This article reports on a design-based research study centered on the conception and the assessment of the "Pyrates" application. This online serious game aims at introducing Python programming to K-12 students while easing the transition from block-based to text-based languages. After we present the various aspects underlying the…

This study aims to conduct a literature review to explore the justification for including programming and coding in K-12 curricula. Additionally, it considers the value of teaching computational thinking and programming principles, pedagogical strategies, and the advantages and drawbacks of teaching programming to young students. Most studies…

Given the increasing needs of employees with computational skills, understanding the core competencies of K-12 computer science (CS) education is vital. This phenomenological research aims to identify critical factors of CS education in K-12 schools from the perspectives and visions of CS faculties in higher education and teachers in K-12 schools.…

Educational robotics (ER) seems to have a positive effect on students and, in many cases, might help them to successfully assimilate knowledge and skills. Thus, this paper focuses on ER and carries out a literature review on educational robotics simulators with Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The review searches for relevant papers which were…

Social learning theory posits that learning is most effective when providing learners with opportunities to observe and interact with peers. Unfortunately, current K-12 programming education overemphasizes individual learning and discourages learners from observing and interacting with others. The Scratch online community provides youth…

The first books in Polish about the Pascal programming language appeared in the late 1970s, and were soon followed by a Polish translation of Niklaus Wirth's book "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs." At that time, many efforts were made to prepare teachers to teach informatics in schools, and Pascal was one of the topics taught,…

The importance of computational thinking (CT) as a 21st-century skill for future generations has been a key consideration in the reforms of many national and regional educational systems. Much attention has been paid to integrating CT into the traditional subject classrooms. This paper describes a scoping review of learning tools for integrating…

As computing has become an integral part of our world, demand for teaching computational thinking in K-12 has increased. One of its basic competences is programming, often taught by learning activities without a predefined solution using block-based visual programming languages. Automatic assessment tools can support teachers with their assessment…

Several instructional approaches have been advanced for learning programming. However, effective ways of engaging beginners in programming in K-12 are still unclear, especially among low socioeconomic status learners in technology-deprived learning environments. Understanding the learning path of novice programmers will bridge this gap and explain…

In this research, social media data from a public school district was utilized to help improve district communication during and after a crisis. Data was analyzed by utilizing the programming languages R and Python. The programming languages helped generate data that allowed this research to evaluate how the quality of crisis communication could…

There are known misconceptions about variables which are mostly the same since the first studies since more than 30 years ago. Consciousness about the misconceptions in programming can be crucial for teaching and learning programming for novices because, if we are aware of them, maybe we can minimise or even prevent them. Researchers mostly…

The emphasis on programming and robotics owing to the unfolding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the African continent has led the South African National Department of Education to propose a new subject in Grades R to 9. Hence, the training and development of pre-service teachers is crucial so that they can respond to the skills needed in…

Many states and school districts in the United States use standardized test scores to compute annual measures of student achievement progress and then use school-level averages of these growth measures for various reporting and diagnostic purposes. These aggregate growth measures can vary consequentially from year to year for the same school,…

The Arduino microcontroller enables ordinary people to perform professional tasks that only traditional engineering professionals could perform. Recently, several educational cases have been applied to primary and secondary schools, which is a desirable attempt to popularize engineering education. This study meta-analyzed the effects of…

Many mathematics educators are not aware of a strong connection that exists between the education of computer programming and mathematics. The reason may be that they have not been exposed to computer programming. This connection is worth exploring, given the current trends of automation and Industry 4.0. Therefore, in this paper we take a closer…