The use of a pedagogical approach mediated transfer with the bridging method has been successful in facilitating the transitions from block-based to text-based programming languages. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research addressing the impact of this transfer on programming misconceptions during the transition. The way programming concepts are…

The introduction of programming education in K-12 schools to promote computational thinking has attracted a great deal of attention from scholars and educators. Debugging code is a central skill for students, but is also a considerable challenge when learning to program. Learners at the K-12 level often lack confidence in programming debugging due…

This study investigates computer programming ('coding') activities of Primary School Children; we ask if there is evidence of gender differences in their coding activities. The research took place in an English urban school with around 180 children on role, mostly from a middle-class social background. The study involved a class of 17 boys and 15…

Coding games are widely used to teach computational thinking (CT). Studies have broadly investigated the role of coding games in supporting CT learning in formal classroom contexts, but there has been limited exploration of their use in informal home-based settings. This study investigated the factors that motivated students to use a coding game…

As computer-science-for-all initiatives continue to grow, many schools are looking for ways to introduce computer science skills and thinking to elementary-age children. Some initiatives have focused on coding as its own endeavor, not integrated with other subjects like mathematics, science, or literacy. Increasingly, developers and researchers…

This study critically reviews sixteen empirical studies that investigate the various difficulties that primary school students encounter while learning programming through educational games. Specifically, the challenges that students face in understanding basic programming concepts and the game elements that contribute to these difficulties, as…

As elementary students begin to program using tangible blocks, they must coordinate their use of counting with the movements, directions, and numbers they use to move a character. In our study, we analyzed 13 first graders' first attempts at coordinating these elements when playing a programming game on the iPad that used tangible programming…

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents findings on a curricular intervention aimed at integrating computer programming with reading and writing in early elementary school. The purpose of this research was to explore the relation between students' varying literacy levels and their level of success in mastering an introductory programming language.…

This study implemented and evaluated the innovative use of a performance-based assessment platform to support the development of self-regulated learning (SRL) in senior primary students as they completed programming tasks. We embedded SRL support features into a performance-based assessment platform as scaffolding to help the students implement…

Background and Context: A continued gender disparity has driven a need for effective interventions for recruiting girls to computer science. Prior research has demonstrated that middle school girls hold beliefs and attitudes that keep them from learning computer science, which can be mitigated through classroom design. Objective: This study…

This study highlights the importance of an educational design that includes robotics and programming through a visual programming language as a means to enable students to improve substantially their understanding of the elements of logic and mathematics. Gaining an understanding of computational concepts as well as a high degree of student…

This article uses a lens of procedural literacies to theorize youth practices of digital game-playing, modification, and creation as digital writing. The concept of procedurality describes the ways that videogames and other digital media are composed of systems of processes--computational or otherwise, which define these artifacts in form,…

Project-based assessment has been used to evaluate coding projects created by students for a long time. Nevertheless, there is a lack of rigorously tested project-based coding rubrics that are developmentally appropriate for early childhood. This study presented the development and testing of a coding rubric to evaluate children's creations with…

Computational Thinking (CT) has been formally incorporated into the National Curriculum of Thailand since 2017, where Scratch, a block-based visual programming language, has been widely adopted as CT learning environment for primary-level students. However, conducting hands-on coding activities in a classroom has caused substantial challenges…

With the advancement in technology and the emphasis on computer science education, there has been a strong push for more widespread programming instruction at K-12 and higher education levels. Existing research has mostly focused on students at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Not much research has involved students at the elementary…