Computer Science Education Research Articles

Features of Using the mBlock Program in the Scratch Environment in Teaching with STREAM Technology in High School

In the leading countries of the world, learning through STEM, STEAM and STREAM is included in the curriculum of secondary schools. While STEM is about strengthening the role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in education, STREAM is about building systematic thinking skills by adding reading and art to the role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in education. In STREAM development, you can use the mBlock programming environment based on Scratch+Arduino. In secondary schools of the Republic of Kazakhstan, robotics is often used in the teaching of computer science using STEM technology. As a result of studying informatics, students have not developed the knowledge, skills, and abilities to create digital products using art, mathematics, and engineering. Therefore, there is a need to develop STREAM technology in teaching computer science using STEM technology in high school. In this regard, the purpose of the research work “Determining the specificity of the STREAM teaching method in secondary school” was set. To achieve this goal, firstly, the state of teaching STREAM teaching methods in secondary schools in the republic was determined and the results were analyzed. Secondly, an educational program was developed that combines engineering and mathematics sciences and teaches how to create a project that builds students’ ability to think systematically in the mBlock environment, built on the basis of Scratch+Arduino hardware-programming. The effectiveness of the STREAM teaching method was determined by conducting an optional lesson of the IT class according to the compiled curriculum. The experience of the research was carried out at R. Koshkarbayev secondary school No. 1 and IT school-lyceum of the city of Koschy. The teaching of the Scratch+Arduino hardware programming framework, which took place in computer science optional classes, was defined with mBlock code and ways of practical implementation were introduced. The curriculum of the optional lesson for 8th grade includes a total of 36 hours. In addition to the proposed training course program, digital educational resources were compiled, the teaching methodology was used in the educational process, and the effectiveness of the proposed teaching methods was determined as a result of the experiment. In the future, the training course program and digital educational resources of the course “mBlock Programming based on Scratch+Arduino” can be used in STEM classrooms or in elective computer science classes in any schools in the country.

Logic as a Tool for Developing Critical Thinking

A characteristic feature of modern society is the ever-expanding information space. Hidden information attacks harm the lives of individuals and society in general. In this regard, studies of critical thinking seem particularly important to us. Therefore, critical thinking is interpreted in the academic discourse mainly in connection with the effort to cope with the growing amount of misinformation and hate speech. While teachers and policymakers consider critical thinking an important educational goal, many are unclear about developing this competency in a school setting. For many key competencies, the question is whether and how they can be acquired through planned educational courses/programs. Although there are specific training programs for critical thinking as a core competency, their design and effectiveness are scientifically controversial. Instruction in critical thinking becomes extremely important because it allows individuals to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the information they encounter and promotes good decision-making and problem-solving in real-world applications. Despite the ambiguity of the term critical thinking, its close connection with logical culture is evident. Logical culture is the culture of thinking manifested in the culture of written and oral speech. The starting point for developing critical thinking skills should be logic. Logic as a science of correct thinking is the basis on which the program for developing critical thinking is based. The paper’s main aim is to identify the status of critical thinking as an independent discipline. A partial aim of the paper is to define the relationship between critical thinking and logic. The paper is divided into six parts, while the main findings are summarised in conclusions. In its purest form, logic does not teach how to work with a changing context or apply it to the subject realities of various disciplines, but such characteristics as precision, clarity, provability, and persuasiveness are key for this science. It is through logic that the basic principles of thinking, which we call critical, are revealed, the rules of argumentation and definitions are explained, and misconceptions and errors are displayed. Logic is distinguished from other sciences by the fundamentality of the discussed problems. Logic is the only science that combines mathematics, computer science and humanities education. We believe that modern logic is only the beginning of the first of the sciences of a new generation, which will be invited to combine the analyticity of the scientific method with the synthetics of perception of the humanitarian point of view. Therefore, we believe that the development of critical thinking skills appears to be productive in combination with the study of logic and is a priority in the modern educational process. It is difficult to imagine the formation of critical thinking in isolation from the building of the logical culture of the individual, which gives him a solid foundation for understanding the essence of critical thinking.

Comparing effectiveness of educational video games of different genres in computer science education

Educational video games have been proven effective for many purposes. However, little research has been conducted in order to analyze the effect of the game genre on the pedagogical effectiveness of the game-based learning experiences conducted using them. This article aims to fill this gap by analyzing and comparing, for the first time, the instructional and motivational effectiveness of two educational video games of different genres: third-person shooter and endless runner. The research questions addressed in this article are as follows: Is Game-Based Learning using teacher-authored video games effective in terms of knowledge acquisition and motivation to learn about database administration in computer science education? Does the effectiveness of Game-Based Learning in computer science education depends on playing a third-person shooter or an endless runner game? An experimental design (randomized controlled trial with pre-post test design) supported by instruments to gather the knowledge acquisition and opinion of the students allowed for a rigorous analysis of the conducted experience. A total of 45 computer science students organized in two groups learned about database administration by playing two educational video games created through a teacher-oriented authoring tool. One group played a third-person shooter game, whereas the other group played an endless runner game. Both games integrated the same learning content and were played by the students the same amount of time. The results show that the analyzed video games are highly and equally effective in terms of knowledge acquisition (learning gains were statistically significant with a medium effect size in both groups) and motivation (average student ratings above 4.5 out of 5 in both groups). Although the students expressed a preference for third-person shooter games, they also expressed that they would have learned the same with other types of games. In conclusion, the evidence reported in this article suggests that educational effectiveness of game-based learning does not depend on video game genre.

Literacy and STEM Teachers Adapt AI Ethics Curriculum

This article examines the ways secondary computer science and English Language Arts teachers in urban, suburban, and semi-rural schools adapted a project-based AI ethics curriculum to make it better fit their local contexts. AI ethics is an urgent topic with tangible consequences for youths’ current and future lives, but one that is rarely taught in schools. Few teachers have formal training in this area as it is an emerging field even at the university level. Exploring AI ethics involves examining biases related to race, gender, and social class, a challenging task for all teachers, and an unfamiliar one for most computer science teachers. It also requires teaching technical content which falls outside the comfort zone of most humanities teachers. Although none of our partner teachers had previously taught an AI ethics project, this study demonstrates that their expertise and experience in other domains played an essential role in providing high quality instruction. Teachers designed and redesigned tasks and incorporated texts and apps to ensure the AI ethics project would adhere to district and department level requirements; they led equity-focused inquiry in a way that both protected vulnerable students and accounted for local cultures and politics; and they adjusted technical content and developed hands-on computer science experiences to better challenge and engage their students. We use Mishra and Kohler’s TPACK framework to highlight the ways teachers leveraged their own expertise in some areas, while relying on materials and support from our research team in others, to create stronger learning experiences.

ScratchJr design in practice: Low floor, high ceiling

The demand for developmentally appropriate tools and learning environments for early childhood computer science education is greater than ever. One of the most widely used introductory coding environments designed for children ages 5–7 is ScratchJr (Bers & Resnick, 2015; Flannery et al., 2013), which has over 40 million users worldwide. ScratchJr was designed as a “low floor, high ceiling” learning environment — meaning that it is accessible to novice users while also allowing more experienced users to grow their knowledge. In this paper, we evaluate how the “low floor, high ceiling” design of ScratchJr is received in practice through looking at the programming performance of users at different ages, timepoints, and experience levels. We find that the youngest, and most novice users were able to engage with the app to some extent with no instruction, but engagement was optimized with curricular support. Additionally, we found that the oldest, and most experienced users still had room for growth and discovery in the app. We conclude that the design decisions in ScratchJr such as iconography, block variation, and open-endedness of the environment creates a welcoming and engaging experience for a wide range of users, both children and adults.

Academic Freedom and International Students, Part 4: The China Initiative

Computer science and engineering students and teachers alike, are just trying to get by, live their lives, but there are hinderances, things that interfere. Some hindrances are beyond our control for example, illness and power outages. Yet others, make no sense, such as U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) "deemed export" regulations. Academic research is intended to be shared and released into the public to advance human progress. Research, at one time, had legal cover for restrictions on sharing, through Executive Order NSDD-189, which placed an exemption on restrictions over fundamental research.

DOCTORAL EDUCATION PROCESS AND PRODUCT USING CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Sweden is seen as one of the most research-driven and educated countries in the world. Thus, Doctoral education is considered one of Sweden's most important parts of higher education. This position paper reflects upon the process and product of doctoral education in Computer Science and Software Engineering in Sweden. The paper provides an overview of doctoral education in Sweden, followed by a practical demonstration of how supervisors and doctoral students could use constructive alignment to achieve the learning outcomes of doctoral education using learning activities and assessment methods to evaluate the learning activities and, by extension, the learning outcomes.

Relationship Between Implicit Intelligence Beliefs and Maladaptive Self-Regulation of Learning

Objectives . Although prior research has uncovered shifts in computer science (CS) students’ implicit beliefs about the nature of their intelligence across time, little research has investigated the factors contributing to these changes. To address this gap, two studies were conducted in which the relationship between ineffective self-regulation of learning experiences and CS students’ implicit intelligence beliefs at different times during the semester was assessed. Participants . Participants for Studies 1 (n = 536) and 2 (n = 222) were undergraduate students enrolled in introductory- and upper-level CS courses at a large, public, Midwestern university. Race-ethnicity information was not collected due to IRB concerns about possible secondary identification of participants from underrepresented groups. Study Method . Participants completed a condensed version of the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale [ 16 , 54 ] and the Lack of Regulation Scale from the Student Perceptions of Classroom Knowledge Building scale [ 51 , 53 ] at the beginning (Studies 1 and 2), middle (Study 2), and end (Studies 1 and 2) of semester-long undergraduate CS courses. Survey responses were analyzed using path analyses to investigate how students’ lack of regulation experiences throughout the semester predicted their implicit intelligence beliefs at the beginning (Study 2) and end (Studies 1 and 2) of the semester. Findings . Results from Study 1 indicate that undergraduate CS students come to more strongly believe that their intelligence is a fixed, unchanging entity from the beginning until the end of the semester. Moreover, participants’ responses to the lack of regulation scale were predictive of their implicit intelligence beliefs at the end of the semester. Results from Study 2 indicate that ineffective self-regulation experiences early in the semester enhance CS students’ belief in the unchanging nature of intelligence (i.e., during the first half of the semester). Taken altogether, these findings provide evidence that self-regulation experiences influence students’ beliefs about the malleability of intelligence. Conclusions . Findings align with Bandura's [ 4 ] contention that students’ behaviors and experiences influence their values and beliefs. Students who experienced poor self-regulated learning came to view intelligence as more of a fixed, unalterable entity than their more successfully self-regulated peers. Findings suggest that CS instructors can positively affect student motivation and engagement by embedding self-regulated learning strategy instruction into their courses and helping CS students adopt an incremental-oriented (e.g., growth-oriented) belief system about their intellectual abilities.

Project activity in the development of an additional training program for a computer science teacher

Introduction. The article discusses project activities in the development of a professional development program for advanced training of a computer science teacher.Purpose setting. The purpose of the article is to study the experience of organizing project activities in the system of professional development of teachers. In the process of implementing project activities, the project competence of teachers is formed.Methodology and methods of the study. The methodological basis of the research is project activity as a joint educational creative activity of the course participants, having a common goal and agreed methods to achieve it. Research methodology is the analysis of literature and contemporary views on the design and development of an additional professional development program in the educational process and the impact of ICT on the involvement of students in the educational process. Professional development is redirected in an online format. For this, it is necessary to create professional development programs on digital educational platforms. Various information systems are convenient for all participants of the educational process.Results. The empirical research was conducted by research methods (questionnaire, discussion, interview). In this article, we focus on the understanding of pedagogical situations and the acquisition of experience by teachers in the pedagogical process when taking advanced training courses in online format. Our article discusses project activities and the use of ICT in the educational process.Conclusions. It is concluded that project activity occupies an important place in the system of professional development. Its implementation allows you to radically change the entire learning process, make it active, creative and independent. Continuing education is characterized by flexibility in time, place, content, learning technologies and many other features that contribute to the best training of teachers in modern conditions. Project activity is currently one of the most effective ways to train employees of educational organizations.

Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education

This study aims to evaluate the impact of using augmented reality, gamification, and serious games in computer science education. The study presents the development process of an educational mobile application, describes an experiment that was conducted and involved 117 higher education students, and analyzes the results of a 49-item paper-based questionnaire. In total, 8 research questions were explored. The results of the study revealed that several educational benefits can be yielded when integrating such applications in teaching and learning activities and actively involving students in the design and development process. In particular, the application was assessed as an effective learning tool that could enrich and improve the educational process and create interactive, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments. Its use led mostly to positive effects and experiences while maintaining the negative ones to a minimum and most students expressed positive emotions. Students were able to learn in a more enjoyable and interesting manner, and their motivation, engagement, self-efficacy, and immersion were greatly increased. Students’ innate need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was satisfactorily met and both their intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations were triggered. They felt a sense of belonging and cultivated their social skills. The potential of the application to improve students’ knowledge acquisition and academic achievements was also observed. The application also enabled students to improve their computational thinking and critical thinking skills. Therefore, the potential of combining augmented reality, gamification, and serious games to enhance students’ cognitive and social–emotional development was highlighted.

Power surge: How a multistakeholder coalition promotes equity in computer science education policy

The Computer Science (CS) for All national movement is increasingly relying on state-level change to broaden participation in computing. To foster an environment in which all students have opportunities to thrive in CS education, policy action is necessary to help create the learning conditions for success. CS education in California has grown substantially in the last decade, yet opportunity gaps remain for young women and Black, Latinx, and Native American students. Early grassroots efforts to advance equity in computing evolved into the Computer Science for California coalition of K–16 educators, industry leaders, and other equity advocates to promote the growth of equity-minded teaching and learning opportunities in K–12 CS education. New policies at the state level reflect an increasing commitment among Sacramento policymakers to expand CS education. Yet troubling disparities in CS access and success continue to exist between traditionally advantaged students and their historically underserved peers. By drawing on interviews with 20 individuals involved in CS education policy, this study illuminates the contributing factors to recent policy successes and considerations for achieving further progress. Interviewees described the importance of tapping into the values of influential decision makers, educating policymakers about the benefits of CS education, and identifying the problems and solutions that require policy attention. To build the capacity of key policy actors in making informed decisions, this research demonstrates the continued value of providing useful information, developing relationships with policymakers, and creating resources that are easy to consume and understand. The interviews also suggest that attention to funding, disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, equity, and ongoing stakeholder support will shape prospects for CS education policy success moving forward.

Booting the system: Leadership practices for initiating and infrastructuring district-wide computer science instructional programs

While a small number of school districts across the United States are well into the process of implementing system-wide computer science education (CSed), most districts are only just getting started. But what does it look like to “get started” on CSed for a whole district? This manuscript presents a single case study of a district’s process of initiating their CS instructional initiative, highlighting a distinct set of instructional leadership practices and the institutional conditions they were responding to. Early implementation research around CSed shows that in some districts, leadership practices are less often the focus of early activities. This study sheds light on what such leadership practices can look like in the early stages of a district’s CSed initiative. Our analysis, based on qualitative data collected longitudinally over 18 months of the district’s work, identified eight intertwined leadership practices that aimed to support instructional coherence, and in our findings, we share a narrative of the district’s initiation of its CS initiative around them. The case begins with the (1) initial leadership team formation and details how that team engaged in (2) content-specific instructional capacity building for its members and (3) sensemaking of ideas around CS with their relationship to existing district activities. It moves on to the team’s (4) development of an instructional vision and an (5) associated implementation strategy, which fed into processes of (6) sensegiving to foster buy-in among teachers, and providing encouragement to engage in (7) instructional piloting. Finally, leaders engaged in (8) landscape analysis activities in order to understand existing district resources and teacher perceptions related to CS. Throughout the case, we highlight the motivations behind these practices, what resources they drew on, intersections, and dependencies among them. We close our analysis exploring a number of tensions and unintended consequences associated with these leadership activities.

Easy Coding in Biology: Pilot Workshop Design and Experiences from Block-Based Programming with in Secondary Education

Block-based coding is a way to teach Computer Science (CS) concepts and Computational Thinking (CT) skills to K-12 students. Nowadays, there are more and more educational applications (learning apps) to teach programming in STEM subjects, but detailed studies on which and how these can be used successfully in Biology classes are still lacking, because apps and tasks promoting CS and CT concepts in combination with biological teaching content are missing. This mixed-method study aims to close this gap and presents six elaborated exercises of the workshop “Easy Coding in Biology”, employing two task formats (TF), <i>Building Cubes </i>and<i> Drone AR</i>, of the new learning app <colette/>. The app utilizes block-based coding and an additional augmented reality (AR) function to describe several topics in secondary education, for example in the subject Biology. After presenting the workshop and task design, preliminary results of the successful use of the app and the tasks are presented. The pilot workshop was carried out with 51 participants at a Slovakian grammar school. After the implementation in class, 34 students filled in a questionnaire, consisting of open-ended and closed-ended questions. Qualitative data shows on the one hand AR malfunctions and on the other that participants liked the workshop concept. Quantitative findings indicate that the introduced TF <i>Building Cubes </i>and<i> Drone AR </i>of <colette/> have the potential to successfully convey CS and CT concepts in Biology. In addition, the tasks encouraged the female participants in particular to work together because they found the tasks/app interesting, motivating, and fun.

Improving Learning Management Systems to Better Assist Computer Science Teaching in Qatar Higher Education Institutions

Improving Learning Management Systems to Better Assist Computer Science Teaching in Qatar Higher Education Institutions

Improving Learning Management Systems to Better Assist Computer Science Teaching in Qatar Higher Education Institutions

Hybrid learning first appeared in the late 1990s as a new way of teaching for distance learning that used computers and the internet to improve students' learning and encourage teachers to change their teaching techniques, resulting in a shift in learning from a teacher-centered model to a more student-centered model. This study will contribute to theory, practice, empirical and policy. Theoretically, the study considers the investigate the mediating effect of human resource information system on effect of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyments, hybrid attitude, hedonic motivation, learning experience, and engagement, on satisfaction in Community College of Qatar (CCQ). Furthermore, as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, many postsecondary schools have moved to online delivery and learning, forcing many instructors to experiment with online and HL approaches, such as online multimedia and video presentations. In comparison to traditional face-to-face techniques or pure online settings, current research has largely verified that HL is seen to be beneficial (Hill et al., 2017) and has the potential to boost student happiness (Owston et al., 2013).

Classifying the Characteristics of Effective Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Computer Science Teachers in the 16-18 Sector

As technology and curricula continue to evolve and develop, the prevalence and effectiveness of continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for computer science teachers is becoming increasingly more important. However, key questions remain about what the characteristics are for effective CPD in this context. Through the presentation of existing literature and the qualitative analysis of interviews with 32 employees from 13 English colleges (n = 14 computer science lecturers, 10 course leaders, and 8 members of senior leadership) this article answers the following question: ‘What are the characteristics of effective continuing professional development for computer science teachers in the 16-18 sector?’ Existing literature indicates how CPD benefits from: (1) knowledge development and application to classroom teaching, (2) self-efficacy development and measurement, (3) observation, feedback and reflection, (4) collaboration and communities of practice, (5) sufficient time, and (6) institution support. Meanwhile, the thematic analysis of interview data led to the creation of five overarching themes: (1) computer science CPD should address various knowledge domains, (2) CPD requires institutional support, (3) CPD should be engaging, (4) computer science CPD should involve a combination of activities, and (5) CPD should be measurable. This qualitative article also presents interview excerpts and contributes to computing education research and practice by presenting a set of thirty guidelines which outlines the characteristics of effective CPD in the context of computer science teachers in the 16-18 sector. These guidelines could be beneficial for both CPD providers and educators in ensuring CPD opportunities are designed more effectively, and with an understanding of both parties’ needs.

Towards understanding students’ sensemaking of test case design

Context:Software testing is the most used technique for quality assurance in industry. However, in computer science education software testing is still treated as a second-class citizen and students are unable to test their software well enough. One reason for this is that teaching the subject of software testing is difficult as it is a complex intellectual activity for which students need to allocate multiple cognitive resources at the same time. A myriad of primary and secondary studies have tried to solve this problem in education, however still with very limited results. Objective:Before we can design interventions to improve our pedagogical approaches, we need to gain more in-depth understanding and recognition of sensemaking as it is happening when students design test cases. Method:An initial exploratory study identified four different sensemaking approaches used by students while creating test models. In this paper we present a follow-up study with 50 students from a large university in Spain. The used methodology was based on the previous study with the improvements that originated from its evaluation. We asked the participants to create a test model based on a description of a test problem using a specialized web-based tool for modeling test cases. We measured how well these models fit the test problem, the sensemaking process that students went through when creating the models, and the students’ perception of the modeling task. The participants received no compensation for their efforts, and we scheduled the experiment during a regular class. Apart from the created models and their metadata, we also collected recordings of the students’ computer screens made during the experiment and used a questionnaire to study their perspectives on the assignment. All the collected textual, graphical, and video data was analyzed using an iterative inductive analysis process to allow new information about the different sensemaking approaches to emerge. Results:We gained better insights into the sensemaking processes of students while modeling test cases for a problem. The results enabled us to refine our previous findings, and we identified new sensemaking approaches. Conclusions:Based on these results, we can further investigate ways to influence the sensemaking process in education, the possible misconceptions that have a negative influence on it, and the desired mental model we want our students to have to design test cases.

Shortest Path Finding Visualizer

Abstract: Visualization is an effective way to learn concepts faster than traditional methods. Modern technologies make it possible to create e-learning tools, which also greatly contribute to improving the quality of computer science teaching. The goal of this project is to create a Pathfinding Visualizer, a web-based e-learning tool that can be used to visualize the shortest path algorithm. Conceptual applications of the project are illustrated through implementations of algorithms such as Dijkstra's and DFS. This project aims to perform all these tasks with some knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and React framework. Since the final product is a web application, users can easily see and learn how the algorithm works. Ease of use of the project provides users with a simple instruction manual. The first results using the app promise the benefits of this learning tool for students who have a good understanding of the shortest path algorithm.

Availability and utilization of the projecting multimedia for computer education in senior secondary schools in Nnewi Metropolis, Anambra State, Nigeria, West Africa

The study investigated the availability and utilization of the projecting multimedia for computer education in the senior secondary schools in Nnewi metropolis. The simple random sampling (SRS) technique was employed during the selection of schools for sampling. The design of the study was the survey descriptive design. Four research questions guided the study. The sample used for the study consisted of one hundred and twenty (120) students, nine (9) teachers and six (6) principals. The research instrument used for the study was the questionnaire. The result of the study showed that majority of the schools did not have nor use the projecting media gadgets for the teaching of computer science in the senior secondary category. The descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) was employed during the data analysis which showed that the performances of teachers and students on computer science were far better in those schools that had and used the projecting multimedia during teaching and learning as opposed to those of their counterparts that did not have nor use the projecting multimedia while teaching and learning. The teachers’ log and progress report books were also studied in the course of the data collection which revealed that teachers who used the projecting multimedia for teaching were able to record success from the students’ angle and from their own side as they performed better, met their target among other numerous advantages. Therefore, the government, school authority, academic staff, non-academic staff and the students were advised on the significant roles they will play towards the availability and utilization of the projecting multimedia for effective teaching and learning of computer science in the senior secondary schools at Nnewi metropolis.

The image processing for creating 3D model in teaching computer science

The subject of computer science can be implemented at every level of education. It offers a creative space for the modernization of education. The image processing and the creation of 2D and 3D models are an actual problem in computer science. The digital technologies and modern methods are useful in solving many tasks in this area. The paper presents procedures which are easy to implement in the teaching of computer science at secondary schools. We will focus on the creation of real spatial models of small objects. The mastering the curriculum is highly supported by the active involvement of students in creation of models. We have designed a teaching module for inclusion, the creation of a real model in the subject’s content, by combination of project and problem-based teaching. Students learn by actively participating in solving partial problems. They can incorporate into the solution of real projects on the chosen topic. The project method allows students to work in groups and solve a complex practical tasks by practical activities. Our aim is to motivate students to mastering the curriculum via an active learning method “learning by doing”, by represents a real problem from everyday life, by using modern (mobile) technologies. The ability to collaborate, learn by discovering and exploring influences the development of a learning strategies.