Hour of Code is a widely recognized global event that aims to introduce programming to novice users and integrate computer science into education. This paper presents an analysis of the effectiveness of the support system and user interface of Minecraft Adventurer, a serious game designed for the Hour of Code global event. Although previous…

"Stochastic programs," which are programs that produce probabilistic output, are a pivotal paradigm in various areas of CS education from introductory programming to machine learning and data science. Despite their importance, the problem of automatically grading such programs remains surprisingly unexplored. In this paper, we formalize…

Concurrency is often perceived as difficult by students. One reason for this may be due to the fact that abstractions used in concurrent programs leave more situations undefined compared to sequential programs (e.g., in what order statements are executed), which makes it harder to create a proper mental model of the execution environment. Students…

One of the aspects of programming that novices often struggle with is the understanding of abstract concepts, such as variables, loops, expressions, and especially Boolean operations. This paper aims to explore the effects of programming tools with different degrees of embodiment on learning Boolean operations in elementary school. To this end, 67…

Prediction of student performance in introductory programming courses can assist struggling students and improve their persistence. On the other hand, it is important for the prediction to be transparent for the instructor and students to effectively utilize the results of this prediction. Explainable Machine Learning models can effectively help…

Due to the growing demand for information technology skills, programming education has received increasing attention. Predicting students' programming performance helps teachers realize their teaching effect and students' learning status in time to provide support for students. However, few of the existing researches have taken the code that…

Contribution: Students' problem-understanding abilities and their relationship with programming learning were investigated using a methodology little explored in the existing literature. Background: Problem comprehension is an ability used during software development. Current research points to conflicting results on students' ability to interpret…

Augmented reality (AR) has been incorporated into the educational context for years. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of AR in different disciplines, learning styles, and learning environments. However, few studies have focused on the problem of generating AR applications in authentic educational contexts. In this study, an AR…

This paper proposes to evaluate learning efficiency by implementing the flipped classroom and automatic source code evaluation based on the Kirkpatrick evaluation model in students of CS1 programming course. The experimentation was conducted with 82 students from two CS1 courses; an experimental group (EG = 56) and a control group (CG = 26). Each…

A wide range of benefits have been posited from participation in competitive programming contests. However, an analysis of participation in north American regional contests in the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) shows that participation in these contests is sharply declining, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover,…

In pedagogical language, "scaffolding" is frequently used to replace the expression "support in learning". In didactic terms, the practice in the classroom shows that various types of support, such as the teacher, colleagues, and technologies, contribute to more efficient learning. In terms of technologies, the present study…

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…

In this case study, we present our findings regarding a massive open online Scratch programming course. The course, which followed a project-based learning approach, was delivered from July 4 to 30, 2022 to 186 students in Brazil. The students were challenged to develop individual coding projects. Our research goal was to investigate teaching and…

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…

This article offers a case study of how platforms and predictive infrastructures are emerging in higher education. It examines a Learning Analytics Application Programming Interface (API) from a popular Learning Management System. The API is treated firstly as an artefact based on the computational abstraction of educational principles, and…