The Effects of Learning to Program a Computer in BASIC or LOGO on the Problem-Solving Abilities of Fifth Grade Students

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if learning to program a computer in either BASIC or Logo improves the problem-solving skills of fifth grade students when compared to a control group that receives no programming instruction, and (2) to determine if learning to program a computer in Logo is more effective than learning to program in BASIC for improving problem-solving skills in fifth grade students. Subjects were 132 fifth graders from two suburban elementary schools. The materials used in the study were the Computer Challenge Guide for the BASIC group and Logo in the Classroom for the Logo group. The New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills was used as the pretest and posttest measure.

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