Effects of Using Alice and Scratch in an Introductory Programming Course for Corrective Instruction

Scratch, a visual programming language, was used in many studies in computer science education. Most of them reported positive results by integrating Scratch into K-12 computer courses. However, the object-oriented concept, one of the important computational thinking skills, is not represented well in Scratch. Alice, another visual programming language, seems to have better illustration of the object-oriented concept for programming novices. To demonstrate effects of Alice and Scratch, we compared students' responses to both visual programming languages, especially for students with low performances, in an introductory programming course. The relationships among learning engagement, learning anxiety, and learning playfulness were explored. The results could be referred to by computer science instructors to select proper visual programming language for corrective instruction.

[1]  Gavriel Salomon,et al.  T RANSFER OF LEARNING , 1992 .

[2]  Young-Jin Lee,et al.  Scratch: Multimedia Programming Environment for Young Gifted Learners , 2011 .

[3]  Eike Falk Anderson,et al.  Critters in the classroom: a 3D computer-game-like tool for teaching programming to computer animation students , 2007, SIGGRAPH '07.

[4]  Mitchel Resnick,et al.  Imagining, Creating, Playing, Sharing, Reflecting: How Online Community Supports Young People as Designers of Interactive Media , 2013 .

[5]  Matthias Felleisen,et al.  The TeachScheme! Project: Computing and Programming for Every Student , 2004, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[6]  Jill Denner,et al.  Children learning computer science concepts via Alice game-programming , 2012, SIGCSE '12.

[7]  Randy F. Pausch,et al.  Teaching objects-first in introductory computer science , 2003, SIGCSE.

[8]  PauschRandy,et al.  Teaching objects-first in introductory computer science , 2003 .

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

[10]  Mitchel Resnick,et al.  All I really need to know (about creative thinking) I learned (by studying how children learn) in kindergarten , 2007, C&C '07.

[11]  Jill Denner,et al.  The fairy performance assessment: measuring computational thinking in middle school , 2012, SIGCSE '12.

[12]  Randy Pausch,et al.  Learning To Program With Alice , 2004 .

[13]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model , 2000, Inf. Syst. Res..

[14]  Leon E. Winslow,et al.  Programming pedagogy—a psychological overview , 1996, SGCS.

[15]  Caitlin Kelleher,et al.  Storytelling alice motivates middle school girls to learn computer programming , 2007, CHI.

[16]  Chia-Chen Li,et al.  Effects of guided collaboration on sixth graders’ performance in logo programming , 2007, 2007 37th Annual Frontiers In Education Conference - Global Engineering: Knowledge Without Borders, Opportunities Without Passports.

[17]  Guey-Fa Chiou,et al.  A computer curriculum guideline for junior high schools in Taiwan: its impacts and issues , 1997, SCOU.

[18]  Mordechai Ben-Ari,et al.  Learning computer science concepts with scratch , 2010, ICER '10.

[19]  Janet Mei-Chuen Lin,et al.  Analyzing Student Performance and Attitudes Toward Textual versus Iconic Programming Languages , 2009 .

[20]  James McDonald,et al.  Using Alice in Overview Courses to Improve Success Rates in Programming I , 2008, 2008 21st Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training.

[21]  Chih-Kai Chang,et al.  Design engaging environment to foster computational thinking , 2011 .

[22]  Sheeson E. Chang,et al.  Computer anxiety and perception of task complexity in learning programming-related skills , 2005, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[23]  Mitchel Resnick,et al.  Designing ScratchJr: support for early childhood learning through computer programming , 2013, IDC.

[24]  Tommy Burnette,et al.  Alice: lessons learned from building a 3D system for novices , 2000, CHI.