Computer Science Education Research Research Articles

Reflections on Conducting Online Think-Alouds

This article presents a protocol for conducting online think-aloud interviews as well as the reflections of the participants and interviewer on this process. The interviewer and participants commenced the interviews in person but then shifted to an online mode partway through the study. Thus, their reflections provide a comparison of the two different modes. These reflections are situated within a study of novice database designers. This computer science context, to some extent, influences both the protocol and the experiences of the study participants. Recommendations based on these experiences are provided for future computer science education researchers interested in using an online mode for conducting think-alouds, and suggestions for the use of aspects of the protocol in teaching are presented.

Gender Differences in the New Interdisciplinary Subject Informatik, Mathematik, Physik (IMP)—Sticking with STEM?

The current state of research in computer science education outlines gender differences in motivation, interest, and elective subject decisions in favor of male students. This study takes an exploratory approach to examine the gender differences in the interdisciplinary STEM profile subject Informatik, Mathematik, Physik (in short: subject IMP), which combines the three subjects of computer science, mathematics, and physics. A survey was conducted involving n = 336 (m = 236, f = 88, o = 12) subject IMP students in the 10th grade attending a Gymnasium in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The deciding factors for choosing the subject, subject interest, motivation, and more were measured using a questionnaire. Overall, the subject IMP is most chosen by male students. For those students choosing the subject IMP, no statistically significant gender differences in subject interest in IMP, mathematics, and the STEM area or in motivation and vocational orientation in natural science and engineering were found in contrast to the state of research. The interdisciplinary character of the subject IMP could be more appealing to girls than computer science by itself. We conclude that, with a higher participation rate of female students, the subject IMP could be a first step in getting more women into STEM fields.

Understanding U.S. secondary computer science teachers’ challenges and needs

ABSTRACT Background and Context Based on issues arising around how to best prepare CS teachers and the constantly changing nature of the CS education content, curriculum, and instructional methods, it is crucial to examine the needs of secondary CS teachers. Objective The primary purpose of this study was to identify secondary computer science (CS) teachers’ needs and make recommendations for future CS education research and practices in the U.S. Method Using a mixed-method research design, the data were collected from Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)’s email listserv member discussions (n = 1,706 from 482 unique members), questionnaire responses from 222 secondary CS teachers, and semi-structured interviews with eight CS teachers in the US. Findings Updating curriculum resources was an important ongoing need for secondary CS teachers. Curriculum resources, materials to assess students learning, and embedding the principles of computational thinking into curriculum were reported as major needs for secondary teachers. Teachers also reported that they need to learn more about student-centered teaching strategies (e.g. problem-based learning and pair programming) and guide students’ learning using scaffolding and team-management strategies. The findings suggest that teachers perceived the need for administrators’, parents’, and other CS teachers’ support. Having an online community for teachers was critical to address their curricular and pedagogical needs. Furthermore, increasing student enrollment and interest in CS was critical for the future of CS education. Implications The findings of this research have implications for creating professional development plans and support that can address secondary CS teachers’ needs in the US.

Ancestral Computing for Sustainability: Centering Indigenous Epistemologies in Researching Computer Science Education.

This article offers Ancestral Computing for Sustainability (ACS) to dismantle the logics of settler colonialism that affect accessibility, identities, and epistemologies of computer science education (CSE). ACS centers Indigenous epistemologies in researching CSE across four public universities in the United States. This paper describes Ancestral Computing for Sustainability and explores reflections of two students engaging as researchers in ACS inquiry. Drawing on Indigenous methodologies and Participatory Action Research, they share their reflections as co-researchers in ACS through storywork. These critical reflections include their relationship to computing, observations of the interdependent work within ACS, ethics and sustainability, and their experiences within the focus groups. The article ends with recommendations for furthering ACS as a decolonial approach that centers Indigenous epistemologies in CSE. Recommendations for CSE education include Ancestral Knowledge Systems and adding sustainability as a topic within computing education pathwaysand building student-faculty relationships based on trust is recommended to foster students' academic and personal growth within CSE education and research.

Practitioner Perspectives on COVID-19’s Impact on Computer Science Education Among High Schools Serving Students from Lower and Higher Income Families

Research Problem. Computer science (CS) education researchers conducting studies that target high school students have likely seen their studies impacted by COVID-19. Interpreting research findings impacted by COVID-19 presents unique challenges that will require a deeper understanding as to how the pandemic has affected underserved and underrepresented students studying or unable to study computing. Research Question. Our research question for this study was: In what ways has the high school computer science educational ecosystem for students been impacted by COVID-19, particularly when comparing schools based on relative socioeconomic status of a majority of students? Methodology. We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods study to understand the types of impacts high school CS educators have seen in their practice over the past year using the CAPE theoretical dissaggregation framework to measure schools’ Capacity to offer CS, student Access to CS education, student Participation in CS, and Experiences of students taking CS. Data Collection Procedure. We developed an instrument to collect qualitative data from open-ended questions, then collected data from CS high school educators ( n = 21) and coded them across CAPE. We used the codes to create a quantitative instrument. We collected data from a wider set of CS high school educators ( n = 185), analyzed the data, and considered how these findings shape research conducted over the last year. Findings. Overall, practitioner perspectives revealed that capacity for CS Funding, Policy & Curriculum in both types of schools grew during the pandemic, while the capacity to offer physical and human resources decreased. While access to extracurricular activities decreased, there was still a significant increase in the number of CS courses offered. Fewer girls took CS courses and attendance decreased. Student learning and engagement in CS courses were significantly impacted, while other noncognitive factors like interest in CS and relevance of technology saw increases. Practitioner perspectives also indicated that schools serving students from lower-income families had (1) a greater decrease in the number of students who received information about CS/CTE pathways; (2) a greater decrease in the number of girls enrolled in CS classes; (3) a greater decrease in the number of students receiving college credit for dual-credit CS courses; (4) a greater decrease in student attendance; and (5) a greater decrease in the number of students interested in taking additional CS courses. On the flip-side, schools serving students from higher income families had significantly higher increases in the number of students interested in taking additional CS courses.

Early Findings on the Impacts of Developing Evidence-Based Practice Briefs on Middle School Computer Science Teachers

Problem. K-12 teachers face many challenges when teaching a new subject like computer science (CS). They are often far removed from the research being conducted to identify evidence-driven solutions to these challenges. Likewise, researchers are also often removed from the challenges of classroom practices that teachers face when teaching CS. Research Questions. To create a collaborative process for teachers and researchers outside of a research practice partnership, we piloted a facilitated process in which CS middle school teachers and CS education researchers collaboratively created CS teacher practice briefs. Our research question for this study was: In what ways are teachers impacted by the process of creating teacher practice briefs in collaboration with researchers? Methodology. We conducted a qualitative study, using a semi-structured interview protocol to interview five teachers and three researchers to gain an understanding of how this process impacted the participants. We used thematic content analysis to identify several subthemes across our pre-established themes: motivation for teachers to participate, impacts on teachers, perceived impacts on students, and impacts on researchers. Findings. We found that the impact on teachers mirrored impacts found on teachers who engage in Research Practice Partnerships, including increased self-efficacy, expanded professional networks, and changed classroom practices. Implications. By bringing researchers and educators together with a clear focus on equity-based problems of practice in CS education, the results display a multitude of positive impacts. Teachers indicate that they are are positively impacted, researchers develop a clear understanding of realistic practices, and students are peripherally impacted through changed practices in the classroom. Therefore, the most significant contribution to advance the disciplinary understanding is the potential for this new process to decrease the gap between research and practice.

Forging a Path: Faculty Interviews on the Present and Future of Computer Science Education in the United States

Computer science education (CSEd) is a growing interdisciplinary area that continues to gain momentum from students, researchers, and educators. Yet, there are few formal programs or degree options for students interested in pursuing graduate work in CSEd. This article explores the existing state of CSEd in the United States (U.S.) through semi-structured interviews with ( n = 15) faculty engaged in CSEd research. Thematic coding of the transcripts revealed the complexities involved in the development of formal programs, the distinct considerations for faculty, and the value of having strong ties to both computer science and education. The themes described positive aspects of support and cohesion within the larger community and opportunities to expand knowledge across fields. Applying Cornell and Parker’s principles of interdisciplinary science to the field of CSEd, we provide recommendations for ways forward and discuss the potential impact on institutional structures, research capacity, individual and group identities, and teaching and learning. The findings from this investigation not only inform on the present state of CSEd in the U.S., but also offer guidance for CSEd-focused graduate programs.

Game design and didactic transposition of knowledge. The case of progo, a game dedicated to learning object-oriented programming

Game based-learning have been widely promoted to overcome the difficulties encountered by beginners to learn programming. However, there are many issues to address for the implementation of game-based learning. Indeed, game-based learning is not limited to adding game elements such as rewards to a learning situation, but it rather consists of transforming the learning situation so that it becomes playful. This work contributes to computer science education research, especially to game design for learning programming. We design a novel environment dedicated to learning object-oriented programming for beginners called Progo. It is based on a metaphor of a three-dimensional (3D) construction and animation game. We present an a priori analysis of the Progo environment on the basis of a didactic transposition framework. The framework highlights the ludicisation and metaphorisation process by which educational content is integrated into the game. This allows for the analysis of the transformation of the computing knowledge by the game design, and to verify whether analogies are maintained between the knowledge and what the learner should experience through play. This work contributes to a framework for the integration of educational content during learning game design.

Student Agency in a High School Computer Science Course

This study explores student agency in the context of a culturally authentic computer science (CS) curriculum implemented in an introductory CS course in two high schools. Drawing on focus group and interview data, the study utilizes qualitative research methods to examine how students exercise critical agency as they engage in the course and how the curriculum supports student agency. Findings suggest three ways in which the curriculum served as a context for student agency: (1) gaining CS knowledge and skills that students then apply to address real-world needs and problems, (2) creating opportunities to “try-on” or improvise new identities and/or envision “future selves” in CS, and (3) engaging in personally relevant project work that leverages assets students brought to their experience with the curriculum. Implications for CS education research and practice are discussed.

Exploring Design Principles in Computational Thinking Instruction for Multilingual Learners

Background: Multilingual learners have been overlooked and understudied in computer science education research. As the CS for All movement grows, it is essential to design integrated, justice-oriented curricula that help young multilingual learners begin to develop computational thinking skills and discourses. Purpose: We present a conceptual framework and accompanying design principles for justice-centered computational thinking activities that are language-rich, with the aim of supporting learners’ agency and building their capacity over time to use computing for good in their communities. Setting: Our work takes place in a research–practice partnership centered in an elementary school in California with a significant multilingual Latinx population. Research Design: We have engaged in two cycles of design-based research with preservice and in-service teachers at an elementary school. Through analysis of one case study during the second and most recent cycle, we examined the potential of teachers using our design principles for supporting multilingual learners’ language development through engagement in computational thinking. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that multilingual learners will engage in productive discourse when computational thinking lessons are designed to (1) be meaningfully contextualized, (2) position students as agentic learners, and (3) promote coherence over time. However, more research is needed to understand how teachers use these principles over time, and what additional supports are needed to ensure coordination between stakeholders to develop and effectively implement coherent learning progressions.

Applying the CAPE framework to measure equity and inform policy in computer science education

The push to make computer science (CS) education available to all students has been closely followed by increased efforts to collect and report better data on where CS is offered, who is teaching CS, and which students have access to, enroll in, and ultimately benefit from learning CS. These efforts can be highly influential on the evolution of CS education policy, as education leaders and policymakers often rely heavily on data to make decisions. Because of this, it is critical that CS education researchers understand how to collect, analyze, and report data in ways that reflect reality without masking disparities between subpopulations. Similarly, it is important that CS education leaders and policymakers understand how to judiciously interpret the data and translate information into action to scale CS education in ways designed to eliminate inequities. To that end, this article expands on recent research regarding the use of data to assess and inform progress in scaling and broadening participation in CS education. We describe the CAPE framework for assessing equity with respect to the capacity for, access to, participation in, and experience of CS education and explicate how it can be applied to analyze and interpret data to inform policy decisions at multiple levels of educational systems. We provide examples using large, statewide datasets containing educational and demographic information for K-12 students and schools, thereby giving leaders and policymakers a roadmap to assess and address issues of equity in their own schools, districts, or states. We compare and contrast different approaches to measuring and reporting inequities and discuss how data can influence the future of CS education through its impact on policy.

Who participates in computer science education studies? A literature review on K-12 subjects.

Computer science education (CSEd) research within K-12 makes extensive use of empirical studies in which children participate. Insight in the demographics of these children is important for the purpose of understanding the representativeness of the populations included. This literature review studies the demographics of subjects included in K-12 CSEd studies. We have manually inspected the proceedings of three of the main international CSEd conferences: SIGCSE, ITiCSE and ICER, of five years (2014–2018), and selected all papers pertaining to K-12 CSEd experiments. This led to a sample of 134 papers describing 143 studies. We manually read these papers to determine the demographic information that was reported on, investigating the following categories: age/grade, gender, race/ethnic background, location, prior computer science experience, socio-economic status (SES), and disability. Our findings show that children from the United States, boys and children without computer science experience are included most frequently. Race and SES are frequently not reported on, and for race as well as for disabilities there appears a tendency to report these categories only when they deviate from the majority. Further, for several demographic categories different criteria are used to determine them. Finally, most studies take place within schools. These insights can be valuable to correctly interpret current knowledge from K-12 CSEd research, and furthermore can be helpful in developing standards for consistent collection and reporting of demographic information in this community.

Integrating Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Research in Engineering and Computer Science Education

We summarize integrating cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) research in cybersecurity education and implementing a module in an existing noncybersecurity undergraduate engineering course. This initiative will drive the broader community to focus on the convergence of cybersecurity and AI education.

Creativity in CS1: A Literature Review

Computer science is a fast-growing field in today’s digitized age, and working in this industry often requires creativity and innovative thought. An issue within computer science education, however, is that large introductory programming courses often involve little opportunity for creative thinking within coursework. The undergraduate introductory programming course (CS1) is notorious for its poor student performance and retention rates across multiple institutions. Integrating opportunities for creative thinking may help combat this issue by adding a personal touch to course content, which could allow beginner CS students to better relate to the abstract world of programming. Research on the role of creativity in computer science education (CSE) is an interesting area with a lot of room for exploration due to the complexity of the phenomenon of creativity as well as the CSE research field being fairly new compared to some other education fields where this topic has been more closely explored.To contribute to this area of research, this article provides a literature review exploring the concept of creativity as relevant to computer science education and CS1 in particular. Based on the review of the literature, we conclude creativity is an essential component to computer science, and the type of creativity that computer science requires is in fact, a teachable skill through the use of various tools and strategies. These strategies include the integration of open-ended assignments, large collaborative projects, learning by teaching, multimedia projects, small creative computational exercises, game development projects, digitally produced art, robotics, digital story-telling, music manipulation, and project-based learning. Research on each of these strategies and their effects on student experiences within CS1 is discussed in this review. Last, six main components of creativity-enhancing activities are identified based on the studies about incorporating creativity into CS1. These components are as follows: Collaboration, Relevance, Autonomy, Ownership, Hands-On Learning, and Visual Feedback. The purpose of this article is to contribute to computer science educators’ understanding of how creativity is best understood in the context of computer science education and explore practical applications of creativity theory in CS1 classrooms. This is an important collection of information for restructuring aspects of future introductory programming courses in creative, innovative ways that benefit student learning.

Assessment of Computational Thinking – A Croatian Evidence-Centered Design model

The new Croatian Informatics curriculum, which introduces computational thinking concepts into learning outcomes has been put into practice. A computational thinking assessment model reflecting the learning outcomes of the Croatian curriculum was created using an evidence-centered design approach. The possibility of assessing the computational thinking concepts, abstraction, decomposition, and algorithmic thinking, in an actual classroom situation and examples of such assessment is increasingly coming to the forefront of computer science educational research. Precisely for that purpose, the research was conducted. Research data are collected through the test and questionnaire of 407 pupils (10 middle schools, age 12), analysed by exploratory factor analysis and non-parametric tests. Results showed that the presented model was suitable to assess the understanding of the concepts of abstraction and algorithmic thinking, independently of the previous experience with programming languages and pupil's gender, while assessment of decomposition needs more work and improvement, some recommendations are provided. Also, it received positive feedback from pupils and teachers what implicated that such an assessment model could help teachers in building a real-time measurement instrument.

Teaching Abstraction in Computer Science to 7 th Grade Students

Abstraction is one of the most fundamental ideas in computer science (CS), and as such, according to Bruner [23], it should be taught spirally, starting as early as possible and revisited at every level of education. However, teaching CS abstraction to novices is a very challenging task, and CS educational research has often demonstrated students' difficulties in learning this idea, in different contexts and at different age levels. The challenge in teaching CS abstraction is even greater when dealing with young students, since according to theories on children's cognitive development, their abstraction abilities may still be not fully developed. In 2013, Armoni [5] introduced a framework for teaching abstraction in the context of algorithmic problem solving, intended for novice students. We studied the effect of this framework in an introductory CS course for 7 th graders, in which Scratch was used as the programming language for implementing algorithmic solutions. Our findings indicate that the framework was highly effective for developing CS abstraction skills as well as other related skills and aspects, such as the tendency to provide explanations for solutions, the use of initialization processes, and the perception of the nature of CS. It also significantly improved students’ general CS performance in this course.

Exploring collaborative talk among African-American middle-school girls in the context of game design for social change

Computer Science education research establishes collaboration among students as a key component in learning, particularly its role in pair programming. Furthermore, research shows that girls, an un...

Transitioning from introductory block-based and text-based environments to professional programming languages in high school computer science classrooms

Block-based programming languages are becoming increasingly common in introductory computer science classrooms across the K-12 spectrum. One justification for the use of block-based environments in formal educational settings is the idea that the concepts and practices developed using these introductory tools will prepare learners for future computer science learning opportunities. This view is built on the assumption that the attitudinal and conceptual learning gains made while working in the introductory block-based environments will transfer to conventional text-based programming languages. To test this hypothesis, this paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental classroom study in which programming novices spent five-week using either a block-based or text-based programming environment. After five weeks in the introductory tool, students transitioned to Java, a conventional text-based programming language. The study followed students for 10 weeks after the transition. Over the course of the 15-week study, attitudinal and conceptual assessments were administered and student-authored programs were collected. Conceptual learning, attitudinal shifts, and changes in programming practices were analyzed to evaluate how introductory modality impacted learners as they transitioned to a professional, text-based programming language. The findings from this study build on earlier work that found a difference in performance on content assessments after the introductory portion of the study (Weintrop & Wilensky, 2017a). This paper shows the difference in conceptual learning that emerged after five weeks between the block-based and text-based conditions fades after 10 weeks in Java. No differences in programming practices were found between the two conditions while working in Java. Likewise, differences in attitudinal measures that emerged after working in the introductory environments also faded after 10 weeks in Java, resulting in no difference between the conditions after 15 weeks. The contribution of this work is to advance our understanding of the benefits and limits of block-based programming tools in preparing students for future computer science learning. This paper presents the first quasi-experimental study of the transfer of knowledge between block-based and text-based environments in a high school setting. The lack of significant differences between the two introductory programming modalities after learners transition to professional programming languages is discussed along with the implications of these findings for computer science education researchers and educators, as well as for the broader community of researchers studying the role of technology in education.

A framework to foster problem-solving in STEM and computing education

ABSTRACTBackground: Recent developments in STEM and computer science education put a strong emphasis on twenty-first-century skills, such as solving authentic problems. These skills typically transcend single disciplines. Thus, problem-solving must be seen as a multidisciplinary challenge, and the corresponding practices and processes need to be described using an integrated framework.Purpose: We present a fine-grained, integrated, and interdisciplinary framework of problem-solving for education in STEM and computer science by cumulatively including ways of problem-solving from all of these domains. Thus, the framework serves as a tool box with a variety of options that are described by steps and processes for students to choose from. The framework can be used to develop competences in problem-solving.Sources of evidence: The framework was developed on the basis of a literature review. We included all prominent ways of domain-specific problem-solving in STEM and computer science, consisting mainly of empirically orientated approaches, such as inquiry in science, and solely theory-orientated approaches, such as proofs in mathematics.Main argument: Since there is an increasing demand for integrated STEM and computer science education when working on natural phenomena and authentic problems, a problem-solving framework exclusively covering the natural sciences or other single domains falls short.Conclusions: Our framework can support both practice and research by providing a common background that relates the ways, steps, processes, and activities of problem-solving in the different domains to one single common reference. In doing so, it can support teachers in explaining the multiple ways in which science problems can be solved and in constructing problems that reflect these numerous ways. STEM and computer science educational research can use the framework to develop competences of problem-solving at a fine-grained level, to construct corresponding assessment tools, and to investigate under what conditions learning progressions can be achieved.

Using computer programming activities and robots to teach generalization of a geometry concept

Computer science and math education researchers have long believed that a symbiotic relationship exists between their disciplines [7]. In fact, in its early days, computer science education programs were often co-located in a math department. Stenger et al. [13] developed an instructional treatment that uses computer programming as an explicit method for teaching abstraction and generalization in the STEM classroom. This instructional strategy uses computer programming to explore the essential characteristics of a mathematical concept and to push learners to advance in levels of abstraction. In this study, results are shown from a professional learning session using computer programming activities, mathematical arguments, and programming on an S2 robot to push middle and high school computer science, math, and science teachers (N=25) to improve their level of generalization over area expansion of a triangle with respect to the expansion of the sides of the triangle. The programming activities served as a laboratory to expose and explain what happened in the minds of learners as they explored and learned to generalize this geometry concept. The researchers used an initial genetic decomposition to evaluate the learner's level of abstraction. Follow up interviews were conducted with 6 participants. The analysis, using APOS as a framework, categorized mathematical behaviors at the Action, Process or Object level. The data demonstrated how computer programming activities influenced teachers' mental images and pushed them to higher levels of abstraction.