PY-RATE ADVENTURES: A 2D Platform Serious Game for Learning the Basic Concepts of Programming With Python

Background. Programming is widely known to be a cognitively demanding field. Learning programming can be a strenuous task without the proper guidance and methodology. Students often face difficulties in understanding even the most basic and fundamental concepts of programming, leading to their confusion and disappointment. Serious games for programming have the potential to alleviate students’ difficulties with programming. Aim. This article introduces a new serious game named jAVANT-GARDE which aims to educate the player on the basic concepts of programming and object-oriented programming through Java. By design, the game is suitable for everyone, even for players with no previous knowledge of programming. This article aims to present important information regarding the design, implementation and pilot evaluation of jAVANT-GARDE. Method. The game was evaluated by 42 high school students (age 16-17) in terms of perceived player experience and short-term learning. The participants played the game for one hour in the school lab and then answered a questionnaire based on the MEEGA+ framework. Results. Students evaluated positively the game in terms of its usability, confidence in playing the game, challenge, satisfaction, fun, focused attention and relevance. Moreover, the majority of students stated that would prefer learning programming with this game to learning through other teaching methods. Conclusions. The results of the pilot study and students’ replies in the questionnaire are rather positive. This gives us the initiative to proceed with studying the effect of the game in long-term learning of programming concepts.

Coding is part of logical thinking and is one of the basic skills which are known as '21st-century skills'. Coding acquisition is necessary as it is used in a wide range of occupations. However, computer programing is difficult to learn and programing courses often have high drop-out rates. Novice programmers suffer from a wide range of difficulties and deficits. Research in teaching and learning programing across different countries and educational contexts reveal that novice programmers face the same challenges in their efficiency of writing, debugging and running programs. These difficulties have led those involved in the teaching of programing to further consider the most effective ways that can facilitate novice programmers in learning the basic programing concepts. Visual programing environments which support the construction of programs through a drag-and-drop interface are among the most popular coding tools for teaching novice programmers. In this paper, we investigate the use of Alice and App Inventor for Android, with regard to their effectiveness for teaching and learning programing in secondary education students.

Computational Thinking (CT) can be defined as the thought processes involved in formulating problems so that their solutions can be represented as sequential steps and algorithms. It is a key skill for children in the 21st century. However, it is unclear how CT can be developed most effectively in children. Several pedagogical methodologies have been proposed and are being investigated. The main aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis which states that using three‐dimensional (3D) simulated robots helps in the learning of programming and CT concepts, such as directions, loops, conditionals, and functions. The research questions are: Does this hypothesis hold true? Are some concepts easier or better learned than others and to what extent? The goal is to measure and evaluate the effect of using as a learning tool a platform with 3D simulated robots and realistic physics, and compare it with the standard Scratch learning tool which does not use robotics but a two‐dimensional (2D) cartoon avatar they are already familiar with. For practical reasons, a quasiexperimental design with nonequivalent groups and 85 second‐year Secondary Education students (ages 12–13) was performed. They were separated into control and experimental groups and followed a seven‐session intervention with the baseline 2D Scratch and the 3D simulated robots platform, respectively. Both used a visual block programming language and the same activities. To have quantitative and reliable results, a widely accepted CT test has been used, pre‐ and postintervention. Also qualitative feedback is presented. The obtained results show that using the platform with simulated 3D robots significantly helps when developing students' CT. With it, the students do learn basic programming concepts and reach higher scores in the CT test. This improvement applies to all CT‐analyzed concepts except in functions where the grades are maintained. Furthermore, students manage to master the activities on the 3D simulated robots platform, which reflects on the empowerment the platform has got in them.

Improving students' understanding of basic programming concepts through visual programming language: The role of self-efficacy

The interest of children in learning to program computers has increased dramatically in recent years with the adaptation of new programming languages such as Scratch or game-based approaches. That being so, it is still unclear how best to teach programming concepts to young children. There is a gap in the literature on how to introduce basic programming concepts to children at the primary school level, while taking factors such as the grade level and approach used into account. This paper explores the best approach for introducing basic programming concepts to school children in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades as well as the effects of the approaches on students’ learning gains (per concept). The concepts addressed here are those used in a traditional Introduction to Programming course, such as programs, memory and variables, inputs and outputs, conditionals and loops. The paper presents the resulting improvements achieved by the 4th, 5th and 6th graders in a multigroup pretest-posttest design, with a control group (the use of a blackboard as an unplugged approach) and two experimental groups (the use of a visual execution environment (VEE) with a mouse and the use of the VEE with Makey Makey). We present the results exploring the interaction between the grade and approach factors for the 144 children (9-12 years old) enrolled in primary education. The results provide statistically significant data indicating how the children succeeded in learning basic programming concepts according to their grade, the type of approach used, and the programming concept under study.

As the PISA 2006 results came out, the Netherlands briefly celebrated their 9th position in the overall country ranking for science. After that, interest in the PISA results rapidly declined. Nevertheless, there is sufficient reason to take a closer look at the PISA results, for instance because (a) our neighbours are catching up, (b) currently ambitious curriculum innovation programmes are being conducted in most of secondary education, and (c) fierce debates are going on about the merits of the proposed innovations. The pressing question is: are we heading in the right direction? To answer this question we additionally analysed PISA 2006 data, we identified strengths and weaknesses at the item level, and we analysed the student data for those specific items. As a reference for comparative analyses across countries, we used a relevant peer group of seven neighbouring countries. Main findings include that Dutch students do well on highly contextualized items, interpretation of graphs and Knowledge of Science. Dutch students perform relatively weak on items with low context and on multiple response items. In addition, Dutch students in secondary vocational education have specific difficulty in answering open-constructed response items. A major issue in the Netherlands is the low science attitudes and self-concept of students in secondary education. In view of those results, recent efforts to promote and improve science education might be well on track. However, we also identify some policy threats, especially when it comes to Knowledge about Science.

The teaching and learning of programming are often considered a difficult topic for both teachers and students, due to its complexity and abstract nature. The traditional teaching approaches are unable to contribute substantially to the development of the necessary cognitive models by the students, producing high rates of failure and dropout in introductory programming courses. In the last 30 years, the scientific community has not stopped looking for new pedagogical approaches and teaching techniques in introductory computer programming courses. Various studies have shown that pair programming under appropriate conditions may create an environment conducive to learning, leading to an increase student interest in programming. In this paper, the author presents the results of a pilot teaching intervention. The sample was collected among first-grade students of a high school in Greece. The results showed that the pair programming is more efficient than the solo programming, both on facilitating and supporting students' learning and understanding of basic programming concepts, as well as on improving students' attitudes toward programming.

Secondary education students do not usually perceive history as a subject connected with their lives, backgrounds and interests. At the same time, prospective and in-service teachers do not always have a coherent vision of this discipline, which can reflect on their students’ perceptions. This study makes use of a theoretical framework developed by Van Straaten, Wilschut and Oostdam to examine the validity and reliability of the model, and to analyse secondary and tertiary education students’ conceptions about the relevance of history using three categories: developing a personal identity, becoming a citizen and understanding the human condition. This quantitative study makes use of the RHMS questionnaire with a sample of 403 participants divided into three groups: secondary education students, pre-service teachers and undergraduate history students. After conducting a confirmatory factory analysis (CFA), a one-way ANOVA indicated statistically significant differences between the groups. While pre-service teachers and history undergraduate students obtained higher scores in all three subscales than secondary education students, fundamental differences were identified between the first two groups. A discussion is presented about the importance of initial teacher training and the necessity to reinforce notions related to the relevance of history in the formative development of prospective teachers.

Design-based learning (DBL) environments seem a promising instructional approach to facilitating students’ learning of programming concepts via applying them to develop various digital artifacts such as games, websites, robots, and software applications. However, there is a lack of theory-grounded principles to facilitate DBL environments for programming in K-12. In the absence of such principles, some essential elements of DBL such as the reciprocal link between ”design” and ”learning” processes might be easily neglected which can sacrifice ”learning” in favor of ”making” and degrade constructionist-based learning-by-making initiatives in programming to a form of ”shallow constructionism” or doing for the sake of making with no significant impact on the students’ programming knowledge. In this study we formulated a set of principles to facilitate DBL environments for learning programming concepts in K-12 while making learning visible in an authentic way (i.e., without breaking the realistic design setting using separate tests), built upon related educational theories and concepts, including Constructionism, scaffolding, Context-based learning, Collaborative learning, and design-based learning. We instantiated these principles to develop a course for learning about algorithms for secondary school students. The developed course was implemented in five secondary schools (with 5 teachers and 87 students) and evaluated based on the experience of the participating teachers and students. The results of the evaluation helped us to reflect on the applicability of the principles and refine them.

The subject matter of this essay concerns the use of manipulatives and teaching aids in the teaching of mathematics for the 1st and 2nd grade of primary school, combined with educational robotics applications. In particular, the use of the programmable bee-bot floor robot combines procedures that involve the use of manipulative means (creating a track as a cardboard model, painting, assembling), teaching aid tools (demonstration of the programmable bee-bot floor robot), and finally, the comprehension of simple programming and mathematical concepts. Through the implementation of an educational scenario aiming to familiarize students with the basic geometric concepts, mathematical operations (multiplication table), basic algorithmic structures (simple problems and step solving), there will be involvement with the cognitive areas of informatics (basic programming concepts)) and mathematics (geometry, calculations).

Recent research has found that many novice programmers often hold non-viable mental models of basic programming concepts which can limit their potential to develop appropriate programming skills. Previous work by the authors suggests that a teaching model that integrates cognitive conflict and program visualisation can help novices formulate appropriate mental models. This paper first outlines a 'concepts roadmap' that provides an ordered approach to learning programming concepts allowing students to build on fundamental base knowledge. It then reports the results of a series of studies investigating the use of the Jeliot visualisation tool as the visualisation component of the proposed learning model when applied to these concepts. The findings include: the ease with which Jeliot can be tailored to visualise a range of concepts using a variety of examples; the Jeliot visualisation of object reference was too complex for CS1 students; further evidence that CS1 students struggle to develop appropriate understanding of a range of key programming concepts; and, further evidence that an integrated cognitive conflict/visualisation strategy can help students develop an appropriate understanding of key programming concepts.

Авторы анализируют ожидания студентов среднего профессионального образования от общения с родителями и на основе данного анализа выявляют структурную модель ожиданий студентов. Цель статьи - определить ожидания участников от их взаимодействия с родителями.

<p>The recent advancement in computational thinking (CT) research has reported numerous learning benefits to school-age children. The long-standing perceived difficulty of computer programming has challenged the acquisition of CT skills from programming education. Several block-based programming environments (BBPEs) have been developed to reduce this difficulty and enhance active engagement in computational-related activities. Although numerous studies have examined students’ level of interactions during block-based programming modality (BPM) activities, a major gap in the literature is the paucity of research evidence reporting the association between these interactions and CT. This study, therefore, investigates the association between interaction patterns during BPM activities and CT skills. The present study employed a longitudinal approach where the same participants were observed over eight weeks. Thirty-five, second-year-level computer science and computer education students (mean age: 19.8; male = 23, female = 12) from a research university in Nigeria were recruited. Their computational activities over the study periods were video-recorded. The participants’ CT skills were collected using the computational thinking test and the computational thinking scale. Findings indicate four interaction patterns: learner–learner, learner–content, learner–teacher, and learner–distractor. Learner–learner and learner–content were prevalent. The interaction patterns significantly predict CT skills although significant differences exist across gender, cognitive load, spatial ability, and programming proficiency. The research has provided opportunities for educators to integrate BBPEs in learning programming and CT concepts. Although such integration is likely to occur with the help of strong educational policies, teachers are encouraged to cultivate the spirit of collaboration in students during programming activities.</p>

Young people with special educational needs and their families were particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many parents reporting feeling overwhelmed. This study reports on the outcomes of an equine-assisted learning program piloted in summer 2021, which aimed to improve the wellbeing of families by providing them with a positive group experience. Families attended the Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) program for either of two sessions, which lasted 2.5 hours each. The Family Relationships section of the Family Quality of Life Questionnaire was filled out before and after the program, as well as at a 2-month follow up. Outcomes were also measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which was filled out by referrers for the young people who were the primary referees to the program. There were 14 families participating in the program, and analysis revealed a significant positive impact on family relationships scores at a total level which was maintained at 2 months follow up, as well as at item level for the majority of items in the short-term. There was also a positive change in Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores for the young people, although this was non-significant. The results of this pilot study show that a short-term family-focussed Equine-Assisted Learning intervention may be effective for improving family relationships, which contribute to individual wellbeing. A larger scale randomised controlled trial would be beneficial to allow the results to be generalised in the future.

Education systems worldwide are increasingly incorporating computer programming into school curricula. Within programming lessons, commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) video games are being used as part of instruction. This approach has been shown to deliver many benefits, including increased engagement and positive attitudes towards the subject. Empirical studies have demonstrated that carefully selected COTS video games, primarily designed for entertainment purposes, have the potential to support pupils learning to program. For example, teachers can connect abstract programming concepts with concrete elements within the game. However, little attention has been directed towards the pedagogy employed in the classroom, including teachers’ reasoning for the approaches used. In addition, there is limited evidence for the motivation for learning provided through the use of COTS video games when used to support the learning of programming concepts. The objective of my study is to examine teachers’ and pupils’ perspectives on how COTS video games are used within computing education to support primary (9 - 11 years) aged pupils’ learning of programming concepts. The findings from my exploratory study will provide insights into classroom practices and contribute to the collective pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching programming. A qualitative, multiple case-study approach is used in this research. Schools are visited when a lesson involving the use of COTS video games to support pupils’ learning of programming concepts is being delivered. Teachers’ PCK is examined through investigating their pedagogical reasoning. For a planned lesson, data is captured through the completion of a Content Representation (CoRe) and a semi-structured interview. Teachers’ pedagogical reasoning for their instruction and their subsequent reflections are elicited using an episodic narrative interview based on a video recording of the lesson. Self-determination theory is used to examine both teachers’ and pupils’ views on motivation for learning. Semi-structured interviews enable them to discuss intrinsic motivation and the fulfilment of their basic psychological needs. A pilot study has recently been completed in an English primary school. Within this paper, an initial analysis of the data is presented.