We live in a digital age, not least accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is all the more important in our society that students learn and master the key competence of algorithmic thinking to understand the informatics concepts behind every digital phenomena and thus is able to actively shape the future. For this to be successful, concepts must…

At an unrivaled and enduring pace, computing has transformed the world, resulting in demand for a universal fourth foundation beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic: computational thinking (CT). Despite increasingly widespread acceptance of CT as a crucial competency for all, transforming education systems accordingly has proven complex. The…

This dissertation was a comparative study of computer science in secondary schools in both Ireland and the United States. Computer science was a new subject compared to more established subjects in both Ireland and the United States. This dissertation looked at how this subject could be accessed by students in both countries. I used a document…

This study developed a physical computing game-design project that incorporates block-based programming, physical computing, and computer game design for Taiwan's high school technology education curriculum to strengthen students' computational thinking. The project asked students to develop a somatosensory computer game using a block-based…

The integration of visual programming in early formal education has been found to promote computational thinking of students. Teachers' intuitive perspectives about optimal learning processes -- "folk psychology" -- impact their perspectives about teaching "folk pedagogy" and play a significant role in integrating educational…

In this study, based on quasi-experimental research, was investigated the effects of teaching Python programming language via Blockly tool, which had hybrid interface, on students' computer programming anxiety, cognitive load level, and achievement. Participants were 90 high school students, 44 of them in experimental group (hybrid interface) and…

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to combine domain modelling and student modelling techniques in a single, automated pipeline which does not require expert knowledge and can be used to predict future student performance. Domain modelling techniques map questions to concepts and student modelling techniques generate a mastery score for a…

The effective teaching of the concept of programming, where critical thinking is an important factor, is not so easy in secondary education. New teaching approaches, including, game-based learning, may provide a solution due to their inclusion of more fun and diverse activities but they still lack the active participation of the students in the…

This study evaluated the construct validity of six scoring traits of an automated writing evaluation (AWE) system called "MI Write." Persuasive essays (N = 100) written by students in grades 7 and 8 were randomized at the sentence-level using a script written with Python's NLTK module. Each persuasive essay was randomized 30 times (n =…

The work of Niklaus Wirth, designer of the Pascal programming language, has led to the introduction of programming in schools in many countries often leading to a transformation in the way of thinking. In this article, we provide a retrospective analysis of the Lithuanian experience driven by Pascal and discuss the main ideas about teaching…

Python programming is widely employed in educational institutions worldwide. Within the "Merdeka Belajar" curriculum context, this programming is recognized as a suitable vehicle for mathematics instruction, significantly influencing students' motivation and learning outcomes, particularly following periods of educational hiatus. This…

Teaching computer programming to children and adolescents has become popular in recent years. This popularity has resulted in increased research into techniques for teaching introductory programming using visual languages, especially block-based languages. This study aims to explore new possibilities for teaching programming by adopting a hybrid…

This paper describes an investigation looking at the underlying mathematics of poker machines. The aim of the investigation is for students to get an appreciation of how poker machines are designed to ensure that in the long-term players will inevitably lose when playing. The first part of this paper describes how students can model a simple poker…

Simulation modeling is an effective tool for solving problems that cannot be explained analytically or when data cannot be collected. This is done by simulating the observed behavior of a problem under study using a computer program. In math education, this can develop knowledge and fundamental competencies of simulation modeling at a higher level…

Previous research has invested much effort in understanding how programming can contribute to the development of young learners' computational thinking (CT) in traditional K-12 classroom settings. Relatively few studies have examined programming for CT in informal online communities, especially for large scale quantitative research. With the…