Funded through a grant from Texas Workforce Commission, DesignHER Code Camps were created to use the fashion interests of underserved middle school girls as springboards to interest them in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Results were generally consistent with the achievement of camp goals--(a) increase the interest of middle…

Over the past 7 years, we pioneered the development of a program blending dance choreography, computer programming, and a virtual environment to teach computational thinking, broadening pathways for more diverse students. We investigated the ways in which upper elementary and middle school students creating dance performances for virtual…

This research investigates the impact of mathematical problems created with Scratch on the problem-solving skills of 8th-grade middle school students. The research was based on the descriptive design of mixed research approaches. In this direction, the research model was single-group pretest-posttest design, which is a weak experimental design…

Background & context: Inspired by the nature-cultures of belonging from Black hair care, we conducted a design experiment to bridge computer science (CS) education, urban gardening, and cosmetology in a culturally responsive computing (CRC) library program. Objective: The design was oriented around a small-scale aquaponics system to grow mint…

This article builds on prior work that aims to measure computational learning (CL) during middle school. Since game computational sophistication (GCS) has been used as a proxy for a student's engagement in CL we build on their model to more completely describe the relationship between different types of building blocks of computer games and GCS.…

It is difficult to motivate learners to seek out and persist at challenging learning tasks where failure is likely. However, in game environments, people seem highly motivated to engage with challenges and respond productively to failure. Many typical game features purportedly enhance intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, which should improve…

This paper investigated the effect of block-based programming and unplugged coding teaching activities on fifth graders' computational thinking skills, self-efficacy, and academic performance. The teaching activities were conducted within the scope of the "Problem-Solving and Programming" unit of the Information Technologies and Software…

The robotics context is suggested as a context that supports the learning of the sciences including mathematics. The present study investigates how the robotics context affects students' motivation for learning mathematics. Two groups of seventh-grade students participated in the present research: a robotics class (32 students) and a regular class…

Current research has not fully explored how summer programming camps can help students increase motivation and interest to pursue computing career, and their programming knowledge. Informal CS education through summer programming camps provides K-12 students the opportunity to learn how to code through fun and interactive activities outside of…

Integrating STEM education within the elementary school science curriculum in Ontario, Canada, elevated the expectation for elementary preservice teachers to teach STEM skills such as problem-solving through coding. Research shows that educational robotics can promote STEM knowledge and skills. This mixed methods study investigates the effect of…

The purpose of "The State of Computer Science in Illinois High Schools Series" is to analyze the landscape, structures, and pathways to and through computer science (CS) education in Illinois and to create a baseline by which to measure the expansion of CS education in the coming years. The series will include five reports, each…

Today's adolescents actively engage with media, not only as consumers but also as creators. Their media creation activities range from graphic design and video production to digital storytelling and game programming. These experiences enable youth to express their voices and promote individual and community development. However, media production…

Students' skilful use of self-regulatory learning strategies is becoming fundamental to the advent of blog-based learning. Moreover, the use of Interaction Analysis (IA) in studying the learning dynamics in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) activities is on the increase, particularly aiming to support participants by means of IA…

Background: Learning to program and success in computer science requires persistence in the face of challenges. This study contributes to research on the social context of learning by describing how children's peer interactions can support or hinder the pair's problem solving on the computer. Methods: Video recordings from eight pairs of middle…

This qualitative, phenomenological research study explores the best practices that secondary Grades 6-12 educators employ when using microcontrollers in the classroom. Governmental and private organizations have investigated and promoted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and computer science in education (Code…