J. Garcia-Penalvo,et al.  A brief introduction to TACCLE 3 — coding European project , 2016, 2016 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE).

[31]  Shawn M. Glynn,et al.  Elaborate analogies in science text: Tools for enhancing preservice teachers’ knowledge and attitudes , 2000 .

[32]  Raquel Hijón-Neira,et al.  A Methodology Proposal Based on Metaphors to Teach Programming to Children , 2018, IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje.

[33]  Lecia Jane Barker,et al.  Exploring factors that influence computer science introductory course students to persist in the major , 2009, SIGCSE '09.

[34]  Elizabeth R. Kazakoff,et al.  The Effect of a Classroom-Based Intensive Robotics and Programming Workshop on Sequencing Ability in Early Childhood , 2013 .

[35]  Peter Wentworth,et al.  Computational thinking in educational activities: an evaluation of the educational game light-bot , 2013, ITiCSE '13.

[36]  Jeannette M. Wing.  An introduction to computer science for non-majors using principles of computation , 2007, SIGCSE.

[37]  Yasmin B. Kafai,et al.  Playing in the Arcade: Designing Tangible Interfaces with MaKey MaKey for Scratch Games , 2014 .

[38]  Donald T. Campbell,et al.  The causal assumptions of quasi-experimental practice , 1986, Synthese.

[39]  Michail N. Giannakos,et al.  Special Issue II on Computer Science Education in K-12 Schools , 2015 .

[40]  Fredrik Heintz,et al.  A review of models for introducing computational thinking, computer science and computing in K-12 education , 2016, 2016 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE).

[41]  Roy D. Pea,et al.  On the Cognitive Effects of Learning Computer Programming: A Critical Look. Technical Report No. 9. , 1987 .

[42]  Mitchel Resnick,et al.  New Paradigms for Computing, New Paradigms for Thinking , 1995 .

[43]  Ricardo Jiménez-Peris,et al.  The locker metaphor to teach dynamic memory , 1997, SIGCSE '97.

[44]  Carina González,et al.  Estudio sobre diferencias de género en las competencias y las estrategias educativas para el desarrollo del pensamiento computacional , 2015 .

[45]  Peter J. Denning,et al.  The profession of ITBeyond computational thinking , 2009, CACM.

[46]  Shuchi Grover,et al.  Computational Thinking in K–12 , 2013 .

[47]  David Ginat.  On Novice Loop Boundaries and Range Conceptions , 2004, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[48]  Michail Kalogiannakis,et al.  Developing fundamental programming concepts and computational thinking with ScratchJr in preschool education: a case study , 2016, Int. J. Mob. Learn. Organisation.

[49]  Jeannette M. Wing.  Computational thinking and thinking about computing , 2008, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.