Effect of Block-Based Python Programming Environment on Programming Learning

Abstract

The advancement of computing technology has led to many changes in a variety of fields, and the importance of programming education has been emphasized in many countries worldwide. Despite the importance of programming education, the cognitive burden of text programming for beginners has not been reduced. The goal of this study was to implement an environment where a text programming language is used in a block-based programming environment and to determine at which school level this learning environment affects positive perceptions of programming. To achieve this goal, we conducted programming classes targeting 128 middle school, high school, and university students for 14 weeks and analyzed the effects of the factors of “understanding of programming instructions”, “usage confidence”, and “usefulness” on “positive perceptions of programming”. The results of the analysis by school level show that “usefulness” influenced positivity toward programming for middle school students, “usefulness” and “understanding of programming instruction” for high school students, and “understanding of programming instruction” and “usage confidence” for university students. Therefore, the significance of this study confirms the need to construct the learning environment differently depending on school level, even for beginners.