The Effect of Harezmi Education Model on the Computational Thinking Skills of Secondary School Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of using the Harezmi education model, which has been widely used in Turkey in recent years, in social studies teaching regarding computational thinking skills. Interviews were held with students and teachers seven months after the applications to determine the conceptual knowledge levels of students for computational thinking skills. Teachers' opinions regarding students' feedback and the changes they observed in the students involved in the application process during the seven months were taken. Besides using one of the mixed-method research designs in this study, that is the triangulation (parallel-convergent) design, quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were used simultaneously. Through the joint use of different methods and data collection tools, obtaining rich and various types of data sets was aimed. As for the quantitative dimension of the study, 54 students, which were divided into experimental and control groups, formed the study group. In the qualitative aspect of the study, there are 20 students and three teachers. The computational thinking self-efficacy perception scale was used as a quantitative data collection tool, and the interview forms were used as qualitative data collection tools. While the analysis of quantitative data was made with Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney U tests, the analysis of qualitative data was made with content analysis and descriptive analysis methods. As a result, a significant difference was found in the experimental group students' algorithm sub-dimension scores. According to the interviews held seven months after the applications, students' conceptual knowledge was at a good level. Furthermore, teachers included in the application stated that they observed positive changes in the students after the application. In line with the results obtained, suggestions were made to make arrangements for other sub-dimensions of computational thinking skills and to examine the effects of the Harezmi education model as of different variables.