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…

Serious games are a growing field in academic research and they are considered an effective tool for education. Game-based learning invokes motivation and engagement in students resulting in effective instructional outcomes. An essential aspect of a serious game is the method of support for presenting the teaching material and providing feedback.…

This study examines the effectiveness of a collaborative support method in enhancing programming learning outcomes in a serious game. The game Code Hasp was developed to facilitate the comparison between two support methods, worked examples and a collaborative peer support approach. A total of 111 elementary school students participated, divided…

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…

Wheel-spinning refers to the failure to master a skill in a timely manner or after a considerable number of practice opportunities. Several past studies have developed wheel-spinning models in the areas of Mathematics and Physics. However, no models have been made for the context of novice programming. The purpose of this study was to develop…

There is substantial evidence that incorporating interactive environments for game-based instruction has a significant potential to support the development of computational thinking and programming skills in primary education students. However, it is not clear whether a simulation game (SG) with different user interface elements, created via…

Background and Context: Though still a nascent area of research, serious games have been presented as means of engaging students in computer programming and computational thinking due to their immersive and interactive nature. Existing research is limited in its ability to provide systems based on sound instructional design models, and only a few…

Games are an everyday part of most students' lives. Games engage students and provide opportunities to foster perseverance in problem solving. When implemented in the mathematics classroom, game-based learning can have similar positive benefits. Students can enjoy mathematics and develop important life skills that will help them in their current…

Educational escape rooms aims to motivate students, to strengthen knowledge and evaluate learning. Pre-service teachers enrolled in "Computer Science and Digital Competency" course shows lack of motivation and difficulties to realise its usefulness in everyday practice, becoming an ideal context to apply this strategy. 157 students…

Our online programming language courses have been developed for youngsters who are interested in computer programming. The courses were gamified with some common gamification elements: points, badges, incentives, immediate feedback and leaderboard. The developed Learning Management System (LMS) for our learning portal provides the chance to…

This article is dedicated to the topic of discovering effective ways of developing students' programming abilities with the means of non-programming disciplines and activities. The authors argue that the process of educating students in programming becomes effective if students participates not only in programming lessons themselves, but also…

In an educational environment, instructors would always think of ways to provide students with motivational learning materials and efficient learning strategies. Hence, many researchers have proposed that students' problem-solving ability enhances their learning. Problem-solving ability plays an important role for users in dealing with problems…

Purpose: This study aimed to create a mobile serious game that incorporates a learning framework, particularly collaborative learning theory, to develop students' computational thinking skills. Methodology: Based on the framework of Brennan and Resnick, an adaptation was made within the context of a mobile serious game mapping the different…

At 21st century Computational Thinking (CT) is considered a fundamental skill that anyone should possess and develop from a young age. Serious games and more specifically educational games (EGs) are a promising means of introducing algorithmic thinking and programming concepts and engaging students through the process of learning. In this article,…

This article explores children's development of problem-solving practices through multimodal engagements in digital activities. The study is based on analyses of a video recorded peer group activity in which two children, within the context of a project on computational thinking using the software "Scratch," collaboratively work to solve…